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It is one of the most anticipated culinary competitions of the year. The National Championship for the Best Iberian Ham Croquette is held every year at Madrid Fusión. In the last edition, the winner was that of Ababol and in 2022, that of Santerra. And now they have just crowned the new queen of croquettes for 2024 and the title has gone to a well-known Madrid restaurant.
Specifically, the one considered the new best croquette in Spain can be tasted at the Quinqué restaurant, owned by the popular chef Carlos Griffo, whose rice dishes have also won awards on other occasions. Quinqué’s proposal is inspired by a recipe of chef Nacho Manzano, one of Griffo’s masters. One factor to highlight in the preparation is to let the dough cool for 12 to 24 hours before molding the croquettes. And among the strong points of this tapa is its creaminess, thanks to a béchamel sauce made with the infusion of fresh cow’s milk from Galicia and Iberian ham bone. In addition, it is coated with normal fine breadcrumbs and fried in olive oil. The result is a winning croquette.
“The secret of our croquette is, above all, the love we put into it. We use fresh cow’s milk that we infuse with the ham bones. In our béchamel sauce, we use olive oil, butter, the ham, flour and infused milk. We cut the ham into small pieces, but enough to appreciate its flavor and texture. We hand-grind our croquettes one by one,” explained Griffo after winning the contest.
Where can you try it? At Quinqué Restaurant, Calle Apolonio Morales 3, 28036, Madrid.
A very close final
The chef of Quinqué restaurant won the final against José María Borrás of Restaurante Santa Mariana (Menorca), Leandro Gil of Hotel Alma (Pamplona), Samir Mohijamed and Guillermo Carballeda of Restaurante Cobo Estratos Tradición (Burgos) and Pedro Trujillo of Los Trujis restaurant (Toledo).