Board 8 > i failed to properly make a grilled cheese

(+) Yeah! (+)

ama
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how

one time when I was a kid I leaned over a grilled cheese pan and burned a line across my chest, still have a bit of a scar
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used something besides cheddar?
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Chaeix posted...

how

one time when I was a kid I leaned over a grilled cheese pan and burned a line across my chest, still have a bit of a scar

Menji posted...

used something besides cheddar?

Basically this

i used cheddar but also added mozzarella and provolone
it wasn't bad but it wasn't good
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i also used a chibatta bun
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did you burn it
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no, it was just too much cheese that didn't mesh
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Menji posted...

used something besides cheddar?

And what is wrong with American?
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Also, pics?
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DELnC1fXUAATm-n.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DELqxAcW0AAM_XC.jpg

it looks okay???
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Looks ok.

But you really gotta go American and sourdough or white
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chibatta grilled cheese sounded good
it wasn't terrible
but it wasn't good
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you can't mix cheeses like that

good rule: keep your cheeses from the same country
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i need to learn how to cook
board 8, teach me how to use cheeses
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NioraptH posted...

How?

In a fit of laziness/desperation, I always slap cheese inbetween two slices of buttered bread and microwave it for... microwaved cheese bread with goopy butter.

Wow, and I thought I used to be bad for using a George Foreman for grilled cheese.
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I can only do grilled cheese if it's, like, perfect. Crisp outside, gooey inside, tasting of pan-seared greatness. Microwave it and it's inedible to me. I tried Foreman, too, and it wasn't buttery enough and the cheese had a strange aftertaste. g i v e m e t h a t s k i l l e t.
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I think people commonly fail to make grilled cheese. Their first mistake is using either American cheese (particularly Kraft brand) or Velveeta or any other kind of processed cheese.
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The only way to mess up a grilled cheese is to add filling to it which makes it a melt instead
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kevwaffles posted...

NioraptH posted...

How?

In a fit of laziness/desperation, I always slap cheese inbetween two slices of buttered bread and microwave it for... microwaved cheese bread with goopy butter.

Wow, and I thought I used to be bad for using a George Foreman for grilled cheese.

Oh shit I never thought of that. Guess I know what I'm doing for lunch today.
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Ok you can totally mix cheeses or use things other than cheddar. Easiest way is to think of it as mac & cheese. Cheddar is the standard body of the cheese, but you can add any other relatively firm/solid aged cheese with a strong flavor. So adding gruyere, gouda, parmesan, even blue cheese works, just like in mac & cheese. Definitely NOT mozarella, which becomes so soft and sticky it will just leak out. Provolone is okay for texture but doesn't taste like anything so it's boring. That's being said, if you want a softer sticky texture for whatever reason, add a touch of mozzarella. That's called cooking.

The other important half if the bread. You want a sliced bread that toasts and absorbs butter really well. That's why white bread is the classic (brioche is the fancy version of basically the same thing). Ciabatta doesn't toast or absorb anything due to its roundish shape and hard crust. Sliced sourdough absorbs okay but it's really hard so I don't think it merges well with the cheese when you bite, but it is really crunchy. Crusty french loaf, sliced thin is my favorite, since it's got that crunchy bite but is also fairly soft.
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JonThePenguin posted...

Oh shit I never thought of that. Guess I know what I'm doing for lunch today.

It's terrible IMO but hopefully you'll feel otherwise.
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My best friend and I have always talked about opening a grilled cheese restaurant/bar/food truck.

It's like the perfect food for it.
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Chaeix posted...

one time when I was a kid I leaned over a grilled cheese pan and burned a line across my chest, still have a bit of a scar

Me too!

But mine was as an adult, like 2 years ago
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I have no interest in any grilled cheese that doesn't involve white bread and Kraft cheese. Keep it simple and do it right. No need to get elaborate.
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Yo man if you're not putting garlic powder on your grilled cheese bread you're doing it wrong
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

My best friend and I have always talked about opening a grilled cheese restaurant/bar/food truck.

It's like the perfect food for it.

I'd be a frequent patron (if I lived wherever it was)
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There actually is an "artisanal grilled cheese" food truck in my city.

