Chicken Cordon Bleu

In this post, we will explore the traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe and how to cook a perfect chicken breast.

And, perhaps most importantly, we shall splurge and top it all off with this velvety dijon cheddar sauce that will change your life forever. Amen.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Makes 4 servings.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

• 4 fresh chicken breasts
• Sea salt
• Coarse ground pepper
• 4 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 8 -16 slices Black Forest ham (not honey ham)
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 6 ounces panko breadcrumbs
• About 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 recipe Dijon Cheddar Sauce (below)

Tips for Cooking a Perfect Chicken Breast

1. Lay the chicken breast on a cutting board and cut your chicken breast in half. the long way almost all the way so that when you unfold it, it will look like a butterfly (thus the “butterfly cut”). If you like, you can cut it into two pieces.
2. Lay a piece of plastic wrap under and over one chicken breast. Using a meat hammer, pound chicken until it is pretty much level all the way across. This will promote even cooking which will lesson dry or undercooked areas.
3. If you can, salt chicken up to 1-2 days ahead. If not cooking longer than two days, you can salt and freeze it until you’re ready to cook it.
4. Cook chicken until the thickest parts reach 165°F. This is crucial for food safety and for creating moist chicken. Undercook and that flu you thought your family had is actually food poisoning. Over-cook and you get chicken jerky. Cook to 165°F, and you’ll have perfectly moist chicken every time. Meat thermometers can be testy, though, so be sure you get a reliable one. This digital meat thermometer is a winner and syncs with your smartphone.
5. Another thing to remember when making a recipe like this one is to not allow and extra ham, cheese, flour, etc. to be in contact with the chicken as this would cause cross-contamination and make you and your guests very ill.

Brush a 9X13″ pan with olive oil. Set aside.

Butterfly cut and then pound evenly chicken breasts.

Salt and pepper on both sides of each piece of chicken.

Drizzle some mustard on the top of each chicken breast.

Place 1-two slices of Swiss cheese on each piece of chicken. Then top the cheese with the sliced ham.

Roll the chicken breast slices up from the smallest side to the largest side. Secure with an oven-safe toothpick or appetizer pick if you like.

When you are ready to bake, coat with flour, then egg, then ground croutons or panko breadcrumbs, and place in a large pan over medium to medium-high heat. Cook on one side and then flip halfway through to brown on both sides. After chicken pieces are golden brown on both sides, place them in the 9X13″ pan and bake in preheated oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the breast. Let chicken rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Dijon Cheddar Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter, unsalted
• 7 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 1/2 cups milk or half and half
• 1/2 cup dijon mustard
• 1 cup white or yellow cheddar cheese, grated (not pre-grated)
• Sea salt
• Coarse ground pepper or white pepper

Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted.

Add flour and whisk and cook for a few minutes.

Whisk in the wine, half and half, and mustard.

The sauce will thicken when it reaches a boil. Gently whisk the sauce as it thickens. Stir in the grated cheddar. Salt and pepper to your liking; and, then remove the pan from the heat.

Serve the sauce with the chicken. This dish pairs very well with Sautéed Asparagus.