Croquetas de Pavo (Spanish Turkey Croquettes)
Spain's favorite way to stretch leftover meat: finely chopped turkey cooked into a very thick bechamel of milk and turkey broth, chilled, shaped into little logs, coated in egg and crumbs and fried until crisp outside and creamy inside.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
The croquette started in France, as a court dish. Wikipedia says the word comes from the French croquer, to crunch, that a 17th-century recipe by François Massialot, chef to the court of Louis XIV, bound meat, truffles, marrow and cheese with egg before breading and frying it, and that from the 1800s onward the croquette became a way to use leftover stewed meat; it also says croquetas were originally filled with leftovers from roast chicken or the family's broth. Spain is where the leftover croquette became a national habit. Traditional Spanish croquetas are made with a thick bechamel and are among the most typical tapas, most often filled with ham, chicken or salt cod (Wikipedia). The classic home version is croquetas de cocido, made the day after a Madrid-style cocido from the meats left in the pot and some of its broth; Directo al Paladar, one of Spain's largest cooking sites, calls them the tastiest leftover recipe. Leftover turkey and the broth from its carcass slot straight into that method.
🎬 The full story: 10 Leftover Turkey Recipes From Around the World (One Is a Sitcom Sandwich)
Why it works the kitchen science
A long, stiff bechamel
Stirring 20 minutes cooks out the raw flour taste and drives off water until the mix is firm enough to shape when cold but melts back to cream when it is fried.
Broth plus milk
Replacing some of the milk with the carcass broth puts the turkey flavor into the sauce itself, not just in the bits of meat.
🧰 You'll need 9 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Pans and pots
Tools
Supplies
Step by step
- Step 1
Cook the onion in the butter and olive oil in a wide 10-inch skillet over low heat 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and pale gold. Meanwhile, heat the milk and broth together in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming, about 5 minutes, and keep hot.
- Step 2
Add the turkey (and the chopped egg, if using) to the onion and stir 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir 2 minutes, until it coats everything and no dry flour shows.
- Step 3
Add the hot milk mixture a ladle at a time, stirring constantly, and keep stirring over medium-low heat 20 to 25 minutes, until the mixture is a thick paste that pulls away from the sides and leaves a clear path when you drag a spoon through it. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
✓ What it should look like - Step 4
Spread the mixture in a wide dish, press plastic wrap onto the surface and let it cool 20 minutes, then refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Step 5
With lightly oiled hands, shape heaping tablespoons into small logs about 2 inches long (about 20). Dip each in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs.
- Step 6
Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350°F. Fry 4 or 5 croquetas at a time 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Drain on a rack or paper towels and let the oil return to 350°F between batches.
✓ What it should look like - Step 7
Serve hot, with tomato sauce for dipping if you like.
Croquetas de Pavo (Spanish Turkey Croquettes)
Serves 4 (about 20 croquetas) · about 20 croquetas · 1 hr 15 min total
Filling
- 7 oz (200 g) leftover roast turkey, very finely chopped
- 1 small onion, very finely chopped
- 3 1/2 tbsp (50 g) butter
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 tbsp plus 2 tsp (50 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 2/3 cups (400 ml) whole milk
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (200 ml) turkey broth (our Turkey Carcass Noodle Soup recipe, step 4) or chicken broth
- Salt, black pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped (optional)
Coating and frying
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- About 1 1/2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs
- Olive or sunflower oil, about 2 inches deep, for frying
Equipment: Large pot, Saucepan, 10-inch skillet, Deep-fry or candy thermometer, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Ladle, Plastic wrap, Paper towels
Method
- Cook the onion in the butter and olive oil in a wide 10-inch skillet over low heat 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and pale gold. Meanwhile, heat the milk and broth together in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming, about 5 minutes, and keep hot.
- Add the turkey (and the chopped egg, if using) to the onion and stir 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir 2 minutes, until it coats everything and no dry flour shows.
- Add the hot milk mixture a ladle at a time, stirring constantly, and keep stirring over medium-low heat 20 to 25 minutes, until the mixture is a thick paste that pulls away from the sides and leaves a clear path when you drag a spoon through it. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Spread the mixture in a wide dish, press plastic wrap onto the surface and let it cool 20 minutes, then refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- With lightly oiled hands, shape heaping tablespoons into small logs about 2 inches long (about 20). Dip each in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350°F. Fry 4 or 5 croquetas at a time 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Drain on a rack or paper towels and let the oil return to 350°F between batches.
- Serve hot, with tomato sauce for dipping if you like.
Adapted from "Croquetas de cocido" by Pakus, Directo al Paladar (May 9, 2024), as written for 4, with leftover roast turkey in place of the cocido meats and turkey broth in place of cocido broth. Directo al Paladar's Christmas leftovers article also suggests turkey in place of chicken in its croquetas (search summary only). The page gives no onion cooking time, frying temperature or frying time, and leaves the optional chopped hard-boiled egg in; the 12 to 15 minutes, 350°F, 2 to 3 minutes and the croqueta count are ours. Metric amounts are converted to US measures. Directo al Paladar. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Make the mixture the day before; it is easier to shape cold, and frying day takes 20 minutes.
- Shaped, coated croquetas freeze well; Directo al Paladar keeps them in the fridge 2 to 3 days or freezes them. Fry them straight from frozen at 350°F, a minute or two longer, until the center is hot.
- If the mixture is too soft to shape, chill it longer before adding more flour.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Croquettes were invented to use up leftovers. Disputed: Wikipedia describes the 17th-century French croquette as a court delicacy with truffles and sweetbreads, and says it only became a way to use leftover meat from the 1800s; it also says croquettes were originally filled with leftovers.
- Croquetas reached Spain during the Peninsular War. Disputed: one Spanish article in search results says they arrived from France a little over two centuries ago, in that war; we found no primary source. Do not date their arrival.
- A real croqueta is made with bechamel, not potato. Documented for Spain (Wikipedia: traditional Spanish croquetas use thick bechamel); in other countries potato is common (see our Turkey Korokke recipe).
- Croquetas de cocido are made from the cocido's leftovers. Documented (Directo al Paladar).
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