To make bacon lardons, add thinly sliced pieces of bacon to a cold pan with three tablespoons of water. Set the pan to cook over medium high heat. The water will cause the fat to render more slowly so you’ll get crispy bacon lardons without burning them. This process will take about 5-8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the fat and set on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Save or discard the fat.
Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. After a minute, add finely diced onions. Sauté for five minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the flour and cook for another two minutes. Turn off the heat and add the milk to form the béchamel sauce. It will be thick and have the texture of Play-Doh. At this point, add the cooked bacon lardons, salt, and Cajun seasoning. Set the mixture aside to cool for 30 minutes.
Heat a two inches of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pan to 350 degrees while you prepare the breading station.
In one tray, season the Panko bread crumbs with salt and pepper. In the second second tray, whisk two eggs with a few tablespoons of water to make the egg wash. Season the egg wash with salt and pepper as well. Using a small cookie scooper, or a heaping tablespoon, place balls of croquetta filling into the egg wash. Then, transfer to the Panko bread crumbs and form the croquettas shape. Set aside each piece until your oil is hot enough.
Prepare a tray lined with paper towels. Once your oil is at 350 degrees, fry croquettas in batches for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Set on your paper towel lined tray and season with additional kosher salt to taste.
To make the Calabrian Chili Aioli, combine the Kewpie mayo with juice from half a lemon and the Calabrian chili paste. Transfer to a bowl and serve with your hot croquettas!
