How to Make Grilled Cheese

• Also try: Mahalo's Guide to Grilled Cheese

Introduction

A grilled cheese sandwich. (Photo by Mahalo)

• A grilled cheese sandwich is a childhood classic that has recently been experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Unique, gourmet spins on the humble grilled cheese can be found at many high-end restaurants, and restaurants specializing in the sandwich have even opened. Despite these attempts to make it chi-chi, you can still enjoy this comfort food in your own home — and even make one that's better than what Mom used to make. With enough practice, maybe you can even compete in the Grilled Cheese Invitational!

Step 1: Get good ingredients and tools

• Sure, when you were a kid you ate American cheese on Wonder Bread with margarine. But unless you're still loving Wonder Bread today, chances are you'll find it unsatisfying when you use it for grilled cheese.
• The best bread and cheese for the job are points of fierce debate. Here's some advice about getting the right ingredients for a good grilled cheese sandwich.

Use the right ingredients. (Photo by Mahalo)

1. Choose a lighter bread - heavy bread like whole grain may be too dense for a good grilled cheese sandwich.
   • Food author Laura Werlin recommends using bread that is no thicker than 1/4 inch so as not to overwhelm the cheese, although the Los Angeles Times and Cook's Illustrated both recommend 1/2 inch thick slices.
   • The Los Angeles Times recommends a light whole wheat or a country white sourdough.
   • Cook's Illustrated recommends white sandwich bread.
2. Pick a cheese that melts well. You need something that stays solid at room temperature but has some give to it.
   

   Melted butter ensures even browning. (Photo by Mahalo)
   • A very hard cheese (like Parmesan) probably won't turn into the creamy mass you're looking for.
   • A super-soft cheese (like Brie) will probably turn to liquid and flow right out of your sandwich.
3. Use salted butter. It will impart more flavor to the bread.
4. If you're cooking on the stove, use a non-stick skillet. You can also get good results with a George Foreman Grill. (While using a clothes iron may impress your friends, it won't yield great results.)
5. For an evenly cooked sandwich with well-distributed cheese, you'll need to weight down your sandwich. If you're using a George Foreman grill, the lid will do the job for you. If you're using a frying pan and don't have anything fancy like a steak weight, you can use another heavy pan to weigh it down, or fill a tea kettle with water and put it on top of the sandwich.

Step 2: Prepare the bread and cheese

Shredded cheese melts quickly. (Photo by Mahalo)

• You can just slap a slice of cheese between two pieces of bread, but a little extra effort will make a great sandwich.

1. Grate your cheese. It will distribute evenly and melt faster than sliced cheese.
2. Use a lot of cheese — two ounces or so — to get the best flavor.
3. Butter the outside of the bread thoroughly, from center to crust, so the bread will cook evenly. Cook's Magazine recommends brushing melted butter on the bread.

Step 3: Cook patiently

• As it starts to cook, it will smell so good, you'll probably want to eat it right that second! Resist the temptation to turn up the heat. If you rush the process, you'll have a sandwich that's scorched on the outside and cold on the inside.

Stovetop

1. Place a frying pan on a stove burner.
2. Place your sandwich in the frying pan.
   

   A heavy pan full of water makes a perfect weight for your sandwich. (Photo by Mahalo)
3. Place a steak weight, iron pan, filled tea kettle, or other weight on top of the sandwich.
4. Set your burner to low heat.
5. Check on it every five to ten minutes to see if the bottom is becoming golden brown.
6. Once the bottom has reached a nice color and the cheese has melted, flip the sandwich to toast the other side.
7. After about five more minutes, it should be done!
8. Place the sandwich on a plate.
9. Turn off the burner.
10. Let the sandwich cool for a minute, to avoid cheese burns.
11. Serve!

On an Indoor Grill

Cook at low temperature for best results. (Photo by Mahalo)

• Indoor grills like the George Foreman Grill are convenient for cooking a grilled cheese sandwich. However, they usually lack the fine temperature control that create a truly great sandwich.

1. Place your sandwich on the bottom surface of the grill.
2. Close the grill lid.
3. If your indoor grill has temperature settings, set it to low. If not, just turn it on.
4. Check on the sandwich every five minutes or so to see if it's toasted to a nice golden brown.
5. When it's ready, place the sandwich on a plate.
6. Turn off the grill.
7. Serve!

Step 4: Got the basics? Now get creative!

• Basic grilled cheese is great, but adding ingredients can make it better! There's the tried and true tomato, but plenty of other things you can add, as well.

1. A croque-monsieur is the French take on grilled cheese, and involves ham.
2. Try a mix of feta and gruyere cheese, with some olives to give it a Mediterranean feel.
3. Toss on some grilled vegetables to add a healthy touch.
4. Get gourmet with mozarella and prosciutto.

Resources for How to Make Grilled Cheese

• The New York Times: No Glamour, but Sandwich Is a Star (2007)
• Slashfood: Table 8's grilled cheese sandwich made me weep (2007)
• Taste T.O.: Grilled Cheese Goes Gourmet (2007)
• Gridskipper: New York's Best Grilled Cheese (2007)
• Grilled cheese restaurant: MeltDown Etc.
• Official website: Grilled Cheese Invitational
• Los Angeles Times: Grilled cheese sandwich: Updating an American icon (2007)
• Ask MetaFilter: Best grilled cheese sandwich?
• Yahoo! Food: 10 Tips For the Greatest Grilled Cheese (2007)
• Cook's Illustrated: Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (1998)
• CBS News: Gourmet Grilled Cheese (2004)
• Northwest South Philly: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with a clothes iron
• Cook's Illustrated: Makeshift Sandwich Press
• Wikipedia: Croque-monsieur
• Real Simple: Build a Better Grilled Cheese Sandwich (2006)
• NPR: Gooey-Good Sandwiches to Melt in Your Mouth (2004)

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