Here are the perfect homemade shrimp croquettes… Do try out my creamy croquetas de camarones! These treats are homemade and delicious!
This is a dream come true!!
I finally prepared croquetas de camarones, or shrimp croquettes if you like.
Have you ever tasted the classic croquettes aux crevettes?
They are a real treat.
Brown Shrimp
These croquettes are typically Belgian and they are prepared using grey North Sea shrimp, also known as brown shrimp in the UK.
But because these critters are hard or even impossible to find anywhere else but around the North Sea I thought I should make a worthy alternative.
Just to get you guys as close to the typical croquette taste as possible by using plain and simple everyday shrimp or prawns.
Choosing smaller or larger shrimp for this alternative recipe? It is good to know the different shrimp sizes available. They can impact your cooking a lot.
Best Spanish Shrimp Croquettes (Croquetas de Camarones)
So what is the secret behind a good croquette?
The crust.
It has to keep the filling together, a thin crust will break while frying and make the filling ooze out.
To avoid that, I bread the shrimp croquettes 4 times: breadcrumbs, flour, egg and breadcrumbs and again egg and breadcrumbs.
A thick crust, that is what we are after here!
Here is another trick to make that crust even better: let the fully breaded shrimp croquettes dry in the fridge overnight.
Don’t cover them up.
You will see, it works.
Make Ahead Croquettes
You can easily prepare these shrimp croquettes or croquetas de camarones a day or two in advance.
If you are using fresh shrimp for this one, then you can easily freeze the croquettes for later: simply bread the shrimp croquettes and put them in your freezer.
If you make them smaller, you shouldn’t even have to let them thaw.
You can fry them straight in the deep fat fryer! Bigger croquettes might still be cold on the inside if you do so.
I suggest you let those thaw before frying them.
Do you love making Spanish style croquetas at home?
Or are you in for another challenge?
Then you should also check out my salt cod croquettes! Or do you prefer my ham croquettes?
Enjoy!
Best Spanish Shrimp Croquettes Recipe (Croquetas de Camarones)
Here are the perfect shrimp croquettes... do try out my creamy croquetas de camarones! These treats are homemade and delicious!
- 12,5 oz fresh or frozen shrimp (350 g), about 12 large or 18 small shrimp
- 2,5 oz unsalted butter (70 g)
- 2,5 oz plain flour (70 g)
- 9 oz breadcrumbs or panko (250 g)
- 2 cups whole milk (480 ml)
- 2 tbsp plain flour for breading
- 3 large eggs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small garlic clove chopped
- pepper
- salt
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If you are using frozen shrimp, let them first thaw fully. Then remove their heads and peel them. Don't discard any of this. Rinse the peeled shrimp under cold running tap water and let them drain. Transfer the scales and shrimp heads to a medium non-stick pan together with the bay leaf and a tablespoon of the unsalted butter. Season with a little pinch of pepper.
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Place the pan over medium heat and gently fry the shrimp heads and scales for about 5 minutes. Stir regularly. Add the garlic to the pan together with a cup (240 ml) of water.
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Stir and bring it to a boil. Then turn the heat lower and simmer the shrimp sauce for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir regularly. Then take the pan off the heat and let the shrimp heads and sauce cool a little. Then pour all this in a clean blender.
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Blend it all into a coarse puree.
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Wipe the pan clean and place a sieve in it. Pour the blended shrimp in it and let the mixture drain. Stir and squeeze the shrimp mixture well to get all of the lovely juices out.
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Then discard the leftover shrimp pulp. Now pour the shrimp sauce in a measuring cup and add some of the whole milk until you reach 2 cups (480 ml) of milk and shrimp liquid.
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Then pour this in a medium saucepan and place it over medium heat. Don’t let it boil, just heat it through. In the meantime chop up the fresh shrimp you kept aside and add them to the warm prawn milk.
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Let the shrimp cook for 2 minutes until cooked. Then remove the bits again using a slotted spoon and put it aside again.
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Take the shrimp milk off the heat. Check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to it. Melt the rest of the unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and then add 2,5 oz (70 g) of plain flour.
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Stir well into a roux and let it bake for a minute. Stir regularly.
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Then little by little add the warm shrimp milk to it and stir well in between additions.
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Once you have added all of the milk, add the poached shrimp chunks.
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Then take the pan off the heat and pour the shrimp filling in a small baking dish. Mine was 6 inches by 7 inches (15 cm x 17,5 cm). Let it cool down fully, then cover the top with some cling film and place this in the fridge to set and chill for at least one night.
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Then cut the filling up into 14 even portions.
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Pour the breadcrumbs in a deep plate and roll the croquette fillings generously in it.
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Then put them all on a plate and place them in the fridge for an hour. Pour the remaining plain flour for breading in another deep plate and coat the shrimp croquettes with it as well.
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Let them chill and rest in the fridge for another hour. Beat the eggs in a deep plate and season with some pepper and salt. Coat the chilled shrimp croquettes first with the egg wash.
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And then again with a good layer of the breadcrumbs.
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Repeat this one more time: egg wash and breadcrumbs. Then place the finished shrimp croquettes on a clean plate again and lace them in the fridge to chill for 3 more hours, preferably overnight to get that extra crunchy thick crust. Then fry the shrimp croquettes in batches in hot oil until golden. Don’t add too much of them at a time or the oil will cool down fast once you drop them in it. Serve hot.
Hey! i love this post. I had a question, my family and i ate turkey Croquettes at a metatraranean restaurant that we used a groupon for. They were very squishy and unpleasant, is that just us being picky, or are they supposed to be so squishy?