One of the hardest things for me to do is to figure out what kind of stuff my kids are going to want to eat on any given day. They’re 10 and 11 and have very different dietary needs–one is a very physically active beanpole and needs a ton of calories just to maintain, the other is the exact opposite. My stepson only wants to eat carbs and hates anything chewier than a hot dog, and my daughter would only eat meat, cheese, bread, and candy if I would let her. They both adored this recipe. I can usually not get my stepson to eat any condiment that isn’t barbecue sauce, and this recipe is how he figured out that he loves honey mustard. He ate an entire chicken breast, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do. It almost brought a tear to my eye. The struggle is real.
There are several keys to this recipe. The first is the breading. I use a combination of parmesan cheese and pork rind crumbs. For the cheese, you don’t want the fancy kind that you get in the refrigerated section. It’s actually best to use the shelf-stable kind. That doesn’t mean that you should use the green can stuff, because I don’t trust that it isn’t half sawdust. If you have a Costco membership, they sell a great brand called Cello (the same brand that brings you Whisps, if you’ve ever had those snacks) that advertises no fillers and is a nice neutral salty taste for breading. The pork rind crumbs I use are the Pork King Good brand, which I found on Amazon and bought without really looking at the name and then cracked up laughing one day when I finally noticed the joke.
The second key to the recipe is simply using enough oil for cooking, and making sure that the breading is fully cooked before you flip them. Nobody likes it when the breading sticks to the bottom of the pan. That’s just sad. So make sure that when they’re ready to go in, the oil is nice and hot and it covers the entire bottom of the pan.
Start off with a pound of chicken breasts. If necessary, butterfly two large breasts to create four smaller ones. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer mallet, pound them into even thickness. Beat an egg in a small bowl, then put 1/2 cup each of pork crumbs and parmesan cheese on a plate. Add a teaspoon of dried parsley, and a half teaspoon each of ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt, then grind pepper over it to taste. Toss it together with a fork until it’s thoroughly blended.
Heat up 1/4 cup of avocado oil in a large enameled cast iron skillet over medium high heat. While I have a Le Creuset that I got as a wedding present, you don’t need a $200 skillet. This $40 one works fine. They’re good to have, though, because they can get nice even heat and aren’t as likely to have things stick to them as a stainless steel one might. I like the avocado oil for frying because it has a high smoke point. When you heat olive oil up to 375, it starts to degrade and burn, and it affects the flavor. Avocado is a nice neutral oil that can withstand the heat needed to get that nice crispy coating that you want.
When the oil is hot, take the largest chicken breast and dip it in the egg, then coat it evenly on both sides with the crumb mixture. Plop it in the oil and repeat with each breast, making sure the thickest parts are toward the center of the pan. You’ll likely have extra, but it’s better than not enough. After about 5-6 minutes, you should see a nice golden brown around the bottom edges of the breasts. At that point, they’re ready to flip. Using kitchen tongs, carefully flip them over and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Remove them from the pan when the breading is browned and place them on a foil lined cookie sheet.
This is what they look like after they’re turned.
Top each chicken breast with a slice of deli ham and a slice of Swiss cheese. You may want to tear the cheese in half and put it down end to end to make sure that it covers the entire piece of chicken. I used mozzarella for the ones I was making for the kids. Put it in a preheated 350-degree oven until the cheese melts, about 8 minutes.
While the chicken is in the oven, make your honey mustard. Start with 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, and add two tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Then drizzle in four teaspoons of Sukrin Gold Fiber Syrup or a similar honey substitute and whisk with a fork until it’s a nice even drizzly consistency. If you want, taste it and add more syrup. I like mine only lightly sweetened. When the chicken is out of the oven, drizzle each one with some of the honey mustard, or serve it on the side for dipping.
Keto Chicken Cordon Bleu
Breaded, fried chicken breast topped with ham and cheese with a honey mustard dipping sauce.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
If needed, butterfly your chicken breasts so you have four thin cutlets. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken breasts into even thickness.
In a small bowl, beat the egg. On a large plate, mix together the parmesan, pork rind crumbs, parsley, mustard, garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper.
Heat an enameled cast iron skillet to medium high and put the oil in it. Once it's up to temperature, dip the largest chicken breast into the egg and then into the crumb mixture, making sure to coat each side well. Place it into the skillet. Repeat with the next largest chicken breast until you've finished with the smallest.
Fry the chicken in the oil for about 5-6 minutes, until you see a nice golden brown around the edges. Flip carefully using kitchen tongs on the side of each breast. Cook the other side of the chicken for another 5-6 minutes, then remove from the skillet and place onto the lined cookie sheet.
Put a slice of ham on top of each chicken breast and a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the ham. Place into the oven until the cheese melts, about 8 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, and Sukrin Gold to make the honey mustard sauce. To serve, either drizzle the sauce over the chicken or put it in individual ramekins as a dipping sauce.
Counting the macros for this recipe is somewhat difficult as you don't use all of the ingredients. I estimated the amount of egg, oil, and crumbs that went into the actual dish, and using those calculations, the macros are 480 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 41 grams protein, and 34 grams fat.
Keyword cheese, chicken, ham, keto, low carb, weeknight
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