INGREDIENTS
1 1/8 cup milk
6 tbsp cream
5 tbsp ground, rendered serrano ham
1 tsp ham fat
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp butter
Salt, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Take jamon trim, grind it in a meat grinder or a kitchen aid fitted with a meat grinder attachment. If you don’t have one, it could be finely diced or minced but will result in a slightly different texture. Slowly render jamon in a pot until crispy but be careful not to burn it towards the end. Remove from the heat and drain the jamon from the fat and reserve both separately for later. Warm up jamon fat with the butter and add flour and cook the roux for 3-5 minutes, until the roux takes on a light-golden color. At the same time, warm the milk and cream in a separate pot. Once hot and the roux is finished, slowly whisk in the milk and cream to incorporate. Cook slowly for 4-5 minutes and then add the rendered jamon. Remove from the heat. Season with fresh ground nutmeg, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Cool down completely but cover with plastic directly on top of the bechamel to prevent a skin from forming. Once cool, fill into piping bags and pipe logs about 2 inches thick onto a tray with a silpat and freeze. Once frozen, cut into 2.5 inch logs, making sure they remain frozen, so work quickly and onto a tray, line them up nicely and separate, putting them into the freezer again. Finally, using a 3 step breading technique (flour, eggwash, bread crumbs) , bread the croquettes in this order; flour, eggwash, bread crumbs, eggwash bread crumbs. Make sure the bread crumbs are fine. If using panko, process finely in the food processor. Be sure to cover the croquettes in eggwash and allow them to drain a moment before doing the bread crumbs to prevent lumps.
