New recipe to prepare croquettes

Some time ago I posted here a recipe to prepare croquettes, but I got a much better one from another portuguese friend and excellent cook. First experience didn´t go that well only because I couldn´t shape the croquettes properly. Now I know that the trick is in using more flour and in letting the meat set for at least 24h in the fridge.

I didn´t count them, but with 1 kg of meat I would say I got at least 80 croquettes. These were served at Lucas´ baby shower and were a success.

Ingredients:

I used the thermomix to prepare the croquettes, so everything is in grams.

1 kg of minced beef

chouriço (just enough to add some flavour)

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 carrots

150gr of tomato (you can use canned tomato)

Olive oil

For the bechamel sauce:

350 gr of water (use the water from the meat)

250 gr of milk

200 gr of flour

50 gr of butter

salt, black pepper & nutmeg

Preparation

1 - In a blender, chop the onion, garlic, tomato and carrots and pour it into a pan with the olive oil. Let it cook for a few minutes.

2 - Add the minced meat and the chouriço and cook everything for about 15 minutes.

3 - Drain the water from the meat and mince it for a few seconds in the blender. Put it aside and keep the water.

4 - Start preparing the bechamel by mixing 350gr of the water (I had to add extra normal water to get the 350gr) with 250 gr of milk. Add the flour, butter and seasoning and cook everything until you get a tick cream.

5 - Then mix the bechamel sauce with the meat until you get an homogeneous paste and let it stay in the fridge for about 24h, can be more. 

6 - After the long wait it´s time to shape the croquettes, dip them into a beaten egg and roll them on  breadcrumbs. Keep the croquettes in the freezer and whenever you want just take them out and deep fry them. Better not fry them right away.

Enjoy!