A childhood favorite
When I was a child, my favorite food was Chicken Cordon Bleu. In my opinion, there was nothing to dislike. Someone somewhere in Switzerland had come up with a sinfully perfect combination of fried chicken with salty ham and molten cheese center. As someone who LOVES fried chicken, I can’t think of anything better. As a kid, my mother would indulge my craving for my favorite food by going to Costco and buying the frozen version for Sunday dinner.
Surely, there has to be a better way
To this day, I am still haunted by the difficulty it took to properly cook those frozen Chicken Cordon Bleus. If you baked it too long, all the cheese would leak out. If baked not enough, the chicken would be raw. You couldn’t fry them as they were too big to put in any pot or pan we owned. Surely, there had to be a way of resolving this issue.
Downsize it
It was with a lot of deep contemplation and self-reflection that I came upon the solution: balls. Now, I know what you are thinking right now, ‘You have balls on the brain. Why is everything ball-related to you?’ To which I say, ‘Only if it is food-related’.
Yeah, I’m food-ball obsessed. Western meatballs on top of spaghetti, Asian meatballs in noodle soups, carrot bhajis, arancini, French cheese puffs, cake pops. You name it-I want it! It’s the perfect shape for appetizers and general party food in general. Plus, the shape works for this dish as it seals in the cheese, can be cooked quickly and easy to pop in your mouth. The chicken cordon bleu balls are a great party food since they can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer until ready to pop in the fryer or oven,
Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12-24 balls 1x
Description
Show off your culinary prowess with these chicken cordon bleu balls. Meatballs stuffed with cheese & ham then coated in panko & fried. Great for holiday entertaining! #partyfoods #chickenrecipes #cheese #appetizer
Ingredients
- 500 g (~18 oz) ground chicken (or turkey mince, it works just as well)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp plain Italian breadcrumbs
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- a sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper
- 3–4 large slices of ham (cut into 2 cm/1 inch squares)
- 100–120 g Emmental (Swiss) cheese cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup plain Panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, fresh thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, 1 egg and breadcrumbs until thoroughly combined.
- Using a spoon, separate chicken into meatballs roughly 2 cm/1 inch in diameter.
- Using your fingertips flatten the balls as much as you can.
- In the center, add a piece of ham with a cheese cube on top.
- Gently lift up the edges of the chicken so that it is cupping the ham and cheese inside, forming a bowl.
- Transfer the ‘bowl’ to your hand and carefully fold over the edges together and round it out to form a sealed meatball.
- Repeat.
- After you finish forming all the sealed meatballs, roll each ball first in flour, then in beaten egg, and lastly in panko breadcrumbs.
- Fry in hot oil for 5 -7 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. You can also choose to bake them in the oven. Just lightly spritzed them with vegetable oil or cooking spray and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C (400 F) for 25-30 min.
- Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Appetizer/Starter, Snacks
- Method: frying/baking
- Cuisine: Western
Keywords: Chicken Cordon Bleu, party food, chicken, ham, cheese, appetizer, starter, breadcrumbs, fried, baked
This page was updated on December 16th, 2020.
More appetizers to gobble up:
Lemon Pepper Calamari with a Lemon and Thyme Aioli
Bacon, Brie and Green Chili Spring Rolls
Indian Spiced Cheese Fritters (Masala cheese pancakes)
Interesting to use ground chicken!? I think I’d use chicken breast pounded thin. But the bites idea is cute!