Cordon bleu
=========== 2024-11-10


Inspired by: Cordon bleu maison
and from: How to Make Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe

Comment: 2 ways to make cordons bleus. Either in the form of a pocket containing the ham and the cheese, or rolled with the slice of ham and a piece or slice of cheese as "heart". It is crucial that the ham is of good quality and not too thin like that found in supermarkets and for cheese, rather than more or less suspect slices, I use a good salty gruyere or other tasty cheese.
For meat, it is more traditional to use veal, but chicken or turkey also goes very well. The trick is to flatten the meat well so that it is thin. This is especially true for chicken. We will cut each breast in 2 lengthwise before flattening. For this, place the meat in a sheet of plastic film. Slightly moisten the meat so that it does not stick to the film and spreads out correctly and tap with a pan bottom until a thickness of 3 to 4 mm (very thin). Do not hit directly flat, but at a slight angle so that the slice of meat "slides" towards the back.
For breadcrumbs, three options, commercial breadcrumbs (the least good), panko, I like it, or best homemade breadcrumbs.
For the cooking, the secret is to cook on low heat, for the meat to cook through before the cheese starts to melt.  In the case of soft cheeses, try to wrap them in the ham, or they will melt quickly and ooze in the pan.


4 people

Ingredients:
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4 nice veal slices or 2 chicken breasts prepared as explained above or other thin slice.
4 slices of good ham (depending on the size of the cutlets)
4 sticks or slices of salty gruyere or other tasty cheese
flour
2 eggs or 1 large
EVOO
Butter
breadcrumbs (or panko)
S + P


Preparation:
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Place the ham and cheese, on the meat slices, so that you can close the slice of meat in a pouch, and fold the edge of the slice underneath as far as possible, to close the pouch (*), or roll everything up to obtain a ballotine.

(*) Possibly use toothpicks to close the pouch.

Prepare 3 plates with:
- flour
- mixture of egg and EVOO (1 tablespoon EVOO per egg) with salt and pepper
- breading (or panko)

Gently pass the cordons bleus through the flour, removing the excess.
Then in the egg mixture and finally in the breading.

Let the cordons bleus rest for ~30 mn.

Cook in a frying pan not too hot with a little oil and butter, ~5 minutes on each side.
A little longer if it's ballotines.
As soon as the cheese starts to melt (heat has reached the center), turn them over and cook the second side.

Place the cordons bleus on absorbent paper for 1 minute then serve.