I just read an article that the Dutch do NOT have a typical Dutch cuisine. I mean, you will NOT find dishes somewhere and you will say: “Ah, that’s a typical Dutch dish!” It is obvious with Italian, Mexican, Greek or Chinese cuisine. But not so much with the Dutch. I’ve noticed that a lot of Dutch dishes were invented out of convenience and necessity. Things, the Dutch typically do with leftovers for example. These Dutch Croquettes with chicken (or beef) or “Kroketten” or the small ball version, “Bitterballen”, are one of those typical Dutch leftover dishes and you can make them at home.
And of course, living in the US, doesn’t mean you cannot make your favorite food, because you can not buy it in your local grocery store. It just takes more time to make it yourself, but it means you can tweak it to your liking. Switch beef for chicken, less salt, more herbs. Whatever you want!
Another Dutch snack which I made with ground chicken, but you can use ground beef and pork as well is “het worstebroodje”.
What’s the history of the croquettes or “kroketten” in Dutch?
History of the croquette or kroket
The history and facts about “kroketten” and “bitterballen on this Wikipedia site is written in one of the dialects close to where I grew up. I’ll translate it for you. Here we go!
In the Netherlands, the “kroket” or “croquette” is a deep-fried snack and mostly a meat filled, ragout croquette. Every year 300 million croquettes are being sold. This is about 25 croquette per person a year. In the Netherlands you can buy these kinds of deep-fried snacks and pull them “out of a wall”.
You can eat them as is, but traditionally the Dutch eat them with mustard. In restaurants or bistro’s you can buy them on a bun (Mc Donalds in the Netherlands had the McKroket for a while on their menu).
In 1705 the first meat filled croquette was made in France and about 125 years later, a Dutch recipe for the meat filled croquette was found in a cookbook of king Willem I’s private cook .
There are many different kinds of croquette fillings. After this one, I’m going to try the potato croquette for all my vegetarian friends!
Chicken Croquette Recipe
Chicken croquette – Kip kroket
One of my favorite Dutch deep fried snacks is the "kroket". The traditional "kroket" is filled with ragout and pieces of beef, but this recipe shows you how to make it with chicken meat. Read the Recipe Notes before starting this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 lbs organic chicken thighs or drum sticks
- 3 cups water
- 1 cube chicken or vegetable bouillon
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- fresh parsley optional
- pinch salt
- pepper
- nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup plain bread crumbs
- 6 cups vegetable oil for frying in deep fryer or wok pan
Instructions
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Boil the 3 cups off water in a pot. Add the bouillon cube and stir until dissolved.
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Cut the chicken breast in small pieces and add to the bouillon. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
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Take the chicken out of the bouillon and let the bouillon cool down completely. Peel the chicken meat of the bones and shred into small pieces.
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Melt the butter in a deep frying pan. Add in the flour and mix well. Stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.
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Slowly add the bouillon and mix well to incorporate until the roux is lump free.
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Add chicken and fresh parsley. The roux will thicken. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
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Transfer the mixture in a bowl and cover with plastic, cling wrap. Let it cool a bit on the counter, then transfer to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I did it overnight.
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Sift the breadcrumbs. You'll get fine breadcrumbs and coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk the eggs.
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Form croquette size rolls with the roux mixture. Dip it first into the egg, then fine breadcrumbs, the egg mixture again and then the coarse breadcrumbs.
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Chill the croquette in the fridge for another hour.
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Use air fryer according to the manual or deep fry the croquettes in the deep fryer or wok pan.
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Enjoy with your favorite sauce or dip it into the traditional mustard!
Recipe Notes
- First time making these croquettes, I used chicken breast, which turned out to have tougher pieces of chicken. The traditional croquettes have stringy beef meat in them. I tried the chicken thighs and drum sticks. The meat is softer and stringier. So better for this recipe.
- Frying croquettes is the traditional way, but for a healthier option, I tried to bake them in the oven. Preheat the oven on 375 F and bake the croquettes for 15 minutes (mine were frozen before) and raise the temperature to 410 F and bake for another 20 minutes until the outside is golden brown.
- You can freeze the croquettes up to 3 months.
- Try mashed potatoes for a vegetarian option.
Hello everyone,
Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.
How many does this serve? 2 croquettes per person?
Bitterballen are smaller, but I had about 30 bitterballen or between 10-15 croquettes.
Great recipe. I added a splash of curry powder and deep fried. Delicious
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.my family loved it.will be sharing this recipe with my friends.they will like it.