Gruyère Cheese And Ham Hock Croquettes

Crispy, gooey ham hock croquettes filled with Gruyère cheese and delicious ham flavor. Serve with an easy mustard mayonnaise dipping sauce, and wait for the compliments to roll in.

Jump to:

• ❓Why this is the best recipe
• 📖 Ingredients List
• 👩🏼‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions
• 🍷 Wine pairing for ham croquettes
• ❄️ Storage & Freezing
• 🥣 Equipment
• ❓Recipe FAQ
• 🍽 Other recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

❓Why this is the best recipe

1. The taste - Shredded ham hock has a salty taste, and Gruyere has that unmistakable alpine cheese flavor. It's irresistible.
2. The texture - Mashed potato croquettes have the most delicious soft and creamy interior, especially when mixed with grated cheese that melts into it. The panko breadcrumb coating goes perfectly crunchy, so you get the contrast between crisp and gooey in every bite.
3. The simplicity - this easy ham hock croquette recipe only has a handful of basic ingredients and takes minutes to put together. They freeze really well once breadcrumbed and then can be cooked whenever you need some easy sharing food for a gathering (like these crab croquettes).

📖 Ingredients List

There are varying ways of making croquettes, but by far, the easiest is the mashed potato croquettes method. The mashed potato acts as a binder, and also gives the most amazing, creamy croquettes texture.

1. Ham hock - Shredded ham hock is readily available in most grocery stores, and it's an inexpensive cut of meat. It is sometimes called the pork knuckle. You can also use other cuts of cooked ham sliced thinly.
2. Gruyere cheese - This Swiss Alpine cheese has a strong taste reminiscent of fondue, and it melts beautifully. It gives the ham and cheese croquettes a deliciously gooey texture.
3. Potato - Some croquette recipes call for making a roux as the base, but I prefer to use mashed potato in this version. Cheese, ham, and potato croquettes have a great texture and are a much easier recipe to make. You will need to cook your potatoes in advance, allow them to completely steam dry, and then mash them.
4. Parsley - Fresh parsley brightens up the croquettes.
5. Flour - A small amount of plain flour (or all purpose flour) is needed for the breadcrumbing.
6. Egg - To breadcrumb croquettes, you need to dip them in an egg wash so that the coating sticks to them.
7. Panko breadcrumbs - these breadcrumbs made from Japanese milk bread (Hokkaido bread) will give you super crunchy croquettes. If you cannot find panko, you can use ordinary breadcrumbs. I have also used breadsticks that I pulsed in a food processor before, and it has worked really well. I usually pulse the panko to make them slightly smaller for a finer crumb.
8. Garlic powder - A pinch of garlic powder or onion powder can be added to the panko breadcrumbs to give a bit more savory depth to the recipe, but it is optional.
9. Oil - For best results, you will need a neutral oil to deep fry your ham hock croquettes. I like to use corn oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil. Olive oil will work, too, but it does have a flavor of its own that can transfer to the food. In a similar vein, do not use strong flavored oils like coconut oil.

Mustard dipping sauce

1. Dijon mustard - Ham and mustard are a classic flavor combination; they work so well together.
2. Wholegrain mustard - A chunky wholegrain mustard adds some extra texture to the dip.
3. Mayonnaise - Use storebought mayonnaise, or make your own.

👩🏼‍🍳 How to make this recipe

How to make croquettes

How to panné croquettes

1. Take 3 separate bowls or containers and place the flour in one, the beaten egg in the second, and the panko breadcrumbs in the third.
2. Dredge each cheese and ham croquette in the flour so there is an even coating on the whole surface.
3. Now dip the ham hock croquettes into the beaten egg, so it is wet on all sides.
4. Finally, drop the croquette into the breadcrumbs and toss more breadcrumbs on top. They will stick to the egg and form a crumb coating all over each cheese and ham croquette.

How to deep fry croquettes

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions

1. Make the dipping sauce by simply mixing the mustards and mayonnaise together in a bowl with a touch of salt.
2. Once you have deep-fried all of the croquettes, serve immediately. If you are making a large number, place them on a baking tray in a very low oven (150C/300F) to keep them warm until they are all ready.
3. If you do not have a deep fat fryer, you can also deep fry in a large pot of hot canola oil (or similar). But I highly recommend using a deep fry thermometer to check the oil is at the right temperature for deep frying croquettes.
4. Alternatively, you can shallow fry croquettes in a frying pan. But you will not get such an even color, and they are more likely to get damaged from having to move them around to get every side cooked.
5. Baking croquettes in the oven can result in them splitting open, or even exploding!
6. I like to make a batch of these easy ham croquettes ahead of time so that I have some party food ready and waiting in the freezer whenever needed.
7. Serve in the Spanish tapas style in a shallow dish lined with parchment paper for guests to serve themselves.

🍷 Wine pairing for ham croquettes

The saltiness of ham works well with acidic wines like a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, which will also cut through the richness of the cheese. A Pinot Gris could also work well.

Read some of my other basic food and wine pairing tips to elevate all your meals.

❄️ Storage & Freezing

Gruyere cheese and ham hock croquettes are best served immediately, and cooked croquettes will not stay crispy if refrigerated. If you want to make them ahead of time, stop after breadcrumbing them and either keep them in the fridge in an airtight container, or freeze them.

You can freeze croquettes after breadcrumbing them, before they are cooked. I like to freeze on a plate covered in plastic food wrap (cling film), and once they are frozen transfer them to a labelled plastic ziplock bag for easier storage.

🥣 Equipment

Always weigh ingredients by the gram using a digital scale for best results. Cook the potatoes in a large Saucepan and then combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands or a wooden spoon - but you're going to get messy shaping these ham croquettes anyway!

I recommend using a deep fat fryer to cook these easy homemade croquettes. I highly recommend using a deep fry thermometer if you deep fry in a saucepan instead to check the temperature. Remove the ham hock croquettes to a plate lined with paper towels to help soak up any excess oil after cooking, and use metal tongs.

❓Recipe FAQ

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