Friday, January 9, 2015

Bluetons (Blue Cheese Croutons) – Trademark Pending

As promised, here are the blue cheese croutons you saw floating on top of the roasted apple and parsnip soup we posted yesterday. They were just perfect together, and as I ate my soup, dozens of other, “perfect togethers,” easily came to mind.

We only use three ingredients here, which is why this works so well. Try to resist the temptation to add salt, pepper, or other spices, as the blue cheese will provide all the punch you need. We’re going for pure blue cheese flavor in a buttery, crunchy package, and anything else would just get in the way.

Another tip here is to use bread that’s not too stale. I find that dry bread makes a crispy-hard crouton; verses fresher bread, which has more crispy-brittle texture. You can file that one under theories I can’t prove, but don’t need to.

The type of blue cheese really doesn’t matter to the technique, but the sharper, and more intense the flavor, the better. Like I always say, you're the boss, so use whatever you like. Speaking of which, Michele gets credit for the, "Louis Vuitton of your blue cheese crouton" line. I was going to go with "the Chef John of..." but hers was much better.

I guessed at some amounts below, but you don’t need those, since this is simply as much butter and cheese as you feel comfortable with. I hope you give these blue cheese croutons a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 8 portions Blue Cheese Croutons:
1/2 loaf fresh or day old bread (try to use something not already dry and hard)
5-6 tbsp hot melted unsalted butter
2-3 ounces strong blue cheese, placed in freezer until firm
*bake at 350 F. until browned and crisp. 

13 comments:

Boltman said...

What type of bread works best for croutons?

Chef John said...

Any French or Italian loaf!

Jude said...

I'm now having a grilled bleu cheese sandwich which I NEVER thought of until I saw your "bleutons" video.

Unknown said...

I'd assume other cheeses can be used. Do you recommend any sharp varieties of cheese that could go with this recipe?

Thanks ahead Chef John.

Unknown said...

I know you say any blue cheese but which one did you use?

Unknown said...

'The only reason you were using a spoon was because you didn't want to get blue cheese on your camera.' Well, yeah, but I'm not sure if using the camera is the best bet either. ;)

Unknown said...

All right, here's my bid for the buffalo wing inspired soup:

Brown 2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt & pepper, in clarified butter. Remove to cool.

Sweat 1/2 an onion, four stalks of celery, and 2 jalapenos (all diced) in a stock pot with some butter. Add a spoonful of flour to make the roux. Add 2-3 cups of chicken broth, an 11oz can of tomato soup, and 1/4 cup Frank's hot sauce. I also added 1/2 teaspoon cayenne for some additional heat.

Cube up the chicken breasts and add them to the soup. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and you are ready to eat. Don't forget to top with the Blutons!

Thanks for everything you do, Chef John. I owe most of what I know about cooking to watching your videos.

Chef John said...

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. ;) Sounds great! Thanks!

Lisa from Indiana said...

Damn these are tasty! Not sure they are going to make it into the soup! Just gotta taste one more...

Michele Manfredi said...

Claire Thomas - Hi there. I bought Point Reyes Bay Blue and thought it was a delicious pairing for this soup. Enjoy!

Rich said...

Any takers for the buffalo chicken soup with the blue tons?

Chef John said...

FYI, Michele is my wife, so apparently I used that blue cheese! :) enjoy!

Rhubarbarians said...

This is genius! I've been obsessing over additions to soups this season and this is just perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Trish