Embracing Him

In the day or two following Thanksgiving, we like many others, would enjoy turkey sandwiches. After the sandwiches were devoured, my mother and my grandmother would get creative with leftovers. Turkey soup was always made from the turkey remnants but my mother and grandmother would also make turkey croquettes.

Croquettes are one of my favorite comfort foods. Thankfully, they are very easy to prepare. This is a recipe I’ve adjusted to suit my tastes. In my opinion, these croquettes are wonderfully seasoned and are extremely moist because of the addition of a roux.

This Thanksgiving, there was a large crowd at my mom’s house and there wasn’t much turkey left over. If you don’t have turkey, you can prepare the croquettes with chicken, cod, and salmon. Most of the time, I make my croquettes with chicken thighs because the meat is flavorful and moist.

When preparing the croquettes, add other ingredients to suit your tastes. Be sure to allow the croquettes time to firm in the fridge for at least one hour before frying. If they don’t have time to set, they’ll fall apart.

Chicken Croquettes

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cups cooked turkey, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir. Whisk in milk and chicken broth slowly, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and smooth. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it cool for 10 minutes.

Combine the chicken, 1 cup bread crumbs, parsley, minced onion, garlic powder, celery seed, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and eggs and mix well. Add the chicken mixture to the cooled sauce and mix well. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Place oil in pan and heat over medium high heat. Shape the chicken mixture into 6 patties of equal size. Roll the croquettes in the remaining bread crumbs. Fry both sides of the chicken croquettes in oil until golden brown.

Photo: Courtesy of shellyblinks (Flickr)