Croque monsieur

Taste and texture

Croque monsieur is a French hot ham-and-cheese sandwich. Larousse describes ham between two slices of sandwich bread, Gruyère, and cooking in butter or on a grill. Melted cheese joins the ham and bread while the exterior develops toasted flavour. Versions with béchamel add a soft white sauce inside and outside.

Bread provides a broad base for thin ham and cheese. With square sandwich bread, ham can be cut or folded to fit. Michel Roux layers ham sized to the bread so the filling spreads across the surface rather than gathering only at the centre.

For béchamel, flour is first cooked with melted butter to form a roux. Milk is stirred in, lumps are removed and the sauce is thickened. Raymond Blanc uses warmed milk, then adds mustard and cheese off the heat once the sauce is smooth. This sequence differs from simply melting cheese into milk.

Seasonings vary. Michel Roux Jr adds nutmeg and pepper to béchamel; Michel Roux's gourmand version includes a little cayenne. Nutmeg flavours the milk sauce and pepper supplies gentle heat alongside the cheese's saltiness.

Cheeses may be used singly or combined. Michel Roux Jr suggests Emmental, Gruyère and Cheddar together. Slices can be layered inside, or grated cheese can be used in the filling and on top. Interior cheese melts beside the ham, while exposed cheese develops a browned surface.

Great British Chefs spreads Dijon mayonnaise beneath ham and sliced Gruyère, then covers the top bread with béchamel. Dijon and nutmeg also season the béchamel. The inner mayonnaise and upper milk sauce make distinct creamy layers, both accompanied by mustard's tang and pungency.

Raymond Blanc uses sourdough or rye bread with Paris ham, mature Cheddar in the sauce and a Cheddar-Comté mixture inside and on top. One side of the bread is toasted first; sauce is spread on the untoasted face before assembly. The finished sandwich is halved and optionally topped with chives.

Michel Roux's gourmand version adds another slice of ham above the top bread, followed by béchamel and grated Aletsch or Gruyère. This places an extra meat layer outside the sandwich. It is baked and served whole or in triangles, with leafy salad suggested alongside.

RecipeTin Eats butter-fries both sides of the filled sandwich before adding sauce, Gruyère and Parmesan on top, then baking and broiling. Direct pan contact colours the bread, while the final top heat browns the cheese layer.

Its béchamel combines milk and cream, producing a richer dairy flavour and a thick, spreadable consistency. Some sauce is reserved for the topping. Parmesan adds saltiness and toasted cheese flavour above, while smoked ham can contribute smoke aroma within the creamy layers.

Wtable and LG offer a Korean adaptation with sweet-potato mousse, ham, sliced Cheddar and pizza cheese on sandwich bread. Milk, butter and honey also appear in the ingredients. Sweet potato adds a distinctly sweet, soft filling alongside the savoury ham and cheese.

Crispness is most evident at the toasted bread edges and browned cheese topping. Inside, melted cheese and béchamel-softened bread remain tender and moist. Thin ham supplies savoury meat flavour between those contrasting layers.

Gruyère or Comté contributes nutty cheese flavour, with Cheddar adding its own character when combined. Béchamel gives a smooth connection between ham and cheese, while nutmeg and pepper season its milky base. Mayonnaise and mustard add tang and pungency alongside richness.

An extra ham layer above the bread brings meat flavour to the top as well. Sweet-potato mousse adds a conspicuously sweet, soft filling. A leafy salad supplies fresh texture beside the warm bread and melted cheese.

How to order it in Korea

1. Look for “croque monsieur” on the menu and order it apart from “croque madame,” which comes with an egg on top.
2. Ask whether béchamel sauce is used and which cheese goes in, so you know how rich it will be.