How to Make the Crispiest, Creamiest, Hammiest Spanish Tapa Around
Infused with the flavor of ham, these crispy, creamy croquetas are a classic of Spain's tapas bars. The key is to use the ideal ratio of flour to milk and to add ham flavor at every opportunity.
Stop and consider for a moment the marvel that is béchamel sauce. It is the backbone of mac and cheese and the starting point of so many other essential cheese sauces; it's the creamy filling that binds a croque monsieur; the key to properly rich lasagna alla bolognese; and the velvety sauce that coats the seafood in coquilles Saint-Jacques and lobster thermidor. It enriches savory cheese soufflés and is the bridge between the meat sauce and the potatoes and eggplant in moussaka.
And then, somehow, magically, béchamel can be chilled, rolled into little torpedos or balls, breaded, and fried to make croquettes, or croquetas, as they're called in Spain—where they have been perfected into one of the most iconic types of tapa. And among the many flavors of croqueta, perhaps none is more well known than the one flavored with Spanish ham—croquetas de jamón.
The recipe itself is simple: Make a béchamel flavored with sautéed onion and ham, chill it, bread it, and fry it. As always, the keys to success come down to the details.
Choose Your Ham Wisely
They're called croquetas de jamón, but what kind of ham are we talking about? Let's start with a fairly safe statement: There's hardly a ham out there that wouldn't taste good minced up and cooked into these. I'm unable to think of any type of ham that wouldn't be delicious.
Typically, though, we're looking for a dry-cured ham, and since this is a Spanish specialty, the ideal would be a Spanish ham. One famous option is jamón serrano, the other is jamón iberico. Iberico ham tends to be the more expensive of the two, a result of the breed of pig, more specialized diet, and lengthier aging time compared to jamón serrano. Iberico tends to be sweeter and nuttier than the saltier serrano ham, and without a doubt makes absolutely delicious croquetas, but it comes with a higher price tag. Serrano ham would be the more everyday choice of Spanish ham here, and it too is great.
That said, you really can use any ham in a pinch. An Italian dry-cured ham such as prosciutto di Parma is a perfectly acceptable stand-in for Spanish ham, and even cooked hams from a variety of cuisines, such as French- or American-style hams, would still be very good, even if they drift a bit from the most traditional examples one would find in Spain.
Seek Ham Ends/Trimmings, if Possible
A lot of Spanish recipes for croquetas de jamón call for ham bones or other scraps, which are simmered in the milk to infuse the béchamel with a deeper ham flavor. This is an optional step—thanks to all the minced ham in the recipe, there's plenty of ham flavor in a croqueta even without the infused ham milk. But if you can find some ham trimmings, which are often sold at a discounted price at deli counters and specialty food stores (they're always left over from the larger hams from which the meat is sliced), it's a nice touch.
Use the Right Amount of Flour
Before I began developing this recipe, I surveyed several recipes from trusted Spanish cooking experts to see what ratios they used in their croquetas, and I found a range of about three to six tablespoons of flour per cup of milk. I then cooked my very first test batch with the lowest end of that range—three tablespoons per cup of milk, because why wouldn't I want the silkiest, most velvety croquetas possible?
When I fired that test batch, almost every croqueta ruptured in the oil as the extra liquidy center boiled, steamed, and exploded out from its breaded coating. Extra chilling time (and even freezing the breaded croquetas) can help prevent this from happening, but even after several hours of chilling and an attempt at freezing, those croquetas still popped leaks in the oil. After that, I bumped up my flour to the higher end of the range, about five tablespoons of flour per cup of milk. The resulting mixture is thicker and less molten when you cook it, making it more stable, but it avoids the stodgiest results from an overly floury filling.
Chill Sufficiently
Croquetas are easy to make, and they don't take a ton of active time, but you do need to reserve enough time for the required chilling stages. Cutting them short can lead to trouble during frying, with an increased risk of croqueta blowouts.
