Cod croquettes

Cod croquettes .

Who does not like croquettes ? This delicious bechamel dough with meat, fish or any ingredient you can think of, coated in breadcrumbs, eggs and fried in plenty of hot olive oil, will delight anyone.

Many of you have told me almost with regret, that you never get croquettes.

The recipe that I present to you today is infallible, they come out yes or yes. You will also find tips and tricks so that the croquettes come out almost perfect.

I do not doubt that the richest are the croquettes of our grandmothers or mothers but for me, perhaps, the best are those of my mother Rosa. Here you have his  recipe for cod croquettes, it is the one that my brother and I make at home since we were little.

Obviously the practice helps a lot, but although you prepare them for the first time, they come out, the special point of my mother you are not going to achieve, not even I do them the same as her. But they are very, very good anyway.

Easter is approaching and the time of year where the fish recipes with cod triumph. At home we are very cod and croquettes so it is a good time to make tasty homemade cod croquettes.

On the blog we have a wide variety of croquettes in our  appetizer recipes . They are perfect as a first or even as a yummy dinner.

Desalting the cod from the croquettes

1. For this we put cod to soak for 30 hours to remove the salt. After this time we dry it and crumble it. We reserve.
2. Fresh cod does not give the same flavor, so better salty. You can buy a quality loin and crumble it, although the best thing is to buy some cod crumbs (they sell them like this in the supermarket) already desalted and you will have some great croquettes.

Preparation of the base of the croquettes

1. Cut the onion into very small pieces, reserve. In a frying pan or wide casserole pour a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and add the onion.
2. Poach at low temperature for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the crumbled cod, stir to combine flavors and remove to a plate. We reserve.
3. We heat the butter in the same saucepan in which we have prepared the onion until it has melted.
4. We start with preparing the bechamel.  In this link you have all the secrets to make it perfect for you.
5. We throw the flour and, with the help of some rods. We remove until we see that it has been integrated with all the fat of the butter. Without stopping stirring and, over medium heat, cook the flour for 1 or 2 minutes.
6. We are incorporating the milk into the casserole. First in small quantities, integrating it well with the flour before adding more.
7. This step of gradually adding the milk is essential, as this will ensure that the cream will not have lumps.
8. It would be about 10-12 minutes with patience, without stopping stirring we integrate all the milk and season to taste.
9. We continue cooking the sauce, at medium low temperature, for about 5 minutes, without stopping stirring. Add the cod with the onion that we had reserved and continue stirring until it has dissolved in the cream.
10. We continue stirring until we have a thick mass that will detach from the pan or saucepan when stirring. We turn off the heat and let the sauce temper slightly.
11. In a dish greased with butter and sprinkled with flour, add the croquettes and let cool one day in the fridge. Thus the dough pulls more and is handled better.

Breaking, frying and final presentation of the cod croquettes

1. For breading, when the dough is cold, they are shaped with two spoons or by hand.
2. We form the croquettes with our hands, giving them the shape that we like the most, the more traditional oval and elongated, or round ones as I have done on this occasion. We pass them by beaten egg and then by breadcrumbs.
3. We leave an hour in the fridge, take out of the fridge after the time and let the croquettes dry a little before frying them so that the batter dries out a little.
4. At this point we can do two things, fry them to enjoy them at the moment or freeze them to be able to do it when we want.
5. They support freezing perfectly . We will only have to remove them from the fridge and put them directly to fry, without defrosting, with the very hot oil, when we want to prepare them.
6. If you are few at home, as is my case, I recommend the subject of freezing.
7. To fry our croquettes . We put a pan or a casserole with high walls to the fire with abundant extra-virgin olive oil, to fry. We are cooking the croquettes over high heat. Regulating the temperature to avoid burning us.
8. We remove to a plate with absorbent paper. To remove excess oil and serve directly, freshly made.

The best thing is to try this recipe for my mother’s cod croquettes just as you come out of the pan, where the béchamel almost spreads with the cod.

Be careful that you will burn, the one who warns is not a traitor. Although we also like them cold at home, that’s why I always prepare twice the amount.

Do not miss any detail of the step by step of this recipe for cod croquettes  from my mother Rosa.

If you like this recipe, be sure to accompany it with something sweet, you can visit our special desserts and sweets for Easter and Easter .

Tips for perfect cod croquettes

• When we remove the cream from the fire and pour it into a source. It is best to let the mixture cool down and cover it with transparent paper.
• Store the cream in the fridge. The best thing is that we leave it overnight, so that it solidifies. This way it will be more manageable to prepare the croquettes.
• To freeze kibbles. Place them in a source (without heaping, we put them in the freezer and after 12 hours and they are like stones. Separate them and keep them in a clean and closed plastic bag.
• To fry them it is not necessary to defrost them. Fry in very hot oil in 2 minutes, moving the pan back and forth to avoid having to touch them.
• Fresh cod does not give the same flavor, so better salty. You can buy a quality loin and crumble it. Although the best thing is to buy some cod crumbs (they sell them like this in the supermarket) already desalinated.
• We must beat the eggs very well, shake it for a few minutes with the rods or a fork. It is essential that you do not have parts of the white without beating well. Since they would stick to the croquette and fall to the breadcrumbs when the croquettes were coated. We want a perfect batter.
• If you do not want the bottom of the croquette to be slightly crisp. It is best to prepare them round and of a smaller size.
• Also if at the end of frying you use a large strainer to support the croquettes on the plate, we avoid that the fat they release can end up softening them on the side that they rest on the absorbent paper.

Curiosities about cod croquettes

• If still reading this recipe you want to try other types of croquettes, I advise you somewhere where I have prepared them. In Madrid, after a lot of research and croquetting in many neighborhoods, I recommend the croquettes of “la Taberna del 9” (in Malasaña), the fabulous “la Tabernilla del gato Amadeus” (in Moncloa) or the variety of “Javier Martín” (in La Latina). And I do not forget Ourense, “El rey del Jamón” (Lepanto 13) is an institution.
• As you can see the croquettes are universal. Kroket (in Holland), korokke (in Japan), croquette (in France, its inventors, thanks to its famous bechamel ) and krokette (in Germany, although they are with a potato cream).