Oxtail Croquettes - Another Dutch Tradition

Dutch oxtail croquettes with french fries, salad and hummus

My Mom has been making croquettes for years, as long as I can remember. Another family tradition.  Rumor on the street is that she bribed her driving instructor with these to help her pass her driving test many years ago.  The Netherlands is notorious for their difficult driving tests but since my Mom passed her test on the first try, these croquettes must have been worth it!

These take some time to prepare.  Though not difficult, there are a few steps with lots of waiting in between.  We started on a late afternoon by boiling the oxtail pieces in water.  After dinner, the oxtail was shredded and roux prepared for overnight chilling.  The next morning, the croquettes are formed and frozen.  The croquettes are  now ready to fry or store in the freezer for later use.

Ingredients
1 pounds of oxtail pieces, more or less
4 cups of water
1 bay leaf
120 grams of flour - a bit less than an 8 ounce cup, not packed
120 grams of butter - a bit more than 1 stick
2 cups oxtail stock, made from boiling the tail
2 tablespoon finely minced onion
salt, pepper, Old Bay
2 tablespoon minced parsley
A splash of tamari, Magi, or Worcester Sauce to taste
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups of bread crumbs, possibly more if needed for a good coating

Method
1.  Gently simmer oxtail in a covered pan with at least 4 cups of water and the bay leaf.

This weighed a bit over 1 pound

Simmer the oxtail

2.  Simmer the oxtail for at least an hour until tender.  This took 2 hours for us.

Straining the meat

2 cups of stock with 2 cups of water - reserving extra stock for another purpose

3.  When the meat is tender, remove from heat, strain the stock and reserve.

4.  After the meat has cooled, separate from the bone, remove gristle.  Mince meat and set aside.

5.  Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft.

6.  Add flour and stir until a dry ball forms.

7.  Slowly add the 2 cups of oxtail stock with 2 cups of added water to the sauce pan.

8.  Stir continuously until smooth.

9.  Add the minced meat, parsley, salt, pepper, Old Bay, and tamari or Magi to taste.

10.  Pour into a 9X13 pan.  Cover the top of the mixture with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

11.  The next morning, mix egg with milk in a shallow bowl.  Add at least 1 cup of bread crumbs to another shallow bowl.

12.  Use a sharp knife to divide the mixture into 20 equal portions and shape into croquettes. 

13.  Roll croquette into bread crumbs, then the egg mixture, and than back into the bread crumbs.  Place on a shallow tray.

14.  When finished rolling the croquettes, place them in the freezer to firm up.  The croquettes could be fried at this point but they tend to do a little better when firmed up in the freezer for a few hours.

15.  When ready to fry, fill a Dutch oven half way up with high heat oil and heat to 370F. 

16.  Fry a few croquettes at a time for 4-5 minutes when only refrigerated or 8 minutes when frozen. 

17.  Drain on paper towels, keep warm in a 170F oven or serve immediately.

Autopsy shot - yum, warm, spicy, creamy, crunchy!

Quarter of a batch

My plate

Some at the dinner table added ketchup and mustard to the mix (I prefer hummus but that's just me!).  Another great recipe perfected - Thanks Mom!

Astrid