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Kroketten en Bitterballen

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pitrow View Drop Down
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    Posted: 26 October 2012 at 10:47
Kroketten (singular: Kroket) are the Dutch version of the ubiquitous French croquette, basically a potato/meat filled, deep-fried roll, though the Dutch tend to focus more on the meat and less of the potato version.

From wikipedia:
Quote A croquette is a small breadcrumbed fried food roll containing, usually as main ingredients, mashed potatoes and/or ground meat (veal, beef, chicken, or turkey), shellfish, fish, cheese, vegetables and mixed with béchamel or brown sauce, and soaked white bread, egg, onion, spices and herbs, wine, milk, beer or any of the combination thereof, sometimes with a filling, e.g. sauteed onions or mushrooms, boiled eggs (Scotch eggs). The croquette is usually shaped into a cylinder, disk or oval shape and then deep-fried. The croquette (from the French croquer, "to crunch") gained worldwide popularity, both as a delicacy and as a fast food.



A Bitterbal (pl: Bitterballen) is exactly the same thing, only it's formed into a ball shape instead of a cylinder


I have to say they are one of my favorite snack foods at parties. They are also a favorite snack food for Dutch people in general, with vending carts and snack shops selling them just about everywhere. According to wikipedia over 350 million kroketten were eaten in Holland in 2008, and a typical Dutchman will eat 29 kroketten per year, so a little more than 1 every 2 weeks.

Because they are easier to make I usually make Bitterballen, though this recipe could be used for either, since the only real difference is the shape.

Bitterballen
  • For filling

    • 1/4 lb + 1 Tbsp butter (divided)
    • 5 Tbsp flour
    • 1 cup chicken or beef bouillon
    • 1/2 lb meat (beef, veal or pork) chopped
    • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
    • 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
    • pinch of curry powder
    • pinch of nutmeg
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • Maggi to taste (if you can't find Maggi then Soy Sauce will work, but it's not quite the same)
  • For coating

    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/4 tsp pepper
    • cornflake crumbs
    • eggs

Directions
  1. Melt 1/4 lb butter in a small pan, add flour and cook for a few minutes. Add bouillon a little at a time. Continue cooking until thick. Set aside.
  2. In a skillet heat 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat until melted
  3. Add meat, celery and onion
  4. Cook until meat is done and celery and onion are tender
  5. Add flour mixture and spices to meat mixture and combine well
  6. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours
  7. By hand, roll mixture into 1" balls (if making Kroket form into 1" diameter cylinders about 3" long)
  8. In a shallow bowl, mix together 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
  9. In a second shallow bowl, place cornflake crumbs
  10. In a third bowl wisk eggs
  11. Roll balls in seasoned flour, then in egg, then in corn flake crumbs, back in eggs and finally in corn flakes crumbs again (you will get messy, so just be prepared)
  12. At this point you can refrigerate the balls and keep them until you're ready to cook them. Since they're best served warm, I usually make them up the day before and then cook them just before serving.
  13. Heat enough vegetable oil to cover 2-3 bitterballen to 375 degrees.
  14. Deep fry the balls in small batches until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes
  15. Transfer balls to paper towels to drain
  16. Serve warm with Dutch mustard

Mike
Life in PitRow - My often neglected, somewhat eccentric, occasionally outstanding blog
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Margi Cintrano View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 October 2012 at 10:58
Pitrow,
 
Lovely recipe and I truly like the Curry & Nutmeg aromatic profile employed.
 
Another interesting treatment is the Corn Flakes; which prevent the oil from frying to seap into the interiors, as corn flakes are not porous.  
 
Chef Paco Roncero, who was a disciple of Ferrán Adriá prepares his croquettes with corn flakes verses bread crumbs and all purpose flour.
 
Thanks so much for posting, and they are on the List, as they look like alot of fun.
Margi.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 October 2012 at 07:29
These sound great!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 November 2012 at 11:36
i have made a similar thing before - love em! i'll definitely have to give this a shot, since it's got just about everything i love.
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Margi Cintrano View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 November 2012 at 13:38
I believe the Maggi Product Line can be purchased from www.latienda.com or www.foodsfromspain.com as it is a common Multi National in Spain & readily available here ( to the best of my knowledge).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*** MAGGI AND NESQUIK are produced by the same Multi-National.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kindest. Big smile
Margi.
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pitrow View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 October 2015 at 09:31
I was reading through a Dutch recipe site this morning and came across a description for bitterballen that I've never seen before, but actually describes them very well. They were describing them as "deep fried gravy". Well that's pretty dead-on I'd say. 
Mike
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