Beef croquettes are my favourite Portuguese savoury snack! They consist of a slow cooked beef batter that’s shaped into little cylinders and then deep fried. You will find them all over Portugal, from your casual pastelarias to the fancier food establishments. They are the perfect appetizer to have with an imperial, and an absolute crowd pleaser! The process of making them at home is a bit laborious but I guarantee is worth every minute of it!
Portuguese Beef Croquettes Recipe
In my opinion, the best beef croquettes are made with pulled beef instead of beef mince. Traditionally, this recipe was invented as a way of repurposing leftover beef stews or roasts. However, with time it grew to be something more intentional, with even prime cuts of beef being used. Rather than what beef cuts you use, I believe the secret to this recipe lies in how the beef is cooked!
Slow Cooked Beef
The first part of this recipe is similar to when you make a stew. You sear chunks of beef, then sauté onions, carrots, garlic and chouriço. You deglaze the pan with some red wine, cover with water, add your herbs and seasonings and cook until the meat is so tender it can easily be pulled apart. A slow cooker it’s ideal for this task, but if you don’t own one, you can cook your stew in a cast iron pot for about 6 hours in the oven at 125°C.
You can also stew it on the stove top or in a pressure cook! After the beef is cooked, the meat is shredded, and the stew broth is used to make a velouté sauce (a bechamel made with stock instead of milk). This sauce is the binding agent of the croquette batter.
How to Make Portuguese Beef Croquettes
This recipe creates around 20 croquettes, and allows a serving of 4 croquettes per person. Adjust as needed!
Croquetes de Carne – Portuguese Beef Croquettes
5
servings45
minutes20
minutes200
kcalBeef croquettes are a delicious Portuguese snack consisting of a slow cooked beef batter that’s shaped into little cylinders and then deep fried.
Ingredients
650 g Beef – Cut into large chunks
100 g Chouriço
1 Medium Onion (100g)
1 Small Carrot (80g)
3 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Olive Oil
80 ml Red Wine
1 l Vegetable Oil – For Frying
35 g All-Purpose Flour
35 g Butter
100 g Breadcrumbs
2 Large Eggs
Salt
Black Pepper
Nutmeg
1 Bay Leaf
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Rosemary
Mustard to Serve
Directions
- Start by seasoning the meat with some salt and black pepper.
- Pre heat the oven to 125°C, if you are using a slow cooker or cooking your beef on the stove, you can skip this step.
- Place a Dutch oven or a thick base pot of which you have a lid over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, add the olive oil and sear the pieces of meat for about 2 minutes on each side. Don’t overcrowd the pan too much.
- In the meantime, dice your onion, carrot, and chouriço.
- Once the meat is seared, transfer it to a separate bowl. Add the onion, carrot, and chouriço to the pan you used to sear the meat, reduce the heat a little. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Mince your garlic cloves, add it to the pot too. Fry for another minute or until fragrant.
- Transfer the seared beef back to the pan. Add the bay leaf and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, once the alcohol evaporates, cover the stew with cold water. Bring it to a boil, then cover with the lid.
- Place your stew in the middle rack of the oven, roast for about 6 hours or until the beef can be easily pulled apart.
- Allow the stew to cool a little in room temperature before separating the meat from the stock. Place the beef in a food processor, give it a gentle blend for a couple of minutes until the beef is shredded. Go slow, as we don’t want to create a paste. Strain the broth into a jug.
- To make the velouté sauce, place a small saucepan over low heat. Add the butter, once it melts add the flour. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 Liter of the beef stock from the stew little by little, stirring constantly with a whisk until it reaches a bechamel like consistency. Season with some nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
- Combine the velouté sauce with the shredded beef. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before shaping them into cylinders of about 40g. To help shaping the croquettes, you can lightly coat them in some breadcrumbs first. If the mixture starts to go soft, pop back in the fridge for a couple of minutes before you continue to work with it.
- In the meantime, place a deep-frying pan over low to medium heat, add the vegetable oil, let it heat up slowly while you bread the croquettes.
- Add the breadcrumbs to a bowl, season with black pepper and salt. Add the eggs to a separate bowl, give them a whisk. Now dip each one of the croquettes first in the egg wash, then in the breadcrumbs making sure it’s evenly coated. Repeat the process with each one of the croquettes.
- Check the temperature of the oil, we are aiming at 190 °C. Alternatively, you can use disposable wooden chopsticks to check the temperature by carefully sticking one of the ends into the oil. Many gently but consistent bubbles should form when the oil is ready.
- Fry the croquettes in batches until golden brown, rest them on top of paper towel for a couple of minutes before serving. They are perfect served with mustard.
Notes
- Allow an additional 6 hours or so for slow cooking the beef if yours is not prepared before hand!
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments!!