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Cheese Croquettes
3 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup flour 2/3 cup milk Yolks 2 eggs 1 cup mild cheese, cut in very small cubes 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese Salt and pepper Few grains cayenne Make a thick white sauce, using butter, flour, and milk, add yolks of eggs without first beating, and stir until well mixed; then add grated cheese. As soon as cheese melts, remove from fire, fold in cheese cubes, and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Spread in a shallow pan, and cool. Turn on a board, cut in small squares or strips, dip in crumbs, egg, and crumbs again, fry in deep fat, and drain on brown paper. Serve for a cheese course.
A thick cheese panade, chilled firm, then breaded and fried. The recipe is sound as written; only the equipment language and a few unstated numbers need translating.
- The hinge is the chillingThe recipe's "spread in a shallow pan, and cool" matters more than it looks. Spread the mixture in a thin, even layer and chill until genuinely cold and firm before cutting; the recipe gives no thickness or timing, but a soft centre will burst the coating in the fat.
- Egg yolks off the heatEgg yolks unbeaten -- "add yolks of eggs without first beating" works because the sauce is stirred hard as they go in; note that the recipe keeps the pan on the fire until the grated cheese has melted, so lower the heat and stir constantly to keep the yolks from scrambling.
- Frying temperatureThe recipe says only "fry in deep fat" and names no temperature. Modern deep-frying practice for croquettes is in the region of 360-375F: much lower and the coating soaks, much higher and the crust browns before the inside warms through. Fry until deep gold.
- Breading orderCrumbs, then egg, then crumbs again is what the recipe says, and it is deliberate: the first crumb layer gives the wet surface something to grip. Letting the breaded pieces rest before frying helps the coating set.
- Mild cheeseA young Cheddar, Monterey Jack or a mild Gouda all suit. The point is a cube that softens without weeping oil, set against the sharper grated Gruyere in the base.
- DrainingBrown paper meant grocers' bag paper. Use a rack over a tray, or paper towels; a rack keeps the underside crisp.
- YieldThe recipe gives no yield. From this quantity of sauce and cheese you can expect a couple of dozen small squares or fingers at most, enough for a cheese course for a small table. They are best within minutes of frying.