Traditionally, a croque-monsieur is made with ham, and I generally use veggie ham but I was halfway thru putting this post together when I got my hands on some really good smoked salmon. (This stuff is amazing, truly the best smoked salmon I have ever had and you can get it here). The light bulb went off, and next thing I knew I was starting from scratch with smoked salmon replacing the ham.
The first time I made croque-monsieurs I must have gotten lucky because we did everything right. Since then I have made some that, while not bad since it is probably impossible to make this sandwich bad, were not as good as they could be. But along the way to getting it right again I learned a few things. So, let me share the secrets with you.
#1: Use sandwich bread. It normally seems intuitive that better bread equals better sandwich, and most people (like me) consider a fresh loaf to be better then bagged sliced bread. In this case however, sliced bread is the way to go (and according to my french roommate how you will find them made in their birthplace, Paris).
#2: If you are going to make these with cheese on the outside, shred it with a fine grater. This sticks to the bread better and gives a more uniform and thin layer.
#3: If your grilling it with cheese on the outside, grill it beyond the point of just turning golden. Grill it until the cheese gets crispy. When the cheese is still soft, the whole sanwich just seems kindof mushy and greasy.
Most of the recipes I have found include a few defining components: ham, swiss-style cheese (swiss, gruyere, emmental), and sauce (bechamel or mornay), and the bread.
How these components are combined also has general trends but still a variety of styles. Sauce on the inside and cheese outside. Cheese inside and sauce plus more cheese outside. Sauce and cheese inside, neither outside. So play around with it, and find your way.
After trying a few variations I have settled on two I like in particular, presented in this post: Extra Cheesy and Monte Cristo Style.
The Monte Cristo style is the Rachel Ray version I first encountered, with cheese and sauce inside the sandwiches, then dipped in egg batter and fried.
For the extra cheesy style I decided I like the cheese on the outside AND the inside. Yum, cheese...
Smoked Salmon Croque-Monsieur, Two Ways:
For Both Sandwiches:
Bechamel Sauce
2 servings
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
½ cup Milk
2 pinches Nutmeg
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper
Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan
Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk to combine into roux
Add milk and increase heat to medium-low. Whisk to mix roux into milk so no more think lumps remain.
Add nutmeg and dijon mustard, a pinch each of salt and pepper.
Continue whisking, over medium low to medium heat, until sauce thickens to the consistency of country gravy.
Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Monte Cristo Style,(from Rachel Ray):
(2 sandwiches)
Smoked Salmon, enough for 2 sandwiches (I used about 4 ounces)
4 Slices Bread
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce
1-1/2 to 2 cups grated Gruyere (or other swiss style cheese)
1 egg
1/3 cup Milk
Beat together egg and milk, set aside.
Spread all 4 slices of bread with Bechamel sauce, then sprinkle each with a thin but complete layer of cheese.
Top 2 slices of bread with smoked salmon, then top with remaining two slices of bread, cheese side down.
Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, swipe with or melt a little butter in pan.
Dip sandwiches into egg mixture and place in heated skillet. Fry until golden brown, about 5 min.
Flip and fry second side until golden.
Remove from pan, slice in half, and serve immediately.
Extra-Cheesy Croque-Monsieur
(2 sandwiches)
Smoked Salmon, enough for 2 sandwiches (I used about 4 ounces)
4 Slices Bread
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce
3 cups grated Gruyere (or other swiss style cheese)
2 Tbsp Softened Butter
Spread all 4 slices of bread with Bechamel sauce, then sprinkle each with a thin but complete layer of cheese.
Top 2 slices of bread with smoked salmon, then top with remaining two slices of bread, cheese side down.
Butter both sides of each sandwich with softened butter.
Spread a thin but even layer of finely grated cheese on a plate or cutting board. Press sandwich into cheese. Repeat so all 4 sides are covered in a thin layer of cheese.
Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, swipe with or melt a little butter in pan.
Place sandwiches into the hot skillet and grill until the cheese later becomes brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.
Flip over to cook opposite side.
Remove from pan, slice in half, and serve immediately.
