Veal Croquettes

A standard croquette formula of the period: cold cooked meat bound with a very stiff white sauce, chilled hard, shaped, crumbed and fried. The proportions of meat to binder are the whole trick.

• The hinge: chill it solidThe recipe gives no method, but a croquette mixture is normally spread on a plate and left until thoroughly cold and firm before shaping. A warm or soft mixture is liable to burst in the fat however carefully it is crumbed.
• "Thick sauce"The ingredient line breaks off before the sauce is specified, but a croquette binder means a white sauce made much stiffer than usual, with the flour and butter increased well beyond the ordinary 2 tablespoons each per cup of milk, and cooked until it leaves the sides of the pan. A pourable bechamel will not hold the meat together.
• Onion juiceGrate a peeled onion on a fine grater and use the liquid that collects, or press grated onion in a sieve. A few drops is literally that; it flavours without leaving pieces that break the surface.
• Egg yolkThe single yolk listed is enrichment and extra binder, usually stirred into the hot sauce off the heat. Note that the ingredient list as printed provides no egg for the coating; any egg wash is an addition.
• CoatingThe recipe as printed specifies no coating; croquettes of the period were usually rolled in fine dry crumbs, dipped in beaten egg, and crumbed again, then left to dry before frying.
• FryingDeep fat, hot enough to brown a cube of bread quickly, until deep gold. The recipe specifies nothing, but the filling is already cooked, so you are only heating it through and setting the crust; cooler fat soaks the crumbs, hotter fat colours them before the centre is warm.
• VealThe recipe asks only for cold cooked veal, whatever the cut; leftover cooked chicken or turkey works in the same proportions. Chop by hand or pulse briefly; a food processor run too long gives paste.
• YieldTwo cups of meat with a cup of sauce would make roughly eight croquettes, though the recipe as printed gives no yield or number of servings.