Traditional Cordon Bleu

Traditional Cordon Bleu Recipe

Traditional Cordon Bleu

Traditional Cordon Bleu is also called Cordon Bleu in Germany. Cordon Bleu is a breaded Schnitzel filled with ham and cheese. You can use pork meat, boneless chicken, boneless turkey, or veal. I have used pork meat.

Ingredients for Traditional Cordon Bleu:

  • 1362 g (3 lbs) of fresh boneless pork loin (makes eight cordon bleus)
  • salt
  • pepper
  • vegetable shortening
  • wooden sticks (skewers about 3.75 inches)
  • 8 slices of cooked ham
  • 8 slices of Swiss Cheese
  • 2 eggs, XL
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) of all-purpose flour
  • 150 g (5.3 oz) of plain bread crumbs

Preparation:

Rinse the meat and dry it with paper kitchen towels. Remove the fat with a sharp knife. Cut the meat in two steps. First, make a cut ¼ of an inch wide, but not all the way through. Make the second cut about ¼ of an inch wide, which goes all the way through to the bottom to finish the first slice. Continue cutting the rest of the meat in the same way. 

Open each slice of meat (each Schnitzel) that should look like a butterfly. The open side of the cut should be facing the surface (see picture below). Use a meat tenderizer to flatten the meat, and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.   

Preparation of the meat for the traditional cordon bleu   IMG_4912   IMG_4915

Filling of the Schnitzel:

Place a slice of cheese on each piece of cooked ham. Fold the ham/cheese slices in half and place the folded slices on top of each piece of meat, covering only half your Schnitzel. Make sure the edges of your folded slice points towards the center of your meat slice. Otherwise, the cheese may seep run during the cooking process. Fold the other half of the meat over and close the Schnitzel with a skewer (see picture below).

Filling of the traditional cordon bleu                     Finishing the traditional Cordon Bleu

Preparation of the breading:

Mix the flour with some salt and pepper and pour it on a plate. On a separate plate, beat the eggs with a fork and spread the breadcrumbs on a third plate. Have a fourth plate ready for the breaded Cordon Bleu.

Step 1: Roll the Cordon Bleu in flour. Step 2: Dip it in the eggs. Step 3: Coat the meat with breadcrumbs. Make sure the meat is covered evenly during each step. 

IMG_4935                     breading of the traditional cordon bleu

Frying of the Cordon Bleu:

Heat the shortening in a frying pan. The bottom of your pan should be completely covered with shortening. The breading of the schnitzel will absorb a lot of the liquefied fat, so make sure to have additional shortening close at hand if you need to add shortening. Fry the Schnitzels slowly for about 6 minutes on each side while turning them over a few times. When the Schnitzels are done, place them on a cooling rack covered with paper kitchen towels. Once the excess oil has absorbed in the paper towel, place the Schnitzels in the oven (on low heat) to keep warm while you fry the rest of your Schnitzels.

frying of the traditional cordon bleu                     IMG_4954

You can serve the Cordon Bleu with a few dashes of lemon juice on the top. The Schnitzels can be complimented by sautéed potatoes (see below).  Add one of Oma’s Salads from her Salad Bar and your meal is complete. To try the Classic German Jaeger Schnitzel Recipe click here and the Grilled Pork Loin Chops click here

Preparation of potatoes:

IMG_3536

Boil small potatoes (I used fingerlings) for about 12 minutes. Put them in a colander and rinse under cold water. Peel the skin off. Melt about 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Place the potatoes in the butter and sauté them evenly on all sides before placing them on a serving plate.