Chicken Cordon Bleu

Several baked Chicken Cordon Bleu portions.

The Best Chicken Cordon Bleu

For me, the traditional way of making a Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of those frustrating recipes that is good but never quite good enough. That being said, I believe I’ve pushed the envelope hard enough to come up with this recipe. We’ve got white and dark meat, seasoned through and through, with the ham and Swiss cheese filling that everyone loves and a nice, crispy, seasoned bread crumb crust.

2 sliced boneless breasts and 8 sliced chicken thighs.

The Ultimate Chicken Flavor

When it comes to poultry, some folks are partial to either white or dark meat. We all know the health benefits of eating the white(breast meat) but I can’t deny the flavor you get from the dark(thigh meat). Therefore, to me, it only makes sense to combine the two and the only way I know how to do that is to use ground chicken. That being said, your options now are to either buy it that way, all ground up, or grind it yourself, like I do in the video tutorial. This gives me more control over the ratio amounts and I can be sure that my ground chicken really actually has both white and dark meat in it. Then I season the meat mix with a few ingredients that take the flavor to the next level.

Raw Chicken Cordon Bleu patties without breading.

Make them ahead of Time

Now that you’ve got the ground chicken mix seasoned, you can smash a few scoops meat into patties. Fill them, the way I show you in the video tutorial, with ham and cheese, then press and mold them into shape. You can also stuff them with broccoli or Spinach, if you prefer, instead of the ham. One of the secrets here, to make things easier, is to throw them in the freezer for 45 minutes. This will allow the meat to firm up so they don’t fall apart when you’re trying to egg wash and bread them. Something I didn’t mention in the video, however, is that you can freeze them again after they’re breaded and save them for a rainy day. You can even cook them the same way and use the time and temps I recommend below.

I’ve also included a Honey Mustard Sauce in the recipe that is out of this world, delicious. So, I highly recommend you try it with your Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Chicken Cordon Bleu video Tutorial from Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Ingredients:

Chicken Mix
2 Chicken Breasts, ground
8 Chicken Thighs, ground
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika

Filling and Breading
1 lbs Ham, deli sliced
1 lbs Swiss Cheese

4 eggs
1/2 cup Flour, all purpose\
1/4 cup Hot Sauce, Louisiana style or Tobasco
1 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs, seasoned

Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1 tbsp chive
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bake 375° Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Be sure to watch the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this Chicken Cordon Bleu, with gravy, from scratch.

Fried Chicken Feet

Fried Chicken Feet Main pic

The Best Fried Chicken Feet

I’ve got a lot to say about this Fried Chicken Feet recipe.  First off, if you can get over the creepiness, these really aren’t that bad.  In fact my wife even used the word delicious.  And, as far as Chicken Feet Recipes go, this probably really is the best of the best.

The secret lies in how the feet are prepared.  Though they are fried, to give it that crispy outside texture, they are actually boiled first to make the inside tender.  I borrowed the sauce from my Wasabi Chicken Wings recipe, which I’ve included below, but in all honesty, if you like spice, I highly recommend using the sauce from my Firecracker Shrimp recipe instead.  I’ve included a link for that below as well.

The second thing I would say about Fried Chicken Feet is that there really isn’t a lot of meat, unfortunately.  I think someone would really be ordering or serving these up for the “Awe” effect, because these really are impressive to look at and they make a great conversational piece!

CLICK HERE for Wasabi Chicken Wings
CLICK HERE for Firecracker Shrimp

Fried Chicken Feet Ingredients:

1 oz Tempura Dipping Sauce
1 oz Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Wasabi
1 Green Onion, chopped scallions
1 tsp Bonito Flakes (dehydrated skip jack tuna)

Boil for 1 1/2 hours then fry 375° Fahrenheit for 8 to 12 minutes.  Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make Fried Chicken Feet.

Rip’N Chick’N Recipe

Rip'n Chick'n Main pic

The BEST Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

This Rip’N Chick’N recipe is as good as any Fried Chicken I’ve ever had. It’s got everything you’d want and expect from great fried chicken. It’s extra crispy, spicy and the chicken is so tender.  The spice comes from Crab Boil seasoning.  This can be brands like Slap Ya Mama, Zatarain’s or even the classic old bay.  But in all honesty I’m not up to speed on the salt content of old Bay because I never buy it.  So be sure you adjust to your specific tastes if the seasoning it self is lacking salt because I don’t add any additional than what’s already in the crab boil seasoning.  It isn’t needed normally because brands like the two I mentioned previously put enough salt in their mixture to flavor water and that’s a lot.  So be careful.

Extra Crispy Fried Chicken Crunch

Everyone loves the “Extra Crispy” in their Fried Chicken.  The Crunch you’ll get from the cornstarch and cooking at a higher temperature(375 F).  The High heat cooks the chicken faster and because we cut our breasts in half it will only take half the time it would normally take and this will give you a more tender and succulent meat.  I’ve also included the way I like to make a creamier ranch dressing with just the store bought packaged seasoning.  What I didn’t mention in the video though however is that you can add some kick by adding Wasabi Paste or something like Sriracha!  Even though the idea of this Chicken recipe is based on Popeye’s Chicken, this is NOT a copycat recipe.  I simply made this the way I like to make my chicken.  So give this a try and thank me later because you won’t regret it!

I’ve included a few other Southern traditional recipes to go with this Fried Chicken if you’re interested in Fried Okra and my Jambalaya recipe.

 

Rip’N Fried Chicken Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast, room temperature
1 cup Butter Milk,

1 cup Self Rising Flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1 tsp Crab boil Seasoning(Zatarain’s, Slap Ya Mama or Old Bay)
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Sage

2 eggs
2 tbsp Water
1/2 cup Hot Sauce, Louisiana

Oil for Frying

Cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 min. or until golden brown.  Let your Extra Crispy Rip’N Fried Chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.