The encyclopædia of practical cookery

CROQUES . — A kind of crisp, rather hard confection made of fruit pastes and well coated with sugar. They derive their name from the French word croquer, to crunch. CROQUETTES . — Much confusion exists amongst inexperienced cooks as to what may properly be styled a Croquette. In this case, as in many others, the manufacturing process has been extended beyond the original intention, until it has encroached upon the territory of some allied preparation, and eventually assumed its name. It is by no means unusual for Croquettes to be confounded with cromeskies and rissoles, and even quenelles. It is well, therefore, to draw some sort of distinction. A typical Croquette is compounded of light meat, chicken, game, fat-livers, oysters, or sweetbreads, finely minced, and blended with truffles, mushrooms, chives, or some other vegetable seasoning, and spices ; a little German sauce is used to bind it together. The meat is [illustration: Fig. 580. Croquettes.] then rolled into shapes like large corks (see Fig. 580. A), or into balls (see Fig. 580, b), or made into pear shapes (see Fig. 580, c), covered with egg-and-breadcrumb, and fried a good light brown. Croquettes should be crisp, bearing out the origin of the name— from the French croquer, to crunch. They are served either garnished with parsley or with sauce. For details respecting Culinary Processes , Utensils , Sauces , <Ic., referred to, see under their special heads. Croquettes — continued. Preparing- Croquettes. — Considerable care and practice are required to make Croquettes nicely. The meat must be chopped finely, the ingredients thoroughly mixed, and the mixture as moist as possible without preventing shaping. When shaping them, take about 1 table-spoonful of the mixture, and with both hands work it into the form of a cylinder. Handle the mixture as gently as possible, for much pressure will force the particles apart and break the shape. Have a board sprinkled lightly with bread or cracker-crumbs, and roll the Croquettes very gently on this. Let them remain on the board until all are finished, when, if any have become flattened, roll them into shape again. Cover a board thickly with crumbs ; have some beaten eggs, slightly salted, in a deep plate ; hold a Croquette in the left hand, and with a brush in the right, cover it with the egg ; roll it in the crumbs, and continue doing this until all are covered. Place a few at a time in a frying-basket — they should not touch each other — and plunge the basket into boiling fat ; cook until they are a rich brown. Take them up, lay them on paper, and let them drain. Croquettes a l’lmperiale. — Peel and cut into dice four large, fresh truffles, put them in a stewpan and keep the lid on. Cut the cooked flesh of a chicken and lib. of cooked veal into dice likewise, having first removed all the skin and hard parts ; the quantity of meat should treble the bulk of the truffles. Put the bones and trimmings of the chicken and the trimmings of the truffles in a stewpan with J pint of good gravy ; season with herbs, cover the stewpan, put it on a sharp fire, and reduce the liquid to half its original quantity ; then strain it through a sieve. Put in another stewpan f pint of good bechamel sauce, and add a few pieces of raw ham ; place the stewpan on the fire and reduce, stirring with a spoon. Two or three minutes later stir in gradually the gravy from