Croque madame… the French Grilled Cheese sandwich, with an egg on top! This easy French-inspired croque madame recipe is sure to be a crowd-pleaser during any time of the year. What’s not to like?
I had a late dinner today. Really late… At about 9:30 I wanted something quick to make, but it also had to be appetizing. I wanted a sandwich, or something of the kind… And then, it hit me. I was going to make the infamous french sandwich: Croque Madame!
What is a croque madame?
For those of you who do not know what a Croque Madame is a crunchy grilled chicken / ham and cheese sandwich topped with an egg sunny side up. If you’d rather exclude the egg in the recipe, you would basically have a Croque Monsieur.
My version of the recipe has some “American” flare to it… Instead of Gruyere Cheese, I decided that I would use some cheddar cheese. I know, shame on me, but I didn’t have any Gruyere, so I compromised. I made my own version of the recipe, and I have to say, it sure tasted good!
P.S. I didn’t have time to take a picture, so Phil Runion, allowed me to borrow his picture of a Croque Madame sandwich from his blog.
Thanks Phil!
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Croque Madame Recipe
This croque madame recipe has a bit of american flare to it with the addition of cheddar cheese, but that's all I had on hand. For a more traditional route– go with gruyere cheese. It smells terrible, but tastes heavenly. You'll definitely want to make this time and time again!
Ingredients
Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of milk
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese or gruyere cheese (preferably the latter to keep it traditional)
The Croque Madame Sandwich
- 4 eggs
- 12 slices of chicken or black forest ham
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 slices of good white bread
Instructions
Make the Bechamel
- Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat until it starts bubbling. Then, add the flour. Stir.
- Let the mixture cook for about a minute, or until it smells nutty and looks blondish.
- Whisk in the milk, then bring it to a bubble.
- Lower the heat to low. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Make the Croque Madame Sandwiches
- Heat a skillet on medium heat.
- Take two slices of bread, and butter each slice of bread (on one side only.
- Lay one slice down in the skillet, then add a tablespoon or so of Béchamel sauce and the three slices of ham. Place the other slice of bread on top (buttered side up).
- Brown each side of the sandwich. Repeat with three other sandwiches.
- After all of the sandwiches are made, turn your broiler on. Put some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet (for easy clean up). Place all 4 sandwiches on the cookie sheet.
- Take about a tablespoon of béchamel sauce and smooth it out on top of each sandwich.
- Set the sandwiches under the broiler for about 2 minutes, or just until the top of the sandwiches are browned.
- While the sandwiches are under the broiler, fry the eggs sunny-side-up or to your liking.
- When the sandwiches are done, top them with a fried egg. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
- If there is extra sauce left, add some on top of each egg (this is entirely optional, but recommended
Notes
Serve the croque madame sandwiches as is, or with a nice green salad, or thinly sliced french fries.
3 Comments
eightmate (Richard)
May 23, 2010 at 12:50 pmAnd here is how you make it! https://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2009/05/croque-madam-recipe/
searedfoodblog (Seared Food Blog)
May 23, 2010 at 12:51 pmRT @eightmate – And here is how you make it! https://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2009/05/croque-madam-recipe/ #food
Ana Fernández
November 4, 2011 at 5:39 amHi everyone,
I just did the same sandwich a few days ago at home using some Spanish cheese, it was amazing, I think the Spanish cheese really improves it, why don´t you try, just have a look at this website, I´m pretty sure you´ll find it interesting.
kind regards
Ana
http://www.asturiascheese.com/spanish-cheese