Hairy Bikers chicken cordon bleu rolls smoked ham, Emmental, and cranberry sauce inside a butterflied breast, then double-breads and bakes it until the cheese melts. It comes from Chicken and Egg at around 520 kcal, serves 4, and the headnote calls it a 70s classic brought up to date.
The cranberry sauce is the update, because a traditional cordon bleu has only ham and cheese inside. Two teaspoons per breast add a sweet-sharp layer that cuts through the richness of the melted Emmental.
Double breadcrumbing holds everything together, since two coats of egg and crumbs create a shell thick enough to survive the pan and oven without cracking. The breasts fry for a minute or two per side to set the crust, then twenty-five minutes at 220°C finishes the chicken through.
Hairy Bikers Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe
Description
Each breast is butterflied flat, layered with smoked ham and a chunk of Emmental topped with cranberry sauce, then the mini-fillet seals the filling before the whole thing rolls tight. After a double coat of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, a quick pan-fry and a hot oven do the rest.
Ingredients
For the Cordon Bleu
Instructions
- Butterfly and flatten: Remove the mini-fillet from the back of each breast and set aside. Butterfly each breast, place between two sheets of cling film, and bash with a rolling pin until about 5mm thick all over.
- Stuff and roll: Remove the top cling film from a flattened breast and cover it with a slice of ham. Place a chunk of Emmental in the middle and top with 2 teaspoons of cranberry sauce. Lay the mini-fillet over the fillings, then wrap the breast around everything by bringing the pointy end over first. Using the bottom cling film, roll tightly into a parcel. Repeat with the remaining breasts.
- Double breadcrumb: Season the flour with salt and pepper on a plate. Scatter 50g of breadcrumbs on another plate and whisk the eggs in a bowl. Dust a stuffed breast in flour, roll in egg, coat in crumbs, dip back in egg, and coat in crumbs again. Repeat with each breast, adding fresh 50g of breadcrumbs for each one.
- Pan-fry and bake: Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the breasts over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides until golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray and cook in the oven for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Serve at once.
FAQs
What makes this different from a normal chicken cordon bleu?
Most cordon bleu recipes stop at ham and cheese, but this version adds two teaspoons of cranberry sauce per breast. The cranberry brings a sweet-sharp bite that balances the salty ham and rich Emmental.
That is what the headnote means by ‘a 70s classic brought nicely up to date.’
How do I stop the cheese leaking out during cooking?
Three things from the book work together. The mini-fillet lays over the filling before rolling, which plugs any thin spots where the Emmental would escape. Rolling tightly in cling film compresses everything into a solid parcel.
The double breadcrumb coat then seals the outside, so the cheese melts inside instead of running out into the pan.
What does the double breadcrumbing actually do?
One coat is too thin for a stuffed breast that spends twenty-five minutes in a hot oven. The second pass through egg and crumbs builds a thicker crust that stays sealed all the way through.
The book refreshes 50g of crumbs for each breast so the coating stays dry and sticks cleanly. Their chicken parmo from the same book uses the same half-batch technique.
Can I roll and bread these ahead of time?
The headnote says most of the prep can be done in advance, which makes this a good dinner party dish. Roll, stuff, double-bread, and keep them covered in the fridge until ready.
Take them out fifteen minutes before cooking so they lose the fridge chill, since cold chicken in a hot pan will not brown evenly.
How does this compare to the chicken kiev from the same book?
Both start with a butterflied breast and both get breadcrumbed, but the filling and cooking split completely. The cordon bleu wraps around ham, Emmental, and cranberry, then pan-fries and finishes at 220°C in the oven.
Their chicken kiev wraps around a garlic butter torpedo and deep-fries at 160°C instead. The cordon bleu is drier and crunchier, while the kiev is all about the butter flooding out when you cut in.
