Croquetas de Jamon at Hialeah High School Culinary Program

Below is the full recipe so you can make them at home! Today I had the opportunity to teach a Cuban Croqueta class at Hialeah High School. Sharing these recipes and traditions with the next generation means everything to me. Croquetas de jamon are one of the most iconic Cuban foods, and I loved showing the students how to make them from scratch. Leave in the comments what's your favorite type of croqueta?? Croquetas de Jamon  14 ounces boneless, cooked ham, preferably serrano (salty, not sweet)  14 tablespoons unsalted butter  1 medium yellow onion, minced  1 small green pepper, seeds removed, minced  1 cup all-purpose flour  3 ½ - 4 cups milk, warm  ¼ cup parsley, minced  ½ teaspoon nutmeg  ½ teaspoon kosher salt  3 eggs  2 cups Italian breadcrumbs  Vegetable oil to fry 1. In a food processor, add ham and pulse until minced. Set aside 2. In a pot, melt butter on medium heat. Once melted and butter is hot, add onion and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Once vegetables are tender (you don’t want to brown them), add ham. Cook for another 2 minutes to bring all of the flavors together. 3. Add the flour. Continuously stir so that the mixture doesn’t stick. Cook for 3 minutes. This will cook off the flour taste. 4. Start to add the warm milk little by little, continuously mixing. This is to avoid any lumps in your bechamel. When you have added all of the milk, continue to mix until you have a creamy mixture. 5. Add parsley, nutmeg, and salt. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture starts to unstick from the pot. Taste for salt just in case it might need more. 6. Once the croquette mixture is done, lay it out on a sheet tray to cool and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours. 7. Set up a breading station with bread crumbs and egg. Whisk the eggs until they are liquified. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, roll and shape croquette. Breading first. Once all breaded, freeze for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and dip croquettes in the egg, drain well, and finish breading with a second coat. Once all of the croquettes are breaded, freeze until frozen. Store them in plastic bags to protect from freezer burn. 8. To fry croquettes: heat oil to 350 degrees F in a small pot. Fry only a few at a time. You do not want to bring down the temperature of the oil. Fry until they are browned and the internal temperature is 165 Degrees F. Serve and enjoy.