The Cubano Croquette

I'll write up the recipe for this one tomorrow after a little more testing

Okay, I've done this twice now, to great success, so lemme write it up:

Ideally you will have

• A biscuit cutter or other round cookie cutter
• A cast iron or other heavy pan suitable for shallow frying
• A couple of bowls for batter and bread crumbs
• A plate with a paper towel on it
• An apron, since this involves both flour and hot oil

Ingredients

• sliced ham. If it's thinly sliced ham, around six slices per croquette. For thicker, four slices per croquette
• sliced swiss cheese
• sliced pickles, cut into smaller pieces
• yellow mustard
• 1 egg per croquette
• 2.5 tbsp flour per croquette
• salt
• panko
• vegetable, canola, or other frying oil

Instructions

• First, beat the eggs. Then, mix in the flour and a pinch of salt until you have a thick yellow batter.
• Prepare a plate or wide shallow bowl and fill it with panko.
• Then, stack the slices of ham (in layers of two or three, depending on thickness), and cut into circles with your biscuit cutter. Depending on the size of your ham slices and the size of your biscuit cutters, you can get multiple rounds per slice.
• Repeat this with the swiss cheese.
• Nibble on all the little scraps left over from cutting the ham and cheese into rounds.
• Layer a slice of cheese upon a stack of ham slices.
• Layer the pickles on top of the cheese.
• Squirt some mustard on top of the pickles.
• Top off with another layer of ham.
• Take the completed croquette stack and place it into the egg batter. Cover it completely in the batter, using a spoon to scoop batter on top. You will get your fingers goopy and messy at this point.
• Place the batter-covered croquette into the panko. Scoop the additional panko around it on top of the croquette, patting it lightly so the panko adheres to all sides.
• Move the prepared croquette to a separate plate and repeat the above for however many croquettes you plan to make.
• Fill your cast iron pan with enough oil that it fills up about half an inch, and turn on high heat. Toss a bit of batter/panko into the oil. Once that starts bubbling and browning, the oil is hot enough.
• Carefully lay the croquettes into the oil with a spatula, chopsticks, or your hands if you trust yourself. Allow to cook on one side undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, until you can see the edges start to turn golden brown.
• Carefully flip with a spatula or chopsticks, to avoid too much oil splashback. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. If either side needs to be a little browner, flip and allow to cook for a bit longer.
• Remove finished croquettes from the pan and allow to drain and cool slightly on a paper-towel lined plate.
• Slice in half and enjoy!