The first chilling stage happens after you make the béchamel filling. It needs to fully set so that you can form it into torpedos or balls for breading and frying. Rushing or skipping this chilling step may make it more difficult to form the filling into even croquette shapes, and may make breading more challenging as well.
After coating the filling in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, you need to chill the croquetas again before frying them. This chilling stage gives the breadcrumb coating time to set, reducing the chances it sloughs off in the oil and helps prevent ruptures. It also gives more time for the filling to fully chill, ensuring the croquetas are as cold and firm as possible before they hit the oil. (You can also freeze them at this stage, so that you have a stash of breaded croquetas ready and waiting for whenever the mood strikes to fry up a crispy little snack.)
Once the croquetas fried and golden brown, given them a couple minutes to cool slightly, then serve them while still hot and creamy within.
In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium with the ham ends/trimmings (if using), then hold, covered, just below a simmer until ready to use.
In a 3-quart saucepan or saucier, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat until butter is melted. Add onion and cook, stirring, until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, remove and discard ham trimmings from milk (if using).
Stir in minced jamón followed by 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (80g) flour until flour has formed a paste with the fat the evenly coats all the solid ingredients. Continue to cook, stirring, until raw flour scent is gone, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add hot milk in a thin, steady stream, or in increments of a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking thoroughly and getting into all corners of the pan to maintain a homogeneous texture. Continue until all milk has been added and mixture has thickened to a paste-like consistency. Remove from heat and season croqueta filling with salt and nutmeg.
Scrape filling into a small heat-proof baking dish, rimmed eighth sheet pan, or other vessel that can hold the mixture in an even layer. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until fully chilled and set, at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
When ready to form croquetas, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. and set three wide, shallow bowls on a work surface. Fill the first bowl with the remaining 1 cup flour, the second with beaten eggs, and the third with panko. Wetting hands as necessary to prevent sticking and working in batches as you go, form filling mixture into roughly 2-inch by 1-inch cylinders. Place them first in the flour, rolling until well coated, then shake off excess and transfer to eggs. Gently roll to coat evenly with egg wash, lifting each croqueta to allow excess egg to drain off, then transfer to panko. Gently roll and press panko onto croquetas until fully coated. Transfer breaded croquetas to prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining filling until all croquetas are breaded (you should have about 24). Cover with plastic, transfer to the refrigerator, and chill for at least 2 and up to 24 hours.
When ready to fry, in a Dutch oven or wide pot, heat at least 1 inch of oil over medium-high heat until 340°F (170°C) on an instant-read or frying thermometer. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and line with paper towels. Working in batches to avoid crowding the oil, fry croquetas until golden brown all over, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spider skimmer, transfer to paper towels to drain, then repeat with remaining croquetas. Serve right away.
Notes
Ham ends or trimming help infuse a deeper ham flavor into the milk; you can often buy them at a discount from a good deli or specialty store with a cured meats counter, often at a discount (since the ends frequently otherwise end up in the garbage). Look for ends or trimmings from dry-cured hams like jamón serrano or Italian prosciutto. It is totally fine if you can't find this ingredient, the recipe will still work and turn out great without it.
Combining butter and olive oil offers the flavors of each, but you can also use 8 tablespoons of just one or the other, if desired.
If you can't find Spanish ham, Italian prosciutto crudo will work as a substitute.
If you want a finer breadcrumb coating, feel free to blitz the panko in a food processor to a finer breadcrumb size before using. You can also use fine breadcrumbs in place of the panko, if desired.
Special Equipment
Small saucepan; 3-quart saucepan or saucier; wide pot (for frying); instant-read or frying thermometer; rimmed baking sheet with wire rack (if you don't have this, you can just transfer the croquetas to paper towels on a plate to drain)
Make-Ahead and Storage
The cooked filling can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days before forming into cylinders and breading.
The breaded croquetas can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days before frying. If desired, you can freeze the breaded croquetas on the parchment-lined baking sheet, then transfer to zipper-lock bags. Keep frozen until ready to fry; you can fry them directly from frozen.