And a grilled cheese/tomato soup place called TOM+CHEE
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I'm not a fan of TOM+CHEE. I went a couple of times down in Tampa Bay and I found the sandwiches very bland and overpriced. :(
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

My best friend and I have always talked about opening a grilled cheese restaurant/bar/food truck.

It's like the perfect food for it.

We have a grilled cheese bar here and it sucks. $10 for various mediocre grilled cheeses with random expensive crap stuck into them to justify the high price, plus some soups. Drinks are okay but there are tons of places to have drinks with much nicer bar food. It's just hard to do grilled cheese at the margins that a restaurant requires, since most people expect grilled cheese to be extremely cheap.
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Jeff Zero posted...

I'm not a fan of TOM+CHEE. I went a couple of times down in Tampa Bay and I found the sandwiches very bland and overpriced. :(

I'm admittedly not a huge fan either

I like the sandwiches but they're WAY too expensive for what they are (plus I'm not a tomato soup fan, and they don't have many other side options)
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I dunno I did cheddar and pepper jack on sourdough last night and it was excellent.

Also all of you people saying "what's wrong with American" the answer is everything.
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I love Tom + Chee, but more for the grilled donuts than the grilled cheese. The donut with chocolate and bacon and mozzarella cheese is to die for (literally; you can almost feel your arteries clogging as you eat).

Although thinking of their goetta melt does make me want to go back sometime soon.
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Looking at the sandwich, the problem seems more the bread than the cheese. As mentioned earlier, you need a bread that toasts well. I've never tried mozzarella on a grilled cheese, but it sounds delicious even if it becomes a leaky mess.

Personal favorite to make with whole grain wheat with a few slices of swiss.
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i'll master grilled cheese at no time
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We've got a grilled cheese place here called The New York Grilled Cheese Co. It's amazing.
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

My best friend and I have always talked about opening a grilled cheese restaurant/bar/food truck.

Are you guys in college and live in an RV by any chance?

Shaduln posted...

Also all of you people saying "what's wrong with American" the answer is everything.

IDK man, whenever I use "New Yorker American Cheese" from Land O'Lakes it always turns out pretty great
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I just made a grilled cheese with American on a Hoagie roll. Buttered the outside of the bread.
Can confirm it was good.
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A good American cheese is totally fine. It's got decent flavor and it has a low melting point, which means you can make a grilled cheese with it faster than almost any other kind of cheese (cheddar, while delicious, has a higher melting point so you gotta be more careful about it)
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CherryCokes posted...

A good American cheese is totally fine. It's got decent flavor and it has a low melting point, which means you can make a grilled cheese with it faster than almost any other kind of cheese (cheddar, while delicious, has a higher melting point so you gotta be more careful about it)

For those of you keeping track at home, Kraft is not good a American cheese.
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(simpering FUckface voice) look at Me the shitting Cheese NAzi

I haven't enjoyed processed cheese since I was a kid.

Unless we're talking about nacho cheese dip in which case yum. But the stuff you pop in the microwave to make it melt always burns around the edges and starts getting lukewarm the moment you sit down with chips to enjoy.

I digress.

The only way to fail to make grilled cheese is to burn it or place the bread butter-side in (I almost did this one, it was harrowing).

Other than that, it's the distinction between 'meh' grilled cheese and 'omg this is too good for a quick meal' grilled cheese.

Butter works so much better than margarine for grilled cheese, but just generally isn't an option during the winter, early spring, and late fall, at least where I live.

Funnily enough, you know what also works for grilled cheese? Olive oil instead of butter. It alters the flavor a bit but is lighter and actually healthier in the long run. You just need to apply it with a brush instead of a knife, which is sort of a pain.

Cheddar is the king for grilled cheese, but I've had success with mozzarella, provolone, and some of the spicier cheeses.
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Kraft cheese slices are nasty
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMR8a8nCM4c
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Muenster is my go-to for basic grilled cheese. I get the store brand rather than Boar's Head because it's slightly softer so it melts faster. Rather than buttering the outside of the bread I melt the butter in the pan, then melt some more when I flip it.

If I'm getting fancy I might use smoked gouda, Vermont cheddar, double Gