Croquettes from the Madrid Fusion champions to celebrate International Croquette Day, the dish we associate with grandmothers

Every January 16th is International Croquette Day. To celebrate, 7Caníbales has compiled some of the winning recipes from the Best Ham Croquette competition, one of the most emblematic events at Madrid Fusión. The next edition, organized in collaboration with Sánchez Romero Carvajal, will take place at the 24th International Gastronomy Summit, held on January 26th, 27th, and 28th at IFEMA, and will feature six finalists: Miguel Fernández, from Restaurante Bancal (Madrid); Samuel Moreno, from Molino de Alcuneza (Guadalajara); Alejandro Cano, from Restaurante Salino (Madrid); Toni González, from El Nuevo Molino (Cantabria); Julín A. Menéndez, from La Raíz 15 Casa de Comidas (Asturias); and Juanjo Mesa, from Restaurante Radis (Jaén).

From among them all, the winner will emerge and join the golden panel made up of, among others, the chefs who provide these recipes to ensure success when making an excellent croquette.

For the dough:

• 104 g of butter
• 100g of all-purpose flour
• 80 ml of 33% cream
• 800 ml of Pascual extra cream milk
• 150g hand-chopped Iberian ham

1 ham bone

• 2 g of gelatin

For the batter:

c/s all-purpose flour

with pasteurized egg

c/s panko

Elaboration:

In a saucepan, heat the milk and ham bones until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it steep. Meanwhile, melt the butter in another saucepan and add the flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent the flour from browning. Once the flour is toasted, add the milk in two batches. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. When the béchamel sauce is ready, stir in the chopped ham. Hydrate the gelatin and add it to a small saucepan where you have previously heated the cream. Stir until dissolved and add it to the béchamel sauce, which should now be off the heat. Season with salt and stir to combine everything. Let it cool in the saucepan, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on top.

Pour the mixture into a dish and let it rest overnight. Divide into 32-gram portions, shape, coat in flour, beaten egg, and panko breadcrumbs, and fry until golden brown. This recipe makes about 35 pieces.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter of sheep's milk
• 1 kg of ham bones
• 140g of butter
• 100 ml of cream 36% MG
• 12 g of gelatin sheets
• 140 g of wheat flour
• 120g of diced Iberian ham

Elaboration

Infuse the milk with the cleaned ham bones and let it rest for 12 hours. Chop the ham; hydrate the gelatin in cold water; strain the milk and heat it. Make a roux with the fats and flour, add the milk to the roux in three stages, stirring until smooth and thickened. Add the chopped ham; heat the cream and dissolve the gelatin in it; add the cream to the mixture and blend until smooth. Once smooth, stir every ten minutes to cool. Pour into a gastronorm container, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Ingredients

• 30g of Iberian ham
• 110 g of fresh milk
• 14 g of milk
• 15 g of flour
• 15g of butter

Elaboration

Make an infusion with the milk and ham bones. Brown the ham slightly in the oven. Make a roux with the butter and flour until cooked. Add the hot, strained milk to the roux and cook. Add the chopped, baked ham and continue cooking until you have a smooth béchamel sauce. Heat the cream and stir in the previously soaked gelatin sheets. Finally, add the cream to the béchamel sauce and season with salt. Let it cool in the refrigerator. Shape the croquettes into 30g portions, coat them in beaten egg, and then in panko breadcrumbs. Fry in very hot oil.

1 liter of milk

• 100g of butter
• 70 g of flour
• 250g of ham

Elaboration:

Sauté half the ham in butter, add 850 ml of milk, and cook the béchamel sauce for approximately 25 minutes over low heat. Strain the béchamel to remove the cooked ham, add the remaining milk and the ham, season with salt and pepper, and spread in a baking dish. Brush with butter to prevent a skin from forming.

Let it rest for 24 hours and then coat it, first in conventional breadcrumbs, then in egg, and finally in hand-crushed breadcrumbs from good quality bread. Fry in very hot olive oil. Drain on a tray lined with paper towels.

Ingredients:

• 100g of Iberian ham
• 70 g of flour
• 100 g olive oil 0.4

1 liter of whole milk

• 5 g of salt

Elaboration:

Dice the ham into 3mm x 3mm cubes and sauté in olive oil until it turns dark. Add the flour and cook for 7 minutes. Add the milk in two stages and cook for 20 minutes, including the salt.

Once ready, transfer to a tray and let cool. When cool, shape each croquette into an oval using oiled hands. Dip in egg, then in breadcrumbs, and fry at 190°C (375°F).

Ingredients:

• 115g sheep's butter (unsalted)
• 100g all-purpose flour
• 2l fresh sheep's milk
• 25g fresh sheep's milk
• 25g fresh sheep's cream
• 300g Iberian ham

Elaboration:

First, finely dice the ham until it's a very fine brunoise, almost like powder. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it. This is so that when you add the milk to the batter, it boils first and there isn't a significant temperature difference. In a shallow pan, melt the butter. Add the ham with the heat off and mix it in with a silicone spatula. Add the flour, mix well with the spatula, and cook for 7 minutes.

Once toasted, add half the milk and mix well. Add the remaining milk, blend until smooth, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, cook the mixture for 8 minutes over high heat. After that time, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 8 minutes. Then add 25 grams of sheep's milk and increase the heat to high, cooking for one minute. Add the sheep's cream and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper, pour the mixture onto a tray, and let it rest for 12 hours in the refrigerator. Shape the mixture into balls with oiled hands, coat them in egg and panko breadcrumbs, fry them in sunflower oil at 185 degrees Celsius (365 degrees Fahrenheit), and drain on paper towels.