Meat Croquettes are an excellent leftover recipe, you can use leftover boiled meat, roast, stew, basically any type of meat that you don’t know how to use. With the addition of béchamel sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, I guarantee they are really delicious. It is a recipe used throughout Italy, and also in Piedmont they are often cooked.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 40 Minutes
Portions: 23/24 croquettes
Cooking methods: Frying
Cuisine: Italian Regional

Ingredients

1 cup milk
2 tbsps butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 pinches fine salt
7 oz beef (cooked, boiled, roast, stew)
1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano (grated)
1 egg
to taste chopped parsley
1 tbsp breadcrumb (optional)
7 oz breadcrumb
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 pinches fine salt
2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)

Preparation

Place the butter in a saucepan to melt, add the flour and mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until a well-blended roux forms. Add the warm milk and salt.
Cook until it thickens, stirring constantly with a whisk to avoid lumps. The mixture should be smooth and fluid. Cook for about 5/10 minutes. You should obtain a rather thick béchamel sauce.
As mentioned, with this recipe you can recycle leftover meat, such as boiled, roast, or stew. I used stew.
Finely chop the meat with a mezzaluna or a knife.
Let the béchamel sauce cool slightly, then add the meat, parsley, and egg, and mix well.
Now let it cool completely. If the mixture is too liquid, add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs.
The mixture will still be quite soft. Wet your hands with water (to prevent the mixture from sticking) and form croquettes weighing about 1.5 oz each (you will get 23/24).
With the help of a fork, bread each croquette by first passing it in flour, then in the egg, and finally in breadcrumbs. I prefer double breading, so pass the croquette again in egg and then in breadcrumbs.
Put the oil in a pot, heat it, cook the croquettes a few at a time until golden brown.
And enjoy your meal!