Baked Croquette

Evan | May 10, 2020, 10:52 p.m.

Japanese baked croquette

Ingredients

Russet potatoes  - 2 lb

Onion  - 1

Oil (veg, canola, etc) - 3 tbsp

Ground beef - 1 lb

Ground black pepper

Sea salt - 1/4 tsp (for beef)

Panko - 2 1/2 cup

Sea salt - 1/2 tsp (for potatoes)

Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp

Large eggs - 3

All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Tonkatsu sauce

Directions

  1. Peel and cut potatoes into thirds or half and place in a large pot. Add water until it covers the potatoes by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring it to a boil and cook the potatoes until a skewer goes through easily, this will take about 20 minutes depending on the amount of water.
  2. While cooking the potatoes, finely dice the onion.
  3. In a large fry pan, heat 1 Tbsp. oil on medium high heat and sauté the onion until soft. Then add the meat and cook until no longer pink.
  4. Season with freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 tsp. salt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  5. Combine the panko and 2 Tbsp. oil in a separate frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer the panko into a bowl or shallow dish and allow to cool.
  6. When a skewer can go through the potatoes easily, transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and drain.
  7. Mash the potatoes and season with freshly ground black pepper, ½ tsp. salt, and 1 Tbsp. butter.
  8. Add the meat mixture into the mashed potatoes and combine well. Some onions and meat yield more juice after cooking. In that case, avoid adding any juice into the potatoes. Wet potatoes will make it harder to shape the croquettes.
  9. While the mixture is still warm, but not hot, make thick oval patties, about ½ inch thick. Let the patties rest in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. TIP: Resting and cooling down the patties prevents the korokke from exploding while deep frying. The cold patties in the hot oil will not release any steam; therefore korokke will not explode in the oil. It also helps the ingredients to meld together.
  10. Preheat the oven to 400F (204C). Coat the patties with flour and pat off any excess flour.
  11. Coat the patties with eggs and finally panko.
  12. Bake at 400F (204C) for 10 minutes. Serve with Tonkatsu sauce.
  13. To save for later, you can freeze croquettes up to 1 month. To reheat, put frozen or half defrosted korokke on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper and bake at 350F (180C) for 15 minutes or until inside is warm.