Halal-conscious recipe
Chicken cordon bleu, no pork ham
Halal chicken breasts rolled around Halal turkey ham or smoked beef and Emmental, crumbed and baked, with a mustard cheese sauce.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Why Halal checks matter here
Cordon bleu is rolled around pork ham, the chicken is only Halal from Halal slaughter, the Emmental is a rennet check, and some Dijon mustard lists white wine.
Chicken cordon bleu is a flattened chicken breast rolled around ham and cheese, crumbed and cooked until the cheese melts inside. The ham is pork, and BBC Good Food's version rolls a slice into each breast and serves it with a mustard cheese sauce.
This version uses Halal turkey ham or Halal smoked beef in place of the pork ham, and Halal chicken. The Emmental, in the roll and in the sauce, should name microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet (see cheese). Read the label on the Dijon: some, such as Grey Poupon in the US, list white wine (see mustard).
Flatten the chicken evenly so it rolls without splitting, and don't skip the 30-minute chill: firm rolls keep their shape and the cheese stays inside.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Ham Ham is cured pork, and the original rolls a slice into each breast. Use Halal turkey ham or Halal smoked beef. See Ham.
- Chicken Chicken is Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy Halal chicken from a butcher or a certified pack. See Chicken.
- Emmental Cheese can be made with animal rennet, and scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way. Choose a cheese that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet. See Cheese.
- Dijon mustard Some Dijon mustard lists white wine as an ingredient. Read the label and choose one without wine. See Mustard.
Safe substitutes
- Pork ham → Halal turkey ham or Halal smoked beef
- Dijon with white wine → A mustard with no wine on the label
Allergens
gluten (flour, breadcrumbs), egg, milk (butter, milk, cheese), mustard
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 Halal chicken breast fillets
- 4 slices Halal turkey ham or Halal smoked beef, in place of pork ham
- 75 g (¾ cup) Emmental or similar cheese with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, grated
- 75 g (1¼ cups) dried breadcrumbs (panko)
- 50 g (3½ tbsp) butter, melted
- 100 g (¾ cup) plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- to serve watercress salad, to serve (optional)
Cheese sauce
- 25 g (2 tbsp) butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 250 ml (1 cup + 1 tbsp) milk
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard with no wine on the label
- 75 g (¾ cup) Emmental or similar cheese with checked rennet, grated
Method
- Butterfly and flatten. Slice into one side of each chicken breast from the thick end to the thin point without cutting all the way through, and open it out like a book. Lay each between two sheets of baking parchment and bash with a rolling pin to 3 to 4 mm thick.
- Fill and roll. Lay a slice of Halal turkey ham or smoked beef on each breast, where the original uses pork ham, and sprinkle over the cheese. Roll up from a short end into a chunky cylinder, securing with a cocktail stick if needed, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Crumb. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan) with two baking trays inside for at least 10 minutes. Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted butter and a little seasoning; put the seasoned flour and the beaten egg in two more bowls. Coat each roll in flour, then egg, then the crumbs.
- Bake. Line the hot trays with baking parchment, lay the chicken on them and bake for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Make the sauce. Melt the butter over a low heat, stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the milk gradually, then cook over a medium heat, stirring, until thick. Off the heat, stir in the mustard, cheese and seasoning, and spoon over the chicken.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Chicken cordon bleu' (chicken breasts butterflied and flattened, layered with a slice of ham and grated Emmental, rolled and chilled 30 minutes, coated in flour, egg and buttered panko, baked 25 minutes at 220°C; served with a sauce of butter, flour, milk, Dijon mustard and Emmental). We replaced the ham with Halal turkey ham or Halal smoked beef, and specified Halal chicken, a cheese with checked rennet and a mustard with no wine. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
-
Chicken cordon bleu — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
Serves 4: 4 chicken breast fillets, 4 slices ham, 75 g Emmental, 75 g panko, 50 g butter, 100 g flour, 2 eggs; sauce of 25 g butter, 2 tbsp flour, 250 ml milk, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 75 g Emmental; chilled 30 minutes, baked 25 minutes at 220°C. We replaced the ham.
-
Ham analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
Why ham is pork, and Halal turkey and beef alternatives.