Old Fashion Comfort Meal - Homemade Chicken Croquettes

I had a hankering for some old fashion food that I remember eating as a kid.  Chicken Croquettes were so good, the croquette itself was delicious alongside the puddle of mashed potatoes and gravy.  This was restaurant food usually, and you could also get the meal with gravy fries which were the best!  My mom never made these from scratch, but there was a frozen version that came with cups of gravy sold in grocery stores.  My mother did buy those and they were a great substitute for homemade.

I wasn't busy at home and decided I would try and make them myself.  If they didn't turn out right, I could just call them something else.  The flavors in them I tried to remember so I would get it right, and the technique for getting them to look like a croquette I mastered.  They were always a conical shape, although nowadays I see them as flat pancake style, THAT is not a croquette that I remember.  So here goes my version of  The Chicken Croquette. 

Recipe Below.

I used ground chicken, this worked perfect.

I cooked it up.  Then I cut up the celery and put in a small food chopper so the pieces were cut small or minced.

These ingredients I used for my chicken base.

The base, cooking up those tasty ingredients.  Kind of looks like mashed potatoes.

Fold in the cooked ground chicken and you can see it looks like the inside of the croquettes.

Mold into a conical shape. I lined mine up on a parchment covered baking sheet.

Give them an egg bath and dip in flour and then bread crumbs to get that crispy outside coat on them when you fry them.

Here they are coated in egg and flour. Then you have to dip in egg again and then the bread crumbs.

Into the deep fryer until golden brown all over.

Drain on paper towels.  Looking scrumptious!

OOOOH, now for the gravy. You have to have gravy, its for the mashed potatoes, or if you like, French fries.

Plate them up on a cloud of fluffy mashed potatoes or fries, top with that awesome gravy and dig in!

Chicken Croquettes

Ingredients for the croquette base

1 1/4 lbs of ground chicken meat (I used Perdue in the bag)

1 cup of whole milk

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 teaspoons parsley flakes, could also use fresh

1 stick of butter

1 stalk of celery, minced small

1 cup flour

oil for frying

Coating for the croquettes

1 cup of milk

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, can use plain or seasoned

Chicken Gravy

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

2 1/4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 teaspoons parsley flakes or fresh parsley

Directions

For the croquette base:

In a medium frying pan on medium-high heat brown the ground chicken.  Chop and separate as you cook it, until there is no pink color remaining and it looks like it's minced very small.  Set aside. 

In a large pot, heat the milk and stock over medium heat.  Add the salt, pepper, and parsley. In another pot, melt butter and add the celery.  Cook until celery soft.  Add the flour and cook for three minutes. Pour the milk/stock mixture over the flour mixture and whisk until it thickens and becomes smooth. Fold in the ground chicken.

Breading the croquettes:

Mold the mixture with your hands into conical shapes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Beat the milk and eggs together in a bowl.  In another bowl place the flour and in a third bowl place the bread crumbs.  Dip the croquettes one by one into the egg mixture, then the flour mixture.  Let them sit for a few minutes then dip in the egg mixture again then the breadcrumbs. Line back up on the baking sheet.

Frying the croquettes:

You can use a deep fryer or a large pot.  Heat oil to 350 degrees.  Place two croquettes at a time in the basket and lower into the oil.  Cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on all sides and top and bottom.  Remove from basket and drain on paper towels.

Croquette Gravy:

Melt butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour, salt and pepper.  Whisk in the stock until the gravy is smooth.  Add the parsley.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Serve croquettes on a bed of mashed potatoes and top with gravy.