Croquets

Croquets: The incorporation of both ham and potatoes by frying

Abstract: Due to the recent completion of my Masters degree, and the giant ham in my fridge, I have opted to explain via scientific paper format how to properly combine ham and potatoes with hot oil to make dinner.

Introduction: The cooking of dinner often combines the classic flavour of potatoes with a meat such as ham. Applications involving both ham and potatoes are frequently successful in developing flavour which can be classified as "yummy." One simple way to increase yummy-ness is by the addition of hot oil for cooking. However how to combine these ingredients is often debated in the scientific community. Many believe that the ham should be kept in large pieces or slices while this manuscript posits that finely minced ham can also be used to create deliciousness in the form of a croquet.

The ham itself is a major contributor of flavour to the dish. Ham can be purchased in such varieties as Maple, Smoked, or Black Forest to name a few. Each will subtly alter the final flavour of a croquet dish and must be chosen to suit the pallet. Be sure to note that the ham flavour will permeate the oil used for cooking so if maple ham is used, subsequent food items cooked in the same oil will develop maple flavour qualities. But what of the origins of ham? The word ham is a derivation of the old English word hom meaning the bend of the knee. Although North Americans associate ham with a specific cut of pork, the word itself indicates a cut of meat from the thigh or hind leg of an animal. Deli hams bought in a standard grocery store are cured pieces of pork, ready for ingestion which have been flavoured by a variety of methods from wet cures to smoking.

A major component in binding the ham within the context of a croquet is the potatoes. Although close to 4000 varieties of potato exist, selecting a potato, like ham, is done according to personal preference. The authors commonly use red skinned potatoes in culinary applications. The starchy tuber is a domesticated crop seen throughout international cuisine. It's origins can be genetically traced to a crop originally cultivated in what is now Southern Peru approximately 7,000-10,000 years ago. However, this genetic purity does not come without a cost which became apparent in the Great Irish Famine caused by a late blight which wiped out the majority of potato crops.

In order to hold the ham-tastic-ness, now consisting of both ham and potatoes, a shell is created using Panko break crumbs. The bread crumbs form a crispy contrast to the soft filling of deliciousness. Panko was chosen in order to maximize the textural contrast from shell to filling. Regular bread crumbs, being created from stale bread, are small and boulder shaped leading to easier compaction. On the other hand, Panko is irregular and jagged in shape leading to less compaction and increased surface area to oil frying creating a more crisp surface overall.

In this manuscript, the authors combined ham with potatoes. Once combined the mixture was fried with it's shell of Panko bread crumbs which lead to a dinner full of yummy-ness and deliciousness.

Materials and Methods:
Mashed potatoes: Potatoes were peeled and chopped into medium size pieces and boiled until fork tender. Note that any green potato flesh was discarded as this is an indicator of high Solanine content which is toxic. Once tender, they were processed using a ricer, although a masher would work equally well, into a smooth potato mash. No additional salt, butter, or cream was added as the ham contributes enough salt.

Ham: One large piece of ham (cured) was cut into small cubes. Cubes were then processed into a crumbly mixture which can be formed into a loose ball by hand. Processing done using a Cuisinart food processor generously lent by Sarah Lawrie et al.

Discussion:
In order to create a successful filling, ham and mashed potatoes (as described in Materials and Methods) were combined by hand mixing in a large bowl. A smoked variety of ham was used. Ham to potato ratio may vary according to taste. For one large ham, 8 red potatoes were used. The mixture is then bound by the addition of eggs. The exact number will vary with total volume of the reaction. For the given reaction, 3 eggs were necessary to fully bind the mixture into moldable balls. Spices were added at this point. The authors included smoked paprika and cracked black pepper. Amounts are variable according to taste. Balls were formed to the approximate size of baseballs (2-3 inch diameter) and set aside.

Meanwhile, breading stations where assembled. This was constituted by one bowl of Panko bread crumbs and one bowl containing eggs and a splash of water beaten with a fork. Breading was done by immersing one ball of ham-potato reaction into the egg solution. Once all sides were covered, the ball was removed and rolled in the Panko bread crumbs. Excess bread crumbs were shaken off and the ball was set aside for frying.

Figure 1: Assembly of croquets. (A) Main ingredients for culinary assembling of croquets are displayed. From left to right: mashed potatoes, Panko, finely diced cured ham, eggs. (B) The potato-ham-egg reactions are rolled into balls, size bar indicated 2.5 inches. (C) Breading stations for croquet assembly. Panko and egg wash in bowls are next to four rows of ham reactions. The upper two rows have been processed through the breading stations while the lower two have not.

In a pot, oil was heated to medium-high heat. By using a vegetable oil, a neutral flavour was maintained while making use of the high smoke point to avoid burning. Acceptable heat was determined by dropping a flake of Panko into the oil and checking for formation of bubbles. 4-5 coated ham-potato reactions were added to the oil at a time and cooked until all sides were golden brown. Balls were then removed onto a cooling rack lined with paper towel for excess oil drainage.

Figure 2: Cooking of croquets. (A) Ham reactions coated in Panko are lowered into heated oil for cooking. (B) Finished croquets, being drained of excess oil.

The final result was a smooth ham-potato filling inside a crisp layer of bread crumbs. The authors feel that dinner was both yummy and delicious.