Recipes > Croque Madame | Ham, Cheese & Egg Sandwich
- Serves: 4
- Active Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Views: 52,269
- Success Rating: 83% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Making the Mornay Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- pinch of white pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Method
To make the Mornay sauce, which is just a basic béchamel with cheese, first melt the butter in a small pot over medium low heat. Once the butter melts add the flour and stir. Let cook for about a minute or two, then slowly add the milk, while whisking continuously. Add the fresh nutmeg (you can use dried, but the fresh is especially nice), and season with the salt and pepper. Then turn off the heat and add the Gruyère and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Step 2: Toasting the Bread
- 8 pieces bread (preferably something like Brioche or Italian)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Method
Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Butter both sides of the bread, place onto a baking tray and place into the oven (middle rack). Toast for a few minutes on each side until lightly golden. Then remove from the oven (leaving oven on) and start assembling.
Step 3: Assembling the Sandwiches
- 8 to 16 pieces plain ham (1 or 2 per sandwich)
- 1 to 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
Method
Spread a bit of Dijon on one side of each piece of bread. Top with one or two pieces of ham. Add a bit of cheese to each sandwich, about 2 tablespoons per sandwich (you want to save about 1 cup to top the sandwiches).
Spoon one tablespoon of Mornay on each half, then top with another piece of bread.
Place the sandwiches onto your baking tray then top each sandwich with the remaining sauce. Letting it spread out and cover the edges of the bread. Then top each sandwich with the remaining cheese.
Step 4: Cooking the Sandwiches
Method
Place the sandwiches into the oven and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Then turn on the broiler and cook for another minute or so…or until the cheese has melted and just starts to bubble and turn a light golden brown.
Step 5: Pan-Frying the Eggs
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs
- kosher salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Method
Using a non-stick pan, melt the butter over medium to medium-low heat. Add the eggs and cook sunny side up (or however you prefer them). Once ready, place one egg on top of each sandwich.
Step 6: Serving the Sandwich
Method
Serve each delicious sandwich with a knife and fork and a nice frisée salad…and enjoy!
Chef's Notes
- by Dawn Thomas
- •
- March 12, 2008
Rich and filling this sandwich is a great way to take yourself on an afternoon trip to France.
15 Comments
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I made croque madame this morning for the first time and we absolutely LOVED it. It was already decadent and rich enough but I had to go and substitute half and half for milk. Crazy good. This sandwich isn't for the light appetite. It's been over an hour and I'm still full! Excellent recipe, Dawn! -
I made this delicious concoction this morning and it was delectable; however, when I took the baking pan out of the oven, it was bent as if the opposite edges of the pan had risen and it would no longer lie flat on a surface, but instead rocked. After the pan cooled down, it went back to normal and flat. I have owned had bakeware set for many years, however the trays and pans have had very little or almost no use. Do I need to throw these out and get new baking pans? -
Thinner baking sheets will sometimes warp in the oven when they get hot. I have a few myself that do this, but I usually use them for other things (like freezing stuff and what not). Look for pans that have a heavier weight as these will generally not warp or buckle in the oven. They are also much better at conducting heat more evenly. Restaurant supply stores are a great place to buy them. Hope this helps - cheers! -
tasty...but i think i clogged my arteries a little bit. Is there a recipe that is a bit more cholesterol friendly? -
The great thing about learning to cook is that you then realize that with most recipes you can modify them to suit your tastes. If this is too rich (it is French food after all) then perhaps use a bit less bechamel and/or cheese. Cheers!
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what about croque monsieur????? -
Croque Monsieur is made in the same manner - just omit the egg. Cheers!
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Wow, I made this today as a brunch dish for the family. All I heard was, oh my gosh, this is great and I can't stop eating it, can I have another! Thanks so much for putting this recipe up. -
We made these for lunch and really enjoyed them. We had no gruyere on hand so we made the Mornay sauce using only Parmesan, and then used a local cheddar cheese in and on the sandwich. Cheddar certainly doesn't melt as beautifully as gruyere, but the meal was still delicious.
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One entrée I feel supremely confident creating is consistently perfect grilled cheese on the stovetop. For the third time making Croque Madame, I broke free from the directions and cancelled all but one step involving the oven, just made sandwich on a griddle. Coated with Mornay & Gruyere then broil for a few minutes. Put the hat on her and we are in business. The griddle allowed for a really nice and even crispy crunch throughout, where the previous times in oven, bottom bread was too hard. I don't know, maybe that's traditional method? Great Recipe - Thank You! -
Rouxbe Staff
Stove top is the best way on my estimation, as it allows you to have a lot of temperature control. Good work on getting this dish where you want it to be. ~Ken -
It is a great recipe. I have made this before, but this time I felt i really knew what I was doing and why each step is important. My kids love this dish and I am really happy I feel confident in making it now.
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So, so good! The Mornay sauce was surprisingly easy to make and came out perfectly. I made my sandwiches with Italian bread and 2 pieces ham on each sandwich. I toasted the bread in my countertop toaster oven (set to bake with convection) and also used this device to melt the cheese and finish with a broil. Nice to be able to use this device and not heat up the house with the large oven. This was the first time I have tried over easy eggs. I made 4 and only cracked 1 yolk during the flipping process! By the time I plated the eggs, they were closer to over medium, rather than over easy (edges of yolk were firm, but rest of yolk was still runny). This sandwich tasted just like the Croque Madame I had during my last visit to Paris! I served with a mixed green salad (dandelion greens, radicchio and red leaf lettuce) with a simple dijon vinaigrette! Absolute perfection! -
Made this today for lunch. This sandwich has no business tasting this good. Oh my lord. I don't buy regular milk, instead I used unsweetened almond milk. This sandwich is Scrumdiddlyumptious. -
So good! Turned out fantastic and relatively easy to make. Adding this to my weekly staple.
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