Croquettes and Rissoles

About the dish

The basic recipe for croquettes and rissoles in the chapter "Varme og kolde smaaretter" (Hot and Cold Small Dishes). Erken uses roast leftovers – a typical thrift dish from the household around 1914, in which a set stew is shaped, breaded and deep-fried in lard.

How to make it

1. 1

   Prepare the meat

   Chop or cut the cooked/roasted meat into fairly small dice. Any cooked vegetables can be mixed in.

2. 2

   Make the stew

   Stir together butter and flour in a pot, thin with the boiling stock and bring to a boil. Take the pot off the heat.

3. 3

   Gelatin and seasoning

   Rinse the gelatin sheets, cut them up and stir them into the stew. Bring to a boil so the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the meat, the sherry, salt, pepper and a well-beaten egg yolk.

4. 4

   Cool

   Pour the stew out over a platter, brush the surface with butter or cover loosely with kitchen paper so no skin forms. Let it stand until completely cold, preferably overnight.

5. 5

   Shape the croquettes

   Divide the mass into equal pieces of about 50 g and shape them on a floured board into small oblong logs (croquettes) or round balls (rissoles).

6. 6

   Bread

   Turn first in breadcrumbs, then in beaten egg, and finally in breadcrumbs again. Take care that the entire surface is covered, or they will burst during deep-frying.

7. 7

   Deep-fry

   Heat the frying oil well (about 180 °C (355 °F)). Add only a couple of croquettes at a time and deep-fry them light golden brown.

8. 8

   Plating

   Lift them out and place them on absorbent paper or a soft cloth so all the fat drains off. Arrange in a wreath on a napkin with deep-fried parsley in the center.