Chicken cordon bleu is one of those simple dishes that you don’t ever think about until you try it once. It is basically cheese wrapped in ham, wrapped in chicken breast. It is then breaded then fried until golden brown.
How to prepare chicken breasts
Step 1: butterfly
To butterfly the chicken breasts, you want to cut it in half horizontally and open it like a book without splitting it in half. If you do happen to split the breast in half while cutting, do not worry, you can still use it. You will just end up with a smaller roll in the end.
Step 2: flatten
Once the chicken has been butterflied, flatten until thin about 1 cm. The thinner the better, but you don’t want to break the chicken as well.
Step 3: season
Once the chicken has been butterflied and flattened, season lightly with salt.
Step 4: layering
For the layering process, there are essentially 5 layers and in order goes: chicken breast, ham, cheese, ham, and cheese. The purpose is to protect the cheese and prevent it from leaking during the cooking process. This is why we protect the cheese with layers of ham and chicken together.
Step 5: roll and refrigerate
Once all your layers have been created, tightly roll it up like a sushi roll, then with the help of plastic wrap, make sure the edges are tight as well. Then place in the fridge for 30 minutes to tighten.
What type of ham in chicken cordon bleu?
You can really use any type of cold cut what will fit in your flattened chicken breast. I actually used two different types of cold cut, corned beef and black forest ham.
What type of cheese in chicken cordon bleu?
A very popular cheese is gruyere, however, I used mozzarella. The key is you want to use a cheese that will give you that cheese pull.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 slices corned beef
- 4 slices black forest ham
- 8 slices mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko
- 8 toothpicks (4 each)
Sauce
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- ⅔ cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 bunch chives
Instructions
Chicken
- Butterfly chicken breast by making a large cut horizontally, making sure not to cut it in half and opening like a book. If you do end up cutting it in half, you can still use it but make a smaller version.2 chicken breasts
- Season chicken breasts lightly with salt. Then place a layer of plastic wrap over them and flatten.1 tsp salt
- Lay chicken breast on top of plastic wrap then add a layer of 2 slices of ham. You want it to cover as much of the chicken as possible. Then place two slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the ham.
- Repeat with another layer of ham and cheese.
- Roll everything up tightly using the help of the plastic wrap to make it extra tight. Then place in fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roll in flour, then into egg wash, and finally coat in panko bread crumbs.½ cup flour, 2 large eggs, 1 cup panko
- After your chicken has been tightly coated, poke 4 toothpicks into the chicken breast to prevent it from unravelling during the cooking process.8 toothpicks
- Fry at 350F for 5-8 minutes until golden brown. Season immediately with salt
Sauce
- In a pot, melt down butter and add flour. Stir until you cannot see any more dry flour.3 tbsp butter, 1½ tbsp flour
- Add milk, and cheese, stir until melted. (1 minute)1 cup milk, ⅔ cup shredded mozzarella
- Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chopped chives.1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 bunch chives
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