To start off 2021, our family competed against 13 other farms in a live cooking competition that featured potato croquettes. Let’s just say ~ this might’ve been one of our all-time favorite potato creations. They are just so perfect for a fun side dish or delicious apps. We were really inspired here, so we have lots of combinations for you! We also made all of these in under an hour. Get ready. The ultimate potato croquettes for 2021 ~

Here’s what we have for you ~

Tots & Shots: 3 gooey, cheese balls paired with 3 different sauces and served with potato vodka. our triple shot
Italian: basil, tomato + parmesan cheese balls paired with red wine
Strohauer Farms’ Signature: sautéed shallots, garlic and mushrooms combined with blue cheese and served alongside hatch green chili & red pepper jam, as well as my mom’s signature white wine sangria

These croquettes are all about using what you have in your fridge or whatever you’re truly craving. There’s also no exact measurements needed. Makes these croquettes perfect for creating on a whim or with little ones.

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Potato Croquettes base ~

Servings: 30 croquettes Total Cook Time with Mix-in: 1 Hour

3 lbs Russet potatoes, cubed
8 tbs butter
2 tbs milk
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups breadcrumbs
lots of vegetable oil for frying
salt & pepper
smoked paprika (secret ingredient)
tools that will really help: potato ricer, skimmer spoon

Place your cubed potatoes in a large pot and fill it with cold, lightly salted water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and cook for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender (great time to create your sauce/s). Drain the potatoes. If you have a potato ricer, this is ideal. Rice your potatoes into a large bowl. If no ricer, mashing them in the large bowl works great too. The idea on ricing them is to work the potato dough as little as possible. This creates the lightest, fluffiest insides.

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Create your potato dough by adding in 1-2 tablespoons of butter, a little salt & pepper, a dash of milk, a dash of smoked paprika, and 1 whipped egg. Mash or fold in your dough. If too sticky, add just a little flour.

Here’s the fun part ~ choose from the below options for a delicious add-in. Again, you’ll just fold in the ingredients of your selection.

Prepare 3 large bowls or shallow plates, one with flour, one with three eggs, beaten, and one with the breadcrumbs (can add a little smoked paprika here too). Begin rolling your potato dough into small golf-sized balls. Cover these balls in flour, dusting off excess. Dip completely into the beaten eggs. Now make sure you cover all sides completely with breadcrumbs. You are officially ready to fry.

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Add vegetable oil to a large Dutch oven or pot. You want enough oil to where these croquettes are completely submerged or at least mostly ~ if you’re going to flip. Heat over medium-high heat. Fry these in batches of 4-5 at a time. Once fried, place on paper towels to cool and remove excess oil. That’s it :) Plate and serve with your favorite sauce. Potato croquettes have never been easier.

TOTS & SHOTS

Our first combination was one of gooey, cheesy deliciousness. With variety. Like picking from a box of chocolates. Our triple shot. We stuffed our potato croquettes with Gouda, Brie and Cheddar cheeses. Yum. We then created 3 dipping sauces for the ultimate croquettes: smokey bacon sour cream, garlic aioli and sriracha mayo. Serve with shots of potato vodka. Indulge at your own risk ~

Gouda cheese, grated
Brie cheese, grated
Cheddar cheese, grated
optional: pair with your favorite potato vodka

If you choose this mix-in option, have your potato dough spread out into 3 smaller bowls. While many potato croquette recipes cube cheese and just add these cubes into a dough pocket, we found that grating the cheese and mixing a good amount into the dough was the ultimate way for that gooey, cheesy deliciousness. That’s it for this mix-in :)

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Smokey Bacon Sour Cream

sour cream
bacon, cooked and chopped
smoked paprika
smoked finishing salt
freshly ground pepper
fresh parsley, chopped

Using sour cream as your base, add some bacon and parsley. I’d recommend cooking your bacon in the oven at 375° for 15 minutes or so. That will give you the crispiest bacon ever. Add in your smoked paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy ~

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Garlic Aioli Sauce

3/4 cups mayo (I love using Primal’s Avocado Oil Mayo - Garlic Aioli, as a base here)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine everything and enjoy!

Sriracha Mayo

3 tbs mayo + 1 tbs Sriracha hot sauce is your ratio here

Italian Croquettes with Red Wine

Our second combination is up, and this time we’ve given you all the fresh herbs and veggies. Paired with red wine and topped with a little bit of ranch ~ perfection.

cherry tomatoes, chopped
garlic, minced
basil, torn into small pieces
Parmesan cheese, grated
salt & freshly ground black pepper

In your potato croquette base, fold in a good amount of Parmesan cheese. Add in the rest of your ingredients and fold in. The goal for light, fluffy insides is to work the potato dough the least amount. Always keep that in mind. Roll into small golf balls and continue with the potato croquette base instructions. Pair with red wine and a drizzle of ranch or a sauce of your choosing. Enjoy!

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Strohauer Farms’ Signature Croquettes

For these bad boys we really elevated the game. Sautéing our La Salle Shallots, with garlic and mushrooms. Adding in blue cheese crumbles. Serving alongside a hatch green chili & red pepper jam. Paired with my mom’s signature white wine sangria. This was truly our standout croquette ~ and the family’s favorite.

1-2 La Salle Shallot onions, chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
your favorite mushrooms, chopped
blue cheese crumbles
salt & freshly ground black pepper
hatch green chili & red pepper jam
optional: white wine sangria

In a small sauté pan, add the shallots, garlic and onions on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes to sauté. Towards the end, add a dash of salt & pepper. These are delicious in the croquettes by rolling the dough balls first, and then creating a little dough pocket to add in this mixing. Just a scoop of this filling + a scoop of some blue cheese crumbles. Serve alongside jam and white wine sangria after frying. Enjoy!

Braised Lamb Shoulder ~

During this cook-off competition, we were highlighting our local favorites. Weld County is the largest producer of lamb in the country. During our Brother Luck’s live cooking class, he paired his French La Salle Shallot Onion Soup with braised lamb shoulder, and now my family is always requesting this style of meat. I braised the lamb the morning of the competition, so we could have a full meal after the competition. It won’t disappoint, I promise.

Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 2.5 Hours

2 lbs lamb shoulder
salt & freshly ground pepper
4-6 garlic cloves, halved
La Salle Shallot onion, halved
a few tbs of white wine
your favorite bone broth / stock
fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
butter

Preheat your oven to 325°. Pat dry your lamb with a paper towel. Season with salt & pepper. In a large Dutch oven or oven-safe pot, melt a couple tablespoons of butter on medium-high heat. Cook the lamb, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. 6-8 minutes. Set aside.

In your Dutch oven, add the shallots and garlic, stirring frequently for a few minutes. Turn your heat down to medium-low for this. Slowly, add in a couple tablespoons of white wine. Take a wooden spoon and scrape up the brown bits around the sides of the pot. These add amazing flavor, so don’t skip this step. The wine helps with the scraping too. Add your cooked lamb back into the pot and top with bone broth. I prefer quite a bit of broth, but not completely covering the lamb. Completely your preference on how much here. Lastly, toss in your sprig of rosemary and a couple bay leaves. Add your lid, and cook this in the oven for 2-2.5 hours.

Melt in your mouth, falling off the bone tenderness. That’s what you want. It is just so delicious. Once you’ve achieved that tenderness, gently take the meat off the bones and begin shredding. Plate with your potato croquettes, and you have a delicious, fun meal. Enjoy!