Paleo chicken croquettes with Fruitchup paleo ketchup

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What do you do with leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken? I'll often turn it into chicken salad, but yesterday I wanted something different...and I was really in the mood for something I could dip into Fruitchup, the brand-new paleo ketchup I launched this week.

So I put my leftover cooked chicken into the food processor with an egg, some onion and a little mayonnaise, rolled little logs of the mixture in coconut flour, and fried them in avocado oil, for some absolutely perfect paleo chicken croquettes. They were great warm, excellent at room temperature, and delicious cold in the morning. And they were PERFECT with the Fruitchup, a bold ketchup that's sweetened with fruit (raisins and dates) instead of sugar or corn syrup.

I realize it's ironic that after three-plus years running a company called Not Ketchup, I am now making...ketchup. But my new Fruitchup has a lot in common with my Not Ketchup sauces. They're all paleo, low-carb, vegan, gluten free, and diabetic-friendly. And they're all made without any added sugar, sweetened only with real fruit.

There's enough sugar in the world. We could all stand to eat less of it. Fruitchup has zero added sugar, zero corn syrup, and about half the sugar per serving of regular ketchup. It's not sugar-free, because fruit has natural sugar, of course. But it's way better for you than the regular red stuff, which is mostly corn syrup and white sugar.

Check out my new Fruitchup paleo ketchup on my website, or buy Fruitchup on Amazon. And make these paleo chicken croquettes - they are fantabulous (as my late father would have said).

Paleo Chicken Croquettes

30 minutes | Makes about 12 2-inch croquettes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup pickles, capers, or sauerkraut (trust me on this)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• Oil, for frying
• Fruitchup paleo ketchup, for serving

Instructions

• Place the chicken, egg, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and pickles (or whatever you're using) into a food processor. Process until relatively smooth. If the mixture seems too loose to form into small logs, refrigerate for 30 minutes to let it firm up.
• Put the coconut flour in a shallow bowl. Roll small logs or patties of the chicken mixture with your hands, then coat them in the coconut flour. You should end up with about a dozen 2-inch logs.
• Heat the oil in a shallow frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the croquettes until golden brown on both sides. Drain briefly on a plate lined with paper towel.
• Serve immediately with Fruitchup paleo ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce.

Paleo fried chicken with almond crust

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I've been trying to eat fewer grains lately. This is tough for me - no one is a bigger fan of the white starch category than I am. But hey, I'm coming up on 50. I figure it's time to make a few adjustments.

I came across a few "Paleo" recipes for fried chicken coated with almond meal instead of flour. I doubt I'll ever move all the way over to a true Paleo diet - it's pretty restrictive - but I thought I'd give almond-crusted fried chicken a try.

It. Was. Stupendous.

I went full-on Paleo and fried the chicken thighs in coconut oil, but if you're not following the Paleo diet strictly you can use any other high-heat frying oil, like grapeseed oil or canola oil.

ON THE SIDE: I served my fried chicken with my Not Ketchup fruit "ketchup" sauces, of course. Sweet and tangy, they're the perfect partner for this crispy, salty, umami-rich fried chicken. Pick up a bottle at NotKetchup.com or Amazon.com today!

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Paleo Fried Chicken With Almond Crust

by Erika Kerekes August-19-2015

Fried chicken coated in almond meal and spices and fried in coconut oil. Grain-free, Paleo and delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups almond meal or almond flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups coconut oil (can substitute grapeseed or canola oil)
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Instructions

Crack the eggs into a medium-sized bowl and whisk until frothy. In another bowl, mix together the almond meal, garlic salt, smoked paprika and pepper until combined. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.Heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a deep, heavy pot. I use a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. Get the oil up to about 350 degrees F. If you're too impatient to use a thermometer (like me), wait until the surface is visibly shimmering. Dip a piece of the chicken first into the egg, then into the almond meal mixture. Make sure the chicken is coated all over with the almond meal. Drop the chicken gently into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. You'll have to work in batches, frying three or four pieces at a time (depending on the size of your pot).When the chicken is golden brown, put it on a rack set over a sheet pan (or just on a sheet pan if you don't have a rack). When all the chicken is fried, slide the pan into the oven for 15 minutes. This will ensure that even the thickest parts of the chicken are cooked through and will re-warm the pieces you fried first.Serve hot with your favorite flavor of Not Ketchup for dipping.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 4 servings

Broccoli fritters

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I never liked deep-frying. It always seemed like a huge production. So much oil. Such a mess. Having to clean the stove after it was over. I avoided it for years.

But then there was that day a few years ago when I made onion pakora according to instructions from Rashmi of YumKid. Such sizzle! So crispy! And I remembered: Fried food is downright delicious.

These broccoli fritters are worth the spent oil and the mess. Use leftover cooked broccoli or take a shortcut with frozen chopped broccoli. Either way, you'll be glad you did.

By the way, these broccoli fritters would be perfect for Hanukkah, also known as The Festival of Fried Food. I served them with Not Ketchup, but a lemony aioli would work too.

Note: If you really don't want to deep-fry, use a skillet and form the batter into pancakes, using about 2 Tablespoons of oil in the skillet and 1 Tablespoon of batter for each pancake. 

Broccoli fritters

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose baking mix (I use Bisquick)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• A few dashes hot sauce (I use Tabasco)
• 2 10-ounce boxes frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped (or use 2 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, steamed, cooled and chopped)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• Oil, for deep-frying (I use grapeseed or canola oil)
• Not Ketchup, for dipping

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the baking mix, egg, milk, garlic salt, pepper and hot sauce; the batter will be thick. Fold in the broccoli and green onions.
2. Heat the oil in a deep medium-sized saucepan until the surface shimmers. Using a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons, drop about 1 teaspoon of batter into the oil for each fritter. Fry until golden brown; drain on a rack set over a sheet pan or on a plate lined with paper towels.
3. Serve warm with your favorite flavor of Not Ketchup for dipping.

30 minutes | 8 servings