Croquette Potatoes

3 cups russet potatoes, peeled, quartered
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg yolk
alt and white pepper to taste
1/2 cup AP flour
2 eggs, beaten with a  pinch of salt (egg wash)
3 cups panko bread crumbs, dry
vegetable oil for deep-frying

  1. Place the potatoes in cold water, bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
  2. Drain and dry the potatoes, run them through a food mill, then add the butter and egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper. chill for 30 minutes.
  3. Shape the croquettes as required. Dredge in flour, then egg wash, and coat with bread crumbs.
  4. Deep-fry in 375F oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Chef: Evenly coated with breadcrumbs on outside and crunchy all around, hot inside and nice firm potato consistency.

Personal/Team: Looked nice and good consistency, easy to eat finger food, could have more seasoning in flour or flavorful additions to potato mixture (bacon? roasted garlic? chives?) or a sauce to add flavor.

Lessons Learned:
1. Croquette potatoes are very easy to form and bread if you chill the potato mixture first.
2. Fry right away after breading to keep crunchy consistency.
3. When frying, you can keep the oil form penetrating the food if the oil is hot enough to steam the item inside. The pressure differential of the steam trying to escape prevents the oil from getting in. If frying cold foods, keep in mind that it may cool the oil down, so may need to let oil heat up before putting more food in.