Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Chicken Cordon Bleu-wich – An Old Classic Gets Open Faced

If you love chicken cordon bleu because it’s “fancy,” and you serve it primarily to impress dinner guests with your culinary skills, then this video is really not for you. However, if you love chicken cordon bleu because of its winning flavor combination of chicken, ham, and Gruyere cheese, then stick around.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic preparation, and will do my version one of these days, but for all that pounding, stuffing, rolling, pinning, breading, frying, and baking…I can deliver the same basic flavor and texture profile with significantly less time and effort.

By the way, while most consider this a French recipe, the word on the street is that this actually originated in Switzerland. That doesn’t really have any bearing on the recipe, but since I can’t remember ever giving the Swiss a hard time here, I thought I’d take this opportunity to ask, what’s up with those pocketknives? You really need one tool that can both kill a squirrel and puck nose hairs? Seems a little much.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I posted a sandwich video, and this, as the name would indicate, was certainly a blue ribbon winner. It made for a perfect lunch, but throw a poached egg on top, and you’ve got a stellar brunch item; or cut these up into quarters, and serve as finger food for the next big game. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 portions:
*Note: topping can be made days ahead and baked whenever.
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup diced smoked ham
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp milk
3 oz shredded gruyere cheese, divided (save a little for the top)
1 rounded tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1/4 cup diced dill pickle
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp bread crumbs mixed with 1 tsp melted butter for the top

View the complete recipe

37 comments:

Peter T said...

Chef John, this looks delicious!

If I made the topping ahead of time and kept it in the fridge, would that still work?

Thom said...

Looks great, and love the idea of doing it as a sandwich! Made me think maybe of using a ramekin topped with a piece of pie crust to make it a Chicken Cordon Bleu-Pie. See Chef, you inspire us!

Briana said...

my husband is trying this tonight. Looks great so far! Really can't go wrong, right? Love your site, and I tell all my friends!

paula o said...

Brilliant! What's not to love?

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, looks and sounds amazing. And Gruyere is my favorite cheese too besides S'brinz. Lovely. Yet another reason why you are my absolute favorite Chef ever. I will have to try this sometime very soon.
Quick question of interest because I noticed every time you said it. Is the 'bleu' part generally pronounced as 'blue' in the US or is that a personal quirk of yours?

Unknown said...

Thanks for dinner Chef John, It came out awesome!

Anonymous said...

uh huh... yummy meaty filling on bread. I love any type of sandwich and this one simply looks divine. Not even difficult to make!

Chef John said...

That's how we say it!

Chef John said...

Yes, you can make ahead!

Matt M. said...

At the end of the list it says 1/2 cup diced ham. Is that in addition to the 1/2 cup diced smoked ham?

Chef John said...

no, typo! fixed!

Joey said...

Chef John, you rule... doing your ultimate roast chicken (again) in our new Weber kettle this Saturday for friends... reckon I already know what's for Sunday lunch after watching this! Also, every time you grate fresh nutmeg into a recipe, I die a little more inside. Can't find whole nutmeg anywhere in Australia for love or money :(

Unknown said...

that looks delicious

Grams Pam said...

Joey - you buy SFQ sauce online from Chef John, right? So have you searched for an online source?

Or use Google like I did, "whole nutmeg Australia" .. that gave me over 2 million hits.

Unknown said...

This looks delicious!
Is there a substitute for ham? Or can i just completely remove it?

Unknown said...

This looks delicious!
Is there a substitute for ham?
Would the preparation method change if i remove the ham?

Unknown said...

Is there a substitute for ham?
would the preparation method change if i remove the ham?

coupland said...

I love this idea but a major part of the appeal of chicken cordon blue is the crunchy exterior. I think this needs to be an "inside-out" grilled cheese sandwich instead. Thanks for the inspiration CH!

andy's ym blog said...

Looks good. We cooked the Swiss meatballs last week. They were great!!

TimD said...

Just made the bleu sandeu with pancetta. Going back to the store for more supplies to finish the whole loaf this way.

Jhon M said...

nice ^^

Jude said...

Wow. I don't make chicken cordon blu all that often because it is a pain to do all the steps... I was at the point where I was going to just do a chirashi sushi/7 layer dip approach and just layer ingredients into a casserole. Your sandwiches look awesome!

Faith said...

I tweeted this already, but to elaborate, I made a turkey version of this using my early Christmas turkey leftovers, and it was fantastic! I had to use cheddar instead of gruyere/swiss because certain family members are swiss averse, so I also omitted the nutmeg. Now I'm regretting sending the rest of my leftovers home with my mom!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef,
Made this Sunday and it came out great. These reheated quite nicely as well. I reheated two of them Tuesday night in a 350° F oven for 20 min. in a glass baking dish covered with foil (next time I would probably go for 25 min.), and let them rest for 5 min. The bread re-crisped on the outside and the topping was warmed through.

Thanks for another great recipe!

SovPhil13 said...

Hi Chef John. if say your in a situation where Greyere Cheese isn't really an option, will this work with any other cheese?

SovPhil13 said...

Hi Chef John.

I was watching this recipe and wondering, if you're in a situation where gruyere cheese isn't really an option, will this work with any other cheese? Thank you.

Chef John said...

Any sharp. melty cheese will work!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John, This recipe made me look sooooo good and was really easy. And as always,super tasty!

Unknown said...

dear Chef, i tried to make it, the only problem for me is that i put in the oven for 20 minutes, and the butter side is over cooked, it is all black....i am so sad.....

Chef John said...

Thin pan? Too hot oven? Too thin slice of bread? Sorry, but not sure! Haven't had any complaints yet. Also, with something like this, you have to check near the end to be sure.

Charmaine Sq said...

Hi Chef John.. ooooh.. can't wait to make this in the morning.. and have it ready for my daughter who will drop in between classes. I see the ingredients list but no written instructions. Is this correct?

Chef John said...

Correct! Enjoy!

Charmaine Sq said...

Hi Chef John.. I'm thinking panko for the breadcrumbs.. what do you think?? Made the meatloaf.. yummm! and the banana bread.. Triple EeYummm!! thank-you for sharing your talent with us amateurs. You give me hope in the kitchen. I used to do everything by America's Test Kitchen but I'm two-timing with you because I love how you make everything so simple. Bless you.

hershey said...

Chef John, what can i substitute to dill pickle if it's not available?..

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! Could you write the quantities in grams in the future? Us fans in Europe are having trouble converting cups of ham... You are simply the best and funniest chef (After my dad, that is. Sorry!)

Unknown said...

I just made this, and it turned out fantastic! The smokiness of the ham adds a nice touch. Oh, and the cayenne of course. I really enjoy watching your videos, and though this was my first attempt at recreating one of your recipes, I will definitely try out more. Thank you Chef John!

Unknown said...

i love listening your youtube recipes , you are the best