Veal Cordon Bleu

How to prepare the meat and filling

1. Prepare the ingredients: two thin slices of hard cheese, two slices of ham and the meat. Among the cheeses available, consider Swiss Emmental, which is almost always in the shops. It’s very convenient to buy it pre-sliced. Ham can also be bought sliced, either cooked or lightly smoked. Don’t use smoked balyk, which is a bit tough. Veal is preferable, but pork or chicken are perfectly fine to fry.

   

2. Pound the meat thin. You’ll need a cutting board and a meat mallet. To keep the noise down, put a folded towel under the board. Meat can lose its shape when pounded, so wrap it in plastic wrap and pound it thin and to an even thickness. Try not to leave any spots thicker than 3-4 mm. Then remove the plastic wrap and throw it away.

   

   If you’re using chicken, take a fillet and cut it in half through its thickness so it can be opened out. Pound it only a little, just to even out the thickness.

How to form the cordon bleu

3. Add the filling. Lay the pounded meat on a large flat plate or board. Put a slice of thinly cut cheese and the ham along one edge. By the way, fried mushrooms are often added to the filling, which is optional. Fry them until they are no longer wet. I often use bacon instead of ham.

   

4. Roll or fold the meat around the filling. If the piece of meat is pounded thin and comes out long enough, it makes sense to roll it up into a round or flattened roll. Roll it tightly. If the meat is short, just cover the filling with the free edge and form a “sandwich”, closing the filling in with the edges of the meat. I strongly advise securing the edge of the meat with a toothpick; then you don’t have to worry about the shape, since it can “unroll” during frying.

   

How to bread and fry

5. Bread the meat in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. For breading you need three containers, bowls or trays. Put wheat flour in one; without it the breading will hold very poorly. Break the eggs into the second and add 1-1.5 tbsp of cold boiled water. Salt and pepper the egg well and beat it with a fork until smooth. Put the sifted breadcrumbs in the third.

   

   Coat the prepared pieces well and thoroughly in flour so that no meat or filling shows. This matters because the egg mixture sticks well to flour. Then dip the meat with the filling thoroughly in the egg and, finally, roll it in breadcrumbs. You can sprinkle breading over any bare spots and press the breading on lightly with your palms. After this the cordon bleu is ready for frying.

   

6. Heat the fat and add the meat. It’s easier to fry not in a skillet but in a sauté pan or a small deep-sided pan. Ideally the pieces should be deeply submerged in the hot fat while frying. Pour in the vegetable oil and add the butter. When the fat is hot, lower the heat to medium and put the prepared breaded pieces into the fat.

   

7. Fry until golden and cooked through, without a lid. Fry the meat on all sides until a crust forms. Then turn the heat down a little and keep frying, turning the meat often. Be sure to watch that the breading doesn’t start to burn, as that will spoil the look of the dish. Don’t rush the frying: the meat can stay slightly raw while the breading darkens too much. And don’t cover the pan with a lid, or the breading will go soggy instantly.

   With pork, 12-15 mins is usually enough to cook through. Chicken fries faster, but veal needs about 20 mins. In any case, keep an eye on the frying and doneness. But if cheese starts to leak out of the filling through a gap, the meat is almost done; add just 2-3 mins to be safe. Put the finished meat on a paper towel to drain the excess fat.

   

Serving

8. Remove the toothpicks and serve right away. Cordon bleu needs no side dish; it’s a complete dish on its own. A large plate and a piece of meat fried with its filling is all you need, but if you like, add a sprig of herbs for decoration. Serve the meat hot, without letting it cool, and don’t reheat it. As it cools, the cheese filling sets and turns rubbery.

   

   The prepared meat is often baked rather than fried. This is harder, since the breading in the fat can start to burn too soon and it’s difficult to control.