Cordon bleu is a Swiss restaurant classic: a thin escalope stuffed with ham and cheese, breaded and browned in a pan. It goes wrong in two ways: the crumb burns before the centre is hot, or the cheese escapes into the pan. Here's how to avoid both.
For two
- 2 pork or veal escalopes, well flattened (about 150 g each)
- 2 slices of ham
- 2 slices of a good melting cheese (Gruyère, raclette, Emmental)
- Flour, 1 beaten egg, breadcrumbs
- 40 g butter and 2 spoons of neutral oil
- Salt, pepper, lemon
Assembling the cordon bleu
- Flatten the escalopes between two sheets of baking paper with the bottom of a saucepan, to about 5 mm, evenly.
- Fill one half: ham then cheese, leaving a 1 cm border.
- Fold over and press the edges firmly with your fingertips. That's what stops the cheese leaking. Season the outside with salt and pepper.
- Bread in three steps: flour (tap off the excess), beaten egg, breadcrumbs. Pay attention to the edges. For a sturdier crumb, go through the egg and breadcrumbs a second time.
- 15 minutes in the fridge if you have time: the crumb holds better while cooking.
The cook
- Medium heat, the oil and half the butter. The butter should foam without browning. You need enough fat to cover the base: that's what browns the crumb evenly.
- 4 to 5 minutes untouched, until the underside is well browned.
- Turn it carefully with a wide spatula, add the rest of the butter, and baste with a spoon.
- 4 to 5 minutes on the other side. If the crumb browns too fast, turn the heat down a little.
- 2 minutes on paper towel, then serve with a lemon wedge.
With a thermometer, aim for 63 °C in the centre for pork or veal, pushing the probe into the meat, not the cheese. Check this figure against the official guidance in your country. Without a thermometer, the cheese should be fully melted and the meat white in the centre.
Why medium heat, not high?
Breadcrumbs burn fast. On high heat they're black before the cheese has melted. On medium heat they brown while the centre warms through.
The three mistakes
Edges not sealed properly. The cheese escapes and burns on the base of the pan.
Too little fat. The crumb browns in patches and stays pale elsewhere.
An escalope that's too thick. The centre stays cold while the crumb is already dark.
What to serve it with
Chips, of course, or crispy sautéed potatoes, rösti, a green salad and a lemon wedge. For meat without breadcrumbs, the method is similar: pan-fried pork chops.
A medium-heat cook, with butter that foams without burning and a crumb that releases by itself once golden: that's what a well-preheated stainless pan does. The pan we film with is 304 stainless with no coating, in 22, 24 and 28 cm, with the 25-recipe book free. For two cordons bleus, take the 28 cm.
