A Grilled Cheese Sandwich
A recipe more about technique than ingredients, this will yield grilled cheese sandwiches the way they were meant to be; crispy toasted on the outside, creamy melted cheese on the inside.
This is not culinary art. This frankly qualifies as Waffle House fare (and I do not mean that in a derogatory sense - I happen to like Waffle House fare a great deal). But this blog is as much of a family recipe cookbook as it is a public recipe source and I feel like this absolutely delicious sandwich deserves a mention because My Number One Fan, who has made grilled cheese sandwiches all her life, thinks mine is the best she’s ever had, and that’s saying something.
I use Whole Wheat Bread because I think it toasts better and doesn’t absorb as much much oil as white bread will. I use Margarine, not butter, because it is infinitely easier to spread. I use American Cheese, not cheddar, because it melts better. The rest is really technique, and to make a great grilled cheese sandwich, the last thing you want to use is a sandwich press. This sandwich is best grilled in a non-stick skillet over medium low heat on your stovetop. Sandwich presses get too hot and retain too much heat. You’ll wind up with a gooey mess of melted cheese on your griddle, not on your sandwich.
The one ingredient I cannot really list that is paramount to the success of this sandwich: patience.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices whole wheat bread (like, Sara Lee)
- 8 tbsp margarine (like, Country Crock)
- 4 slices American Cheese (like, Kraft)
Instructions
- Set a skillet large enough to hold two sandwiches on the stovetop on low heat for 15-20 minutes to warm up.
- Apply about 2 tablespoons of margarine to each of two slices of bread, being sure to completely cover the entire surface of each slice. Then, turn them over so the buttered side is facing down.
- Lay 2 slices of American Cheese on each of two buttered slices of bread, then cap the sandwich with the un-buttered sliced of bread.
- As before, apply the margarine liberally to the outside tops of each sandwich.
- Turn up the heat on the stove to medium. Put each sandwich in the skillet side-by-side and let it be. You want to be gently toasting the buttered bread slices while allowing the heat to radiate into the the sandwich, slowly melting the cheese. If you crank up the heat too high, you'll burn the bread without warming the inside of the sandwich.
- Check the sandwich at the 5 minute mark by using a spatula to gently lift a corner of the bottom slice of bread. You'll be able to tell from its rigidity if it's beginning to toast and peering a bit further, you can see if the bread is starting to brown. Let it go in 4-5 minute increments until you start seeing melted cheese seeping out of the sandwich. This will take 10-12 minutes.
- Using a sturdy spatula and very quick motion, flip each sandwich over. It helps if you smoosh the sandwich down with your spatula before turning. This will push the top slice of bread a little further into the melting cheese, which helps anchor the bread when you flip over the sandwich.
- Repeat the slow toasting process, although you'll note the second side will brown more quickly.
- When the whole sandwich is rigid and you can easily flip it over without it separating, it is ready to be taken to a cutting board and sliced in a diagonal half with a very sharp knife.
Notes
- Use a paper plate with a slight wax coating as the best surface to work on because you're buttering the outsides of the sandwich bread slices, not the inside.
- Take your margarine out of the fridge for an hour or so to soften up.
- A variation of this sandwich is to add two hot dogs to the sandwich upon construction. Microwave them, cut them lengthwise and place them on top of the cheese prior to grilling, then proceed with the recipe.
