Chicken or Chicken and Ham Croquettes
From:	Marie-Thé, Quebec, Canada
Comments:	The 'special' bechamel sauce simply is an ordinary white sauce. Croquettes must be breaded twice before deep-frying. Make sure that ham is fresh and that chicken smells good; if meat is slimy, it is possible that it tastes sour and it should be thrown away.
Servings:	80 [160 croquettes or 2 per serving]
Ingredients	Preparation
Croquettes 7 pounds [3 kg] leftover cooked chicken or 5 pounds [2.27 kg] leftover cooked chicken + 2 pounds [900 g] lean ham 4 eggs 2 cups [500 mL] milk Fine breadcrumbs Fat, for frying 'Special' Bechamel Sauce 21 ounces [630 mL] white roux 8 cups [2 L] milk 1 tablespoon [15 mL] salt	Sort and cut chicken meat into small pieces. Remove all fat and cartilages from ham. Finely mince together chicken meat and ham. To prepare special bechamel sauce, melt white roux until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, thoroughly mix in minced cooked chicken and ham. Cook until done, being careful not to let burn, stirring often; remove from heat. Shape mixture into 160 patties using a no 30 laddle. Leave croquettes to cool onto a floured baking sheet. Onto a floured surface, roll croquettes into approximately 1 1/4-inch [6-cm] long, 3/4-inch [2-cm] in diameter cylinders. Flatten ends with a palette knife. Beat together eggs and milk. Roll croquettes into fine breadcrumbs and then into beaten eggs mixture, dipping croquettes into breadcrumbs with one hand and into eggs mixture with the other. Dip croquettes once more into breadcrumbs. Leave croquettes to dry for a little while before deep-frying. Just before serving, deep-fry croquettes into hot 375°F [190°C] fat until golden brown, for approximately 1 1/2 minutes, keeping fat clear clarifying often.