Everyone is always use to seeing the classic Chicken Cordon Bleu, a chicken breast stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese. Today I put a fresh spin on the classic and bring a bit of Ireland to the mix. I switched out the ham and added a bit more of an elegant meat. By adding a nice cured meat such as the Coppa or Prosciutto. The saltiness of premium charcuterie meats will help to bring a sort of elegance to the chicken. In recent years as well, we have seen an influx of imported cheeses from around the world. Kerrygold is a great brand from Ireland and they have several great varieties to choose from. For today’s recipe I chose the Blarney Castle, it is a nice cheese with a similar texture and melt to Gouda. Instead of the usual breading for the chicken I opted instead to use a Tempura batter that uses Guinness as the wet ingredient in place of the usual plain water. To add to the experience I made a whiskey gravy which complements the chicken nicely. The following recipe is for two servings.









2 6-8oz. Chicken Breast boneless, skinless

1oz. Coppa or Prosciutto

2oz. Blarney Castle cheese or Gouda

Flour

Oil for frying

Salt & Pepper to taste

Tempura Batter:

1C Flour

1Tbs. Corn Starch

1 Egg

1C Guinness, cold





Whiskey Gravy:

2Tbs. Oil

1Tbs. Garlic

2Tbs Flour

1/4C Whiskey

1C Chicken Stock

1/4C Heavy Cream

1Tbs. Dijon Mustard

2Tbs. Guinness

1tsp. Honey





Start by slowly bringing the oil for frying the chicken to 350 degrees in a large sauce pan. While the oil is heating up butterfly the chicken breast by cutting almost all of the way through the chicken without cutting it totally in half and pound gently so the chicken is even in thickness.





After you have pounded the chicken add 1/2 oz. of the Coppa and 1 ounce of cheese to each chicken breast and fold back over in half.





In a bowl get the ingredients ready for the tempura batter. Mix the flour and corn starch together and add the egg and beer. Stir until it comes together in a loose batter. You may need to add more beer to thin it out some, it should be the consistency if a thin pancake batter.





When the oil has come to temp arrange the chicken breast, flour and batter in assembly line order so than can go directly into the oil.





Place the chicken breast gently into the oil, you should have enough oil to totally submerge the chicken breast in. Once the chicken has cooked for 5 min. on one side flip over gently and cook for an additional 4 min. until golden brown. Once the chicken is brown place on a wire rack on a baking sheet to let the excess oil drain off.





After all chicken is cooked place in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 min until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.





While the chicken is cooking in the oven you can prepare the gravy.





Start by placing 2Tbs. oil into a small sauce pan and heating the garlic and thyme for 2 min. Once the garlic has started to brown slightly and the 2Tbs. flour and stir to combine for 1min.





Once the flour is incorporated begin to add your liquid ingredients starting the chicken stock. As the gravy starts to thicken remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the whiskey away from the heat so you do not have any flair-ups. Return to the stove and add the cream, mustard and honey. Simmer for 3-4 min. until thickened and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When ready to plate remove the chicken from the oven and ladle a small amount of gravy over the chicken and reserve the rest for mashed potatoes if you like. Finally in the end sit down with your family and enjoy a terrific meal.



