Croquettes

Croquettes of all kinds, fish, game, poultry, or any delicate meat can be successfully made on the following model. Whatever material is used must be finely minced or pounded. Care is required in making the sauce, if it is too thin it is difficult to mould the croquettes, and ice will be required to set it. Croquettes of game without any flavouring except a little salt and cayenne are generally acceptable as a breakfast dish. Preserved lobster, Bray and Hayes, or Moirs, make very good croquettes for an entree, and small scraps of any kind can thus be made into a very good dish.

Croquettes Of Salmon

With a wooden spoon beat up to a paste half-a-pound of cooked salmon and mix it with the following sauce :- Put one ounce of fine flour into a stewpan with half a gill of cold water, stir this over a slow fire very rapidly until it forms a paste, then add one ounce of butter, and stir until well incorporated. Mix in a small teaspoonful of essence of shrimps or anchovies, with a pinch of salt and pepper. Take the stewpan off the fire and stir the yolk of an egg briskly into the sauce, thoroughly mix it with the pounded salmon, spread it out on a plate until it is cool. Flour your hands, take a small piece of the croquette mixture, roll into a ball, or into the shape of a cork, then pass it through very finely-sifted and dried bread-crumbs dip into beaten egg and again into the crumbs. Repeat the process until all the mixture is used, put the croquettes as you do them into a wire frying-basket, which shake very gently, when all are placed in it, in order to free them from superfluous crumbs. Have ready a stewpan half full of boiling fat, dip the basket in, gently moving it about and taking care the croquettes are covered with fat. In about a minute they will become a delicate brown, and will then be done. Turn them on to paper to absorb any superfluous fat, serve them on a napkin or ornamental dish paper.

No more croquettes than will lie at the bottom of the basket without touching each other should be fried at one time.

Savoury Rice Croquettes

The quickest and best way to prepare rice for croquettes is to bake it, and care must be had to have it dry, or it will be difficult to mould. Wash a quarter of a pound of fine rice, put it into a pie-dish with a pint of milk, break half-an-ounce of butter in to prevent the rice getting hard on the top. Bake for an hour, or until the rice is dry. When done, take off the brown skin, and, whilst the rice is still hot, stir in the yolk of an egg; pepper and salt to taste. Let it get cold. Have ready some finely-minced well seasoned meat, or paste, prepared as for salmon croquettes, flour your hands, and roll up little pieces about the thickness of the fourth finger, and less than an inch long. Again flour your hand, spread out a spoonful, and put your meat in the middle of it, fold over the rice so as to enclose this, and make the croquettes into the shape of an egg. Finish as directed above. The quantity of rice given will make about twelve croquettes.

Sweet Croquettes Of Rice

Sweet Croquettes Of Rice are made in the same manner as the above. Substitute sugar for salt, and flavour the rice with grated lemon peel. Use a dried cherry, plum, or apple marmalade, and finish as above.