Chicken cordon blue is like a piece of candy with a surprise center. It looks just like a regular piece of fried chicken. But slice it open, and you get ribbons of ham and gooey cheese.
The Swiss dish has become a staple at wedding buffets, and Filipino families often prepare it for special occasions. But despite the accessibility of chicken cordon bleu, people shy away from making it on the regular because preparing it is so tedious. So to make it easier, we developed this recipe for chicken cordon bleu meatballs.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup milk
- 300g ground chicken
- 200g ham, chopped
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 egg
- ½ tbsp dried thyme
- salt, to taste
Sauce
- 1 cup béchamel sauce
- 1 ½ cups white cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Dredge
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs
- neutral oil, for frying
Pour milk over breadcrumbs and leave to soak.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, ham, Parmesan, soaked breadcrumbs, egg, thyme, and salt. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
Scoop about 2 tbsp meatballs and place them on a tray. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
While meatballs are setting up, prepare Pepper’s béchamel sauce recipe.
Heat cheddar cheese into the sauce on low heat until fully melted and combined. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat and keep warm.
Prepare three bowls for dredging. In one bowl, add flour. In the second bowl, add beaten eggs. Place Panko breadcrumbs on the third bowl.
Take meatballs and cover in flour mixture, then dip into the egg mixture, and lastly on the breadcrumbs.
Set breaded meatballs on a tray and repeat until all meatballs are breaded.
Heat oil for frying to 350F. Fry meatballs in batches until golden brown and fully cooked, about 8 mins.
Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce on top or on the side.
