Grown-Up Grilled Cheese
Grilled cheese tends to get shunted to the kids' side of the menu. Is it time to liberate it?
Enter Laura Werlin, one of the top U.S. authorities on cheese, and her new book "Grilled Cheese Please". Werlin's a go-to person for advice on artisan cheeses and great cheesemakers, and she's also quite adept at getting readers out of the Kraft-and-tomato-soup rut. (Wine pairings with grilled cheese, anyone?)
In her new book (which is actually her second on grilled cheese), Werlin takes on kimchi grilled cheese, a "Normandy" version with Camembert and green apple, and the somewhat frightening "Cheesus Burger" from a Portland street truck, where two grilled cheese sandwiches take the place of a hamburger bun.
Intrigued? Repelled? No fears. Werlin's advice on grilled cheese is pretty universal, whether you're making the basics or going gourmet. Among her recommendations:
1. Grate cheese rather than slicing it. It'll melt more easily.
2. Butter the outside of the bread, not the pan.
3. A grilled cheese sandwich made with super-thick slices of bread is "nearly always doomed". Go for standard slices.
4. A sandwich press will "ensure crisp bread, a perfect bread-to-cheese ratio, and oozy cheese". You'll also probably use less fat with a press. (If the sandwich filling is particular oozy or loose to start with, though, making it on the stovetop is probably a better bet).
5. If you're not using a sandwich maker, press down on the sandwich with a spatula after you've flipped it. Also, flip sandwiches twice, to make sure the bread is crisp and the cheese is thoroughly melted.
6. Let the sandwich cool at least five minutes before eating it. The flavors will get brighter.
Got any interesting riffs on grilled cheese to share?
-- Rebekah Denn
garden statues on March 08, 2011 at 03:49 AM
oh my I just love the goat cheese....not sure what fig jam is but hey I would try it.....serioulsy I think that my clothes are getting tighter just looking at the pictures on here..
HopeSew on March 08, 2011 at 05:43 AM
Yum, grilled cheese! I don't have a sandwich press so I always make grilled cheese on the stove. I follow step 2 and 5 on your list for sure. Maybe everyone does this already: I put the first slice of bread and the cheese in the pan by themselves, and when the cheese just starts to melt, I put on the second slice of bread. After a moment, I flip the sandwich. I think it keeps the second slice of bread from getting steamy/soggy, and I can see that the cheese has become soft enough to stick to both slices of bread for a neater flip. For step 6, I put the sandwich on a rack or halve it diagonally in the pan and stand the halves, tops propped together, on my plate. This also prevents steamy/soggy problem.
I agree with step 3, too. If I'm stuck with thick bread, I put the insides on the pan first to toast them and then proceed with cheese & so forth. It helps the crispy/melty factor. Still not as good as regular slices, but it works in a pinch.
Gramma Lucy on March 08, 2011 at 06:03 AM
Do what you do, but wrap your sandwich in waxed paper and use an iron to cook it. No mess. Perfect, easy and delicious.
Anders on March 08, 2011 at 10:20 AM
I've done the Grown-up Grilled Cheese before. Used my George Foreman Grill. I think Al-dente was who suggested it to me. Maybe. Possibly. I don't remember specifics.
dreambox sky on March 08, 2011 at 10:43 PM
Let the cheese come to room temperature so that its nice and soft. Depending on how much cheese you like, spread a good, even amount on one slice of bread. Spread an even amount of fig preserves on the other slice of bread.
davijoh on March 09, 2011 at 04:20 PM
We make our grilled cheese sandwiches in the waffle maker. Waffled grilled cheese makes the perfect tool for dunking in soup.
Sharon on March 09, 2011 at 04:28 PM
Pane makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches. My favorite is Trader Joes Tuscan Pane with meunster. I like the Sargento thin deli sliced meunster the best with Swiss being second best.
Jack is Back! on March 09, 2011 at 04:52 PM
Do not forget the dijon mustard. Add tavern ham and you have a Croque Monsier.
fss on March 09, 2011 at 05:31 PM
Place the cooked sandwich on a plate with a paper towel. This keeps the bread from sweating on the plate and creating a soggy sandwich.
