Starting With A Secret Ingredient
Some things never get old, no matter what. For me, its Seinfeld reruns, Converse All-Stars sneakers, and some favorite foods I loved as a kid, and still love now. Specifically, Im talking pasta with butter, Cheerios, and above all, a hot and melty grilled cheese. Its easy to make a good grilled cheese. Unfortunately, it is also easy to make a bad one. Dont take a wrong turn to rubbery, burnt sandwich town. Here are the 5 secrets to a golden, melty, perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
Keto Grilled Cheese Sandwich
This tasty keto grilled cheese sandwich is made with 90-second coconut flour bread, then grilled in butter until perfectly golden and cheesy.
When my husband and I embarked on a low-carb diet, I started looking for ways to recreate our favorite foods while keeping them keto and low-carb. Itâs not always easy to do, but I keep trying until I reach perfection .
This keto grilled cheese sandwich is one of my big successes. Itâs so good! It is perfectly crispy and golden, and wonderfully cheesy. It smells amazing as you cook it in butter.
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To Shred Or To Slice The Cheese
Shredding the cheese is a great option, but not always necessary. If you are using cheese that is harder like a gruyère and doesn’t melt quite as easy as cheddar or American, then shredding is your best bet to an even melt before burning the bread. If it’s cheddar or American, then slicing the cheese is totally fine.
There is a little hidden benefit to shredding cheese though, and that’s eating the little pieces of melted cheese that have fallen out of the sandwich and crisped up on the griddle.
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What Kind Of Chicken Is The Best For Skillet Bbq Chicken
The recipe calls for boneless chicken thighs. Theyre great as they cook fast, and their small size means that the BBQ sauce to chicken ratio is high. Theyre also a little fattier than chicken breasts, so theyre deliciously tender and juicy.
You can easily make this recipe using chicken breasts instead, but theyll need to be cooked a little longer. Sear them for 5 minutes per side, then add a little water to the pan with the BBQ sauce and cook them in the sauce for 8-10 minutes.
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Perfect Cast Iron Grilled Cheese
A grilled cheese sandwich is only as good as its ingredients: tangy sourdough bread, a blend of high-quality cheeses, and plenty of Challenge Butter slathered on each side. For this recipe, we recommend a cast-iron pan for its even distribution of heat we also suggest a variety of filling options, depending on your mood or what you have on hand.
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How To Make The Perfect Grilled Cheese According To Science
It’s all in the pH.
Grilled cheese is more than just a chunk of dairy surrounded by gluten itâs a national staple. The all-American dish now has its own National Grilled Cheese Day, which was celebrated Thursday. While thereâs debate over how unhealthy cheese really is, the sandwich has come a long way since being a dish of Kraft slices on Wonder bread.
Like many recipes from childhood, grilled cheese has undergone a renaissance, appearing in restaurants and bars across the country. Not only has it become pub fare, itâs not uncommon to see restaurants serving sophisticated versions on the classic, like grilled brie on a baguette dipped in organic tomato basil soup. But thatâs not always the best grilled cheese, according to science.
Grilled Asparagus Flavor Variations
- Veggies: You can add other quick-cooking vegetables to these foil packets if youre looking for a little variety. I recommend trying sliced zucchini, diced red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, yellow squash, thinly sliced red onions or even frozen corn kernels.
- Flavorings: Amp up the flavor by adding lemon zest, sun dried tomatoes, olives, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, cooked crumbled bacon, pine nuts or sliced almonds.
- Cheese: After the asparagus packets are cooked through, add a sprinkle of parmesan, feta or mozzarella cheese.
This grilled asparagus in foil is my go-to vegetable side dish when its hot out. If youre an asparagus fan, youll definitely want to give this one a try.
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What Cheese Goes On A Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
American cheese, deli provolone, or Cheez Whiz are the only acceptable cheese options for a real cheesesteak. I recommend white American cheese.
If you use provolone, use the soft deli kind. Avoid aged provolone, which tastes too strong and does not melt as well.
John Kerry made an enormous unforced error in his 2003 Presidential campaign when the candidate, already battling an out-of-touch reputation, attempted to order a cheesesteak with Swiss cheese at Phillys famed Pats King of Steaks. It did not go over well. In fact, the reverberations of the event are still analyzed in politics to this day, such as in this Economist article.
Cheesesteaks should never, ever come with lettuce or tomato or anything like that. Ever.
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The Ingredients Youll Need
Youâll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty sandwich. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Hereâs an overview of what youâll need:
Unsalted butter: I love using creamy European butter, but any butter will be great.
Milk or cream: I usually opt for whole milk.
Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, this one included.
Salt: I use sea salt. If using coarse kosher salt, you can use a little more of it.
Coconut flour: An excellent flour substitute. Itâs highly absorbent, so try to measure it by weight and not by volume. Every extra gram makes a difference.
Baking powder: Make sure itâs fresh before using it.
Sharp cheddar: You can use other melty cheeses such as provolone. But I love cheddar.
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Dress Up Your Grilled Cheese
I am no purist, and I put all kinds of stuff on my grilled cheese. Just dont overstuff it, or all the goodies will slip out. What goodies, you say? Some suggestions:
- Cooked greens: kale, mustard greens, or spinach
- Fruits and Vegetables: roasted red pepper, thin slices of apple or pear, tomato slices
The Best Tip For A Perfect Grilled Cheese
My friends, this is a must. I make grilled cheese without butter! Swap out the butter on the outside of the sandwich for mayonnaise. Cook mayonnaise side down in the pan.
Your grilled cheese will come out perfectly golden with a crust that doesnt get soggy and is not greasy!
If the pan is too hot, the cheese wont melt before the outside is cooked. If you notice the cheese taking awhile, cover it with a lid. The steam will help melt the cheese so it cooks evenly!
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How Long To Grill Chicken Breast
The amount of time you need to grill chicken breast will vary based on the size of the breast and how thinly you pound it.
- Small Chicken Breasts : 7 to 8 minutes
- Medium Chicken Breasts : 8 to 12 minutes
- Large Chicken Breasts : 14 minutes or longer.
In more of a hurry? Try making Grilled Chicken Tenders, which cook in about 6 minutes.
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Make It Better: Mix In Mac And Cheese
Why just enjoy one classic childhood dinner when you can have two classic childhood dinners?! Oh yeah, were talking about swapping out American cheese for mac and cheese for the ultimate carb and cheese situation. You can make your own mac and cheese at home or you can really keep it classic by using a box of Kraft .
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Make It Better: Use A Better Cheese
If you want the easiest way to kick it up a notch, swap out that American cheese for something more spectacular. Using cheddar, Gruyere, brie, blue cheese, Swiss or provolone can change the flavor drastically while keeping things simple. Or, get fancy by combining a few cheeses, like our Panera copycat with fontina, Monterey Jack and white cheddar. Just build as normal with white bread, butter and mayo.
The Secrets To A Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
First, use regular old sandwich bread.
Now is not the time for fancy artisan bread. A classic grilled cheese demands two slices of regular, soft sandwich bread. Whole wheat or whole grain slices are fine in fact, preferred as long as they are not too thick. If the bread is too thick, the heat wont reach the cheese to melt it.
Second, do not use butter. Seriously.
This is, perhaps, the biggest and most controversial grilled cheese trick of all. Many of us picture a grilled cheese sandwich as gooey, melted cheese between two slices of golden-brown, buttery bread that leaves just enough grease on your fingers. But heres a chef secret: That delicious greasiness that made the bread so toasty and golden at the restaurant? Its probably not butter. Its mayonnaise.
Thats right. Instead of butter, spread the outside of the bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise. Its easier to spread than butter, and toasts the bread as well or better than butter. This makes sense. Mayonnaise is little more than an emulsion of oil and egg yolks . The mayo melts in the skillet, which then grills the bread and adds richness and color.
If you are a butter purist, though, do not melt butter and add the bread. Instead, soften your butter and spread it directly onto the bread, then grill.
Third, go low and slow.
Fourth, use the right cheese.
Fifth, remember the microwave.
Bonus Tip
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The Best Bread For Grilled Cheese
Sliced sandwich bread is hands down the best bread for grilled cheese. Sandwich bread has a tight crumb which keeps the cheese from oozing out as it melts. It also has the perfect thickness for the best cheese to bread ratio.
We like to use sourdough sandwich bread for a grilled cheese sandwich because we’re all about the sourdough! This recipe is a great way to use day old bread or bread that is about to go stale.
If you are using your own bread, cut it into ½” thick slices. If the slices are too thick, the cheese to bread ratio will be off and the cheese won’t melt perfectly all the way through. Too thin and the sandwich won’t hold up.
Use plain white bread for a classic grilled cheese or jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread for a gourmet grilled cheese. It’s totally up to you!
The Best Cheese For Grilled Cheese
So how do you achieve the highly sought after moment that makes a cheese lover’s heart swoon? Also known as the gratuitous, cheese-pull?
It’s actually pretty simple. Fill it with your favorite melting cheese! Our favorite is American deli and sharp cheddar cheese. Common varieties of cheese that melt well are:
- American
- Harvarti
- Fontina
Hard cheeses such as Parmesan don’t melt well and soft cheeses like ricotta typically don’t have enough structure to hold up the bread. Not to say that you can’t add a hard or soft cheese along with a variety of melting cheese. There are no strict rules!
A good rule of thumb is – ½ of a cup of shredded cheese per sandwich or a 1 oz. slice, if you are using a standard loaf of sandwich bread. If you like to combine more than one type of cheese, shredded is easier to work with.
Adjust the amount of cheese used per sandwich to your liking. The amounts suggested are good starting points!
