Homemade St. James

How to prepare some sanjacobos or San Jacobos,

It does not matter what you want to call them, today I present a simple meat recipe to more power and that surely is part of the childhood memories of more than one.

They transfer me to another time, when they prepared a sanjacobo for dinner at home.

If any were left over, the next day it would mysteriously disappear from the plate and I would eat it in the schoolyard.

I always loved those that my mother prepared, very simple and with good ingredients, nothing to do with those that we find today in the frozen areas of large stores.

Years ago we could find this dish on the menu in restaurants, now things have changed.

The style of food is another, better in my opinion, which does not mean that these types of recipes always have no value, if only in the collective memory and as a reflection of an era.

In any case, this recipe, made at home, can be one of the yummy ones.

In addition, sanjacobos are a simpler version of other dishes from the same family such as  flamenquines , proprietas, cordon bleu, a good  cachopo   or Italian saltimbocca .  

All these recipes have the same base, to surround with cheese a piece of meat, more or less seasoned and / or marinated to protect it and give it flavor during its frying, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

Today’s recipe is the simplest and easiest, the sanjacobos of a lifetime , normally little valued but, if they are homemade, they can delight children and adults.

Preparation of the San Jacobos. Breaded

1. With each of the slices of cooked ham we will make a kind of book in which we will put a slice of cheese.
2. We fold the ham in half and leaving the cheese inside.
3. We make each San Jacobo with two little books, so each one will have two slices of ham and two slices of cheese.
4. We will bread the San Jacobos with the classic batter, passing them through flour, egg and breadcrumbs.
5. The flour helps the egg adhere better to the cooked ham, and the egg acts as a glue to fix the breadcrumbs.
6. There are those who give one cape and there are those who prefer to use two. It is best to coat in a single layer so that it is not too thick.
7. Thus they are lighter and absorb less oil in frying.
8. To get crispier St. James we can use crispy breadcrumbs that they sell in any supermarket or large area.

Frying and final presentation of the San Jacobos

1. For frying we are interested in oils with a high smoke point that oxidize (burn) less.
2. This depends on the quality of the oil that we use, I recommend an extra soft virgin olive oil, for example an arbequina.
3. These oils will allow us to fry at high temperatures resulting in a crispy breading after a short process, so the interior will be juicier.
4. When we have all the San Jacobos prepared we heat plenty of oil in a frying pan and fry them at medium-high temperature.
5. Always in small batches so as not to excessively lower the oil temperature.
6. The oil should not be very hot when frying, so we avoid that they are very toasted on the outside and raw on the inside. We cook them 2 minutes on each side.

Final presentation of the San Jacobos

1. We remove to a tray with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil and serve accompanied with a little of your favorite salad. I love them with pieces of tomato and basil.
2. You will see how you prepare them several times at home for dinner because they are fast and very simple, they are delicious.

Perfect for a light dinner, a party or, yes, a delicious way to share your recipes.

Be sure to see all the photos of the step by step of this recipe for St. James.

Tips for some delicious Jacobs

• Choosing quality ingredients will make a difference, a good cooked ham and rich cheese will make this dish something to repeat, not to mention the fact that children will love it.
• If you are interested in a more noble version of sanjacobo, you could substitute the cooked ham for a filetito of veal or pork, stuffed like a booklet with Serrano ham and cheese , complemented even with a layer of bechamel before the batter.
• When frying the San Jacobos we should not mix different types of oil. If you use olive oil, do not mix it with sunflower, as they can tolerate the temperature worse and burn much earlier.
• What influences the most is the food we fry and how dirty the oil is. For example, some fried potatoes do not stain almost, but if we fry these san jacobos, some chicken nuggets, croquettes, flamenquins or foods that release residues (such as breadcrumbs) the oil will burn and lose its properties sooner.