Chris on March 09, 2011 at 06:06 PM
...I'm so sorry, but a grilled cheese sandwich without tuna is, well, not a tuna melt... :)
ThOR on March 09, 2011 at 06:15 PM
Unless you have softened butter with which you can uniformly coat the bread, melting the butter in the pan works better. Drop a chunk of butter in the pan, allow it to melt, and then tilt the pan until an area approximately the size of the bread coats the bottom. Next, place the sandwich on top of the butter and then spin the sandwich around using your fingers until the butter has been absorbed into the bread. This technique, which provides a uniform layer of butter, results in a more even browning, requires less butter, and results in none of those soggy spots caused by hard, chunky butter, or the torn bread.
If you are in a hurry and don’t mind the greasiness or extra cleanup, by all means, use thin slices of bread and grated cheese to make your sandwich. For a simpler, more rustic sandwich, which I prefer, cook your grilled cheese sandwich on medium-low to low heat in a covered fry pan. By the time your sliced cheese has melted, the thick-cut bread will have browned to a uniform golden crispness. If it hasn’t, just take the lid off and turn up the heat.
If you follow these two simple recommendations, the sandwich you bring to the table will look better, taste better and be better for you. If you’re looking for a grease bomb, by all means follow the author’s recommendations.
Who writes these things?
Yours truly,
ThOR
Joel on March 09, 2011 at 06:39 PM
Would you also improve on the Sistine Chapel? Cheap bread and cheese from Grandma's fat iron skillet with tomato soup is the only way to eat 'em. Real butter of course!
I remember being a poor college student and making two slices of toast, mashing them together with the cheese, just so the whole thing can go in the toaster for a few more seconds to melt the cheese. You can keep your goat cheese and muenster, these were the tastiest things in the world.
I've grown up so now have a little broiler oven, but I still make 'em almost the same way. No butter this way, but they're nice and crunchy. Now all I need is some cheap catsup...
BruceC on March 09, 2011 at 06:39 PM
If you're an American Cheese fan like me then be sure to use "real" American Cheese from a Deli and not the dreaded Kraft singles...
The Musket on March 09, 2011 at 06:51 PM
The best is cheese is Colby from Wisconsin. While it's still warm, pull the bread apart and the cheese makes long strings. Nothing better.
Scot on March 09, 2011 at 06:56 PM
Sprinkle garlic powder on the buttered bread.
Stuart on March 09, 2011 at 07:43 PM
The most important points on this topic are also made on a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaxyzK2mHqw&playnext=1&list=PL3FA428491E0EC5CB
Using more than one type of cheese and spreading some olive oil infused with garlic on the bread as well as the butter can turn this into quite a sandwich.
jaymaster on March 09, 2011 at 08:26 PM
Every cheese is different, and every bread is different. And the thickness and temperature of each crucial.
So unless you are using Wonder Bread and Velveeta, every grilled cheese sandwich is an exercise in skill and observation and practice.
Ingredients in recipes are always worth considering, but don’t expect the times and temperatures to necessarily work out for you. A few prototypes are always in order.
That being said, grilled cheese sandwiches are kinda like sex, where even a “bad” one is good.
Mike Anderson on March 09, 2011 at 08:52 PM
"A sandwich press..."
Sweet Jesus, can't anybody in this country cook anything without using some specialized expensive gizmo? Just fry the damn thing.
BUT, if you must use a gadget, use one you should already have. Folks seem to overlook the versatility of the good old-fashioned electric waffle iron; that squarish rounded chrome monster that heats up to about a gazillon degrees Fahrenheit. It has reversible plates inside--covering up the heating coils formerly used as props in an old Frankenstein movie. Reverse from the waffly to the flat sides and you've got the perfect cheese sandwich griller (excuse me, SANDWICH PRESS) or quesadilla maker.
HOWEVER, I prefer my grilled cheeses done Old School, and use the waffle sides of the plates for a sandwich with a tire tread texture. What we Texicans affectionately call "Redneck Panini."
Susan Gorgo on March 09, 2011 at 09:11 PM
It's almost Grilled Cheese & Avocado time -- And I can't wait!
Cybrludite on March 10, 2011 at 12:56 AM
Whole Foods has some Gouda-based gourmet cheese & pimento that I like using for both grilled cheese & on cheeseburgers.
Kitchen cabinets on March 11, 2011 at 10:29 AM
I put the first slice of bread and the cheese in the pan by themselves, and when the cheese starts to melt, I put on the second slice of bread. After a moment, I flip the sandwich.
dreambox 800 on December 27, 2011 at 10:26 PM
you are using Wonder Bread and Velveeta, every grilled cheese sandwich is an exercise in skill and observation and practice.