Chicken Cordon Bleu
904kcal78.2g protein44g fat45.7g carbs~$3.31/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Contains gluten, dairy, egg
Restrictions
Containsgluten · dairy · eggIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Diets
No alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 2 lb |  chicken (breasts, butterflied and pounded 1/4 inch) |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| ½ tsp |  black pepper |
| 2 tbsp |  mustard (Dijon) |
| 8 slice |  ham (thin slices) |
| 8 slice |  Swiss cheese (slices) |
| ½ cup |  flour |
| 2 unit |  eggs (beaten) |
| 1 ½ cup |  breadcrumbs (panko-style) |
| ½ cup | vegetable oil (for the pan-fry) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 cup |  béchamel (from the catalog, with a spoon of Dijon — the sauce) |
Steps
- Prep12 mincutlets thin, painted with Dijon, layered and rolled TIGHTeach pounded cutlet seasoned, brushed with mustard, layered with ham then cheese (cheese fully inside the ham — the ham is the cheese's jacket, the first leak barrier), and rolled tight from the narrow end, ends tucked — plastic-wrapped and twisted like a candy at both ends to compact the cylinder
- Rest30 minwrapped rolls, refrigerated — the anti-leak stepchilled firm — the single highest-leverage step in the dish: a cold roll holds its shape through breading and the first minutes of frying, which is exactly the window when warm rolls burst; freezer for 15 works when dinner is impatient
- Bread8 minflour, egg, crumbs — pressed at every stagethe unwrapped rolls through the standard three stations, the crumbs pressed on firmly with special attention to the seam and ends — every unbreaded pinhole is a future cheese fountain, and the double-dip (egg and crumbs a second time) is the published armor for the ends
- Fry8 minmedium, rolled to brown all sidesin a half-inch of oil, turned to gold on every face — about 2 minutes a side; the fry is for the crust only, and trying to cook the center here burns the crumbs long before the chicken is safe
- Bake18 min375°F, on a rack, to 165°F at the centertransferred to a rack over a sheet and finished through — the rack keeps the fried bottom crisp, the probe goes into the chicken (not the molten core), and the reward for the whole architecture arrives at the table: the spiral cross-section when the knife goes through, which is the entire reason this dish has a French name and a devoted following
- Rest5 minbefore slicing on the biasfive minutes so the cheese thickens from liquid to lava — sliced sooner it pours; sliced after resting it slumps invitingly, which is the photograph. The Dijon béchamel underneath is the restaurant finish and the catalog already knows how to make it