Best Coxinhas Recipes

COXINHAS (BRAZILIAN CHICKEN CROQUETTES)

Steps:

• Combine chicken breasts and 1 cup chicken broth in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. Keep checking that there is enough liquid in the pot and add more stock if necessary. Remove from pot, allow to cool briefly, and shred with 2 forks.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add shredded chicken, olives, and parsley. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Remove filling from heat and set aside.
• Heat 2 cups chicken broth and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; season with salt salt and bring to a simmer. Add flour all at once and stir to form a thick paste. Stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth and no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and let pastry cool.
• Once pastry is cool enough to handle, transfer to an oiled work surface and knead until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Take a portion of pastry and roll into a golf ball-sized ball. Stick an oiled finger into the center of the ball and press the edges to create a small bowl. Stuff with 2 teaspoons of chicken filling and gather the top edges to seal, rolling into a teardrop shape. Set croquette aside and cover with a damp towel. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.
• Set out 3 bowls in the following order: flour, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs. Roll each croquette in flour, then dip in egg, then cover in breadcrumbs.
• Heat oil for deep frying in a large saucepan or deep fryer. Fry the croquettes in batches, until golden brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

BRAZILIAN CHICKEN APPETIZER (COXINHAS DE GALINHA)

Steps:

• Heat cooking oil on a pan and when hot enough, add and brown the chicken at both sides.
• Add 1-2 cups of water enough to boil chicken for 20 mins or until tender. Don't forget to cover it. Drain and set aside liquid.
• When chicken is cool enough, separate the meat from the bones. Cut the breast into12 long strips and set aside.
• Mince the rest of the meat and combine with onion, cloves, salt and pepper. You can use a food processor to make the mincing and mixing quick just by pulsing it. Set aside. You can also set aside the thin bones to serve as a sticks for the chicken later on.
• For the dough: mix rice flour with milk, add enough chicken juices that was set aside to make a firm dough. Then, add butter and egg yolks to soften it. Add and mix the minced chicken. Add chili sauce and mix.
• Divide dough in 12 equal parts. Flatten it a bit with palm, add a piece of chicken breast from near the edge. Roll to cover then shape it like a bulb or teardrop with a tapered end. You can push in the thin bones at the thin part of the shaped dough so they looks like chicken drumsticks.
• Roll in breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil until golden brown putting it on strainer or napkins to help drain excess oil.
• Serve with chili salsa.

COXINHAS

Steps:

• Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Poach the chicken very gently for 10 mins. Remove from the heat, cover and cook for 10-15 mins more until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and leave to cool. Reserve the poaching liquid.
• Bring the liquid to the boil, add the potatoes and simmer for 15-20 mins until just tender. Drain, then leave to dry out before mashing and seasoning.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onion and stir over a medium-low heat for 8-10 mins. To assemble, shred the chicken in a bowl, mix in the mash, onions and marinade, then taste and season. With damp hands, shape about 50g of mixture into a teardrop shape. Set it upright on a plate and repeat with the rest of the mixture. Coat each in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Cover with cling film and chill for at least 1 hr.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 170C or until a piece of bread browns in 30 secs. Fry in batches for 3-4 mins until golden, turning once or twice. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm with the parsley scattered over.

COXINHAS

Steps:

• Cut chicken breast into 2-inch cubes and bring to a boil in 8 cups water with onion, garlic, beef bouillon, salt over medium heat in a dutch oven until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
• Remove chicken breast from broth reserving 3 cups of the broth; Set aside. Finely shred chicken; mix with ground pepper to taste, fresh parsley, and cream cheese. set aside. (I put the cream cheese in with the chicken and give it a few "go rounds" with the electric mixer. It shreds the chicken and mixes in the cream cheese at the same time very nicely.)
• Bring the 3 cups of the reserved broth to a boil. Gradually add the 3 cups of flour into the boiling water and stir vigorously for about 1 minute or until it becomes a smooth dough.
• Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness with a rolling pin on a well floured surface. Cut dough into circles using a biscuit cutter or a glass.
• Place a couple of teaspoons or so of chicken mixture onto the dough round. Close dough over filling and fold into a shape similar to a chicken drumstick. (Coxinha means little chicken drumstick) Repeat until all the dough and filling is used.
• Baste the coxinas in egg and roll in bread crumbs. Deep fry at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
• Drain on paper towels. Let cool a bit and serve.
• TIP: Don't be intimidated by this dough. It can get very sticky. Don't be afraid to add more flour. Lots of flour is a must in order to handle this dough. Don't be afraid to squish it into the shape it needs to be in. It's tough to handle, but once fried with the breadcrumbs it will look very pretty. It kind of takes practice making these but they are very delicious!