Tobiko croquettes, Toledo
In Spain there are probably as many good croquettes as there are bars. But you will agree with us that it is difficult to find THE ham croquette, one of those that you remember all your life. One of those for which you return to where it is needed. One of those that you recommend to friends and enemies, to make them a little happier. And that is precisely what a jury of foodies experts in Madrid Fusion, assembled to choose the best ham croquette in the world.
And hey, it sounds simple, but the V Joselito International Championship for the Best Ham Croquette in the World of the gastronomic congress Madrid Fusión also has its protocol: in a blind tasting in two phases, The jury first tested only the bechamel sauce (in this case, those of the six finalists) and then the croquettes themselves, to assess aspects such as their flavour, the balance of their shape, the crunchiness of their outer layer, the fineness of the bechamel or its temperature.
The award for the best ham croquette, sponsored by Jamones Joselito
After the exhaustive evaluation of the experts, **the winner has been Javier Ugidos from Tobiko (Toledo) ** who, during this 2019, will be the best in the world. The best of all? To try it, we only have to go to the capital of Castile-La Mancha, since It is permanently on the restaurant menu (ration of 6 croquettes – 40 grams each – at €11).
Javier Ugidos, the creator of it, has revealed his secret to traveler.es: "The batter is made with panko and egg, it does not contain flour." And the bechamel? “It has both extra virgin olive oil and butter, plus whole milk, wheat flour and, of course, Joselito ham”.
Tobiko croquettes, Toledo
Despite the innovations, always present in this type of contest, "A good croquette doesn't need frills, his béchamel must be soft but not liquid, it must avoid double battering and it must be possible to catch it by hand". David Moralejo, director of Condé Nast Traveler Spain and a member of the jury thus summarized the decisive aspects of him when assessing the croquettes.
The croquette is a croquette (and we better not talk about the cold croquette, although it always goes well, or the frozen croquette, which for many is more “concrete” than croquette). It seems simple, but it is not. Although the good news is that it is a world that, fortunately, belongs to us: “Normally abroad, what they give you as a croquette is usually a feint, a substitute with a coarse potato dough. There is nothing like the homeland bechamel”, according to Moralejo.
Croquette from Pro-Bar (Santa Faz, Alicante)
For this reason, José Gómez de Joselito himself, creator of the contest, launched an appeal in favor of this very Spanish delicacy: “We have to vindicate products such as croquettes, since we are one of the countries in the world that has the best raw materials”.
For now, we can go to Tobiko in Toledo or any of the establishments of the rest of this year's finalists to check it out: The Recipe Book (Gijón, Asturias), by Álex Sampedro; member (Madrid), by Víctor Membibre; Try (Santa Faz, Alicante), by Dani Frías; Emma Gastrobar (Suances, Cantabria), by Carlos Arias; Y Nolasco (Zaragoza), by Ricardo Campos. All of them, croquette temples to be crossed out on our next gastro route through Spain.
Or go back to the finalists and last year's winner, santerra .