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Do You Cook Grilled Cheese On High
Make sure you do not turn the heat up in the sandwich because it speeds up the cooking process. Alternatively youll consume grilled cheese sandwiches that are stovetop-roasted with undercooked, burnt-on meat, and un-melted cheese. * Follow this tip: Cook meat slowly and gently in order to perfection.
Double Up On Your Fats
I know, its putting one more nail in the coffin of health for this meal. But the combination of oil and butter is key.
Preheat a tablespoon of oil in the pan while you butter the bread all the way to the edges with whipped or softened butter. Some people prefer mayonnaise for the job, which is fine, but Im just a dairy gal through and through.
When the solid butter hits the liquid oil, it starts a time-release reaction that slowly toasts the bread, letting it soak up all that tasty buttery flavor while the cheese melts. And speaking of slow
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Tips For A Better Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Toasted bread, melted cheese is there anything better than a freshly made grilled cheese sandwich? The classic combo is hard to beat, but that doesn’t mean it cant be improved upon. The basic recipe white bread and American cheese toasted in a little butter is a good one, but with a few key adjustments, grilled cheese can go from a simple, satisfying sandwich to a mind-blowing culinary experience. Here are eight tips for making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Incorporate one or more and youll be well on your way to bread and cheese heaven.
Rules For A Perfect Grilled Cheese Every Time
There are two types of grilled cheeses in this world. First, theres the kind you make when you come home at 3 A.M. after a bit too much to drink, when all rules fly out the window and pretty much anything tastes deliciousincluding burnt bread surrounding unmelted cheese.
And then theres the grilled cheese you should be making at all other times: perfectly golden-brown bread, melty cheese, supreme satisfaction. To get this sort of sandwich, the rules are strict but justified. Because when it comes to something so simple, there’s not a ton of wiggle room between perfect sandwich creation and sub-par, time-of-desperation snack.
This is where we come in. Look no further for the rules of perfect grilled cheese.
Two things can happen if you rush the grilled-cheese-making process. In one scenario, you quite literally take the sandwich off the of the pan before the bread reaches a deep golden-brown. You may be hungry and tired, but accept that it takes a bit of time to get optimally toasted bread. Were also not that sorry, because it doesnt take too much time .
But more often, you toast the bread before the cheese melts. This happens when your heat is too high and your pan is too hot: Before the inside gets gooey, the outside blackens.
Heres the right way to do it: Start in a cold pan . This allows for the pan to heat up slowly, ensuring that the heat is evenly distributed as the cheese gently but surely melts and the bread develops the ideal crunch and color.
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Making More Than One Grilled Cheese At A Time
For me, its easier to use a 10-inch skillet and grill just one or two sandwiches at once. Unless you have an amazing stovetop with giant burners, its difficult to have even heat distribution across a very large skillet, leaving your sandwiches with pale patches.
Need to make a bunch of grilled cheese sandwiches all at once? Try it in the oven:
The sandwiches wont be quite the same, being baked rather than grilled, but theyll all be ready to serve at once.
Choose Your Ingredients Wisely
The foundation of any great recipe is great ingredients, so you want to take care in choosing great bread and great cheese to make the perfect grilled cheese. We love a light and airy sourdough for our base, because it crisps up nicely, has a ton of flavor, but still maintains a soft interior even while the exterior takes on a good crunch.
We probably all have differing opinions on what the perfect cheese choice is, and thats just fine, the possibilities there are nearly endless. Your cheese choice can be entirely personal, just make sure to choose a good melting cheese like cheddar, American, fontina, provolone, or mozzarella This isnt a job for halloumi. And dont be afraid to mix your cheeses for more flavor a little aged gouda or brie or a sprinkle of parm goes a long way in bumping up flavor.
While were talking cheese, one more tip. Grating your cheese can really help you achieve the perfect sandwich. No one wants to get to the end of this process and find that their cheese hasnt melted through. Using grated cheese helps it melt before your bread starts to burn, so youre sure to have a nice ooey-gooey result.
Oh, also, youre going to need a bit of Kosher salt. More on that later.
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How To Make 10 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches At Once
Everyone knows that grilled cheese sandwiches are created in a skillet with lots of butter and lots of love. But when youve got more than a couple people to feed, and if you all want to eat together, making grilled cheese the traditional way gets to be a little tricky . Thats when youve got to think outside the skillet and start entertaining new possibilities, like the oven.
When you need to make more than just a couple grilled cheese sandwiches, you bake them like a cupcake, in the oven. It works like magic, promise. Heres how its done:
- Preheat the oven with two baking sheets inside. Heating the baking sheets is like heating the skillet, itll make sure that the outside of the sandwich is nicely browned.
Cooks Country came up with this genius idea, but we found it on Life Hacker. Either way, you should try it next time youre having guests over for a meal. Its an awesome excuse to make grilled cheeses.
