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croquetas de jamon cubanas (cuban ham croquettes) via heartofhomemade.com

Croquetas de Jamon (Cuban Ham Croquettes)

These ham croquettes are everything a croquette should be: smooth, flavorful, and delightfully crispy.
4.67 from 9 votes
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Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Cuban
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

For the "masa" (the filling):

  • 8 oz package of diced ham drained of excess liquid
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp yellow onion finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (you can sub 1/8 tsp garlic in a pinch)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp flaked dried parsley
  • 1/8 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp flaked oregano
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp sherry cooking wine

For breading and frying:

  • 3 eggs beaten
  • About 1.5 sleeves saltine crackers finely ground in food processor or blender
  • 2 cups oil for frying

Instructions
 

For the Filling:

  • Grind the ham in a food processor until finely ground. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet, lightly saute the butter and onion over medium high heat, about 1 minute. Add in your garlic, and lower the heat to medium low.
  • Add in the milk and, stirring constantly, cook about 1.5 - 2 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, combine the flour and seasonings.
  • Add the flour mixture, ground ham, and the sherry to the skillet, cooking and mixing continuously until the ingredients come together as a dough. Remove from heat. Taste, and adjust the salt if needed.
    *Note: If your dough seems too liquid-y at first, try cooking it a little longer. The flour, ham, and milk mixture needs to reach temperature fully before your flour thickens and turns the mixture into your paste. It will have the texture of a very thick paste (like a tanzhong).
  • Let the "masa" come to room temperature. Then, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

For breading and frying:

  • Once the filling has been refrigerated, take about 1.5 tbsp of dough at a time and form the croquettes into long cylinders with rounded ends (makes about 15-20 croquettes).
  • One by one, dip the croquettes in the egg, and then cover with the ground cracker crumbs.
  • Go back and repeat step 2 for each croquette (so that each croquette has been breaded twice).
  • Let the croquettes come to room temperature before frying.
  • Heat the oil in a small heavy saucepan to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Fry the croquettes until golden brown. Fry in small batches, letting the oil come back to 375 degrees between batches.

Notes

*Directions updated 10/11/24 to clarify a bit - the ingredients and overall process was not changed. :)
Keyword appetizer, croquettes, fried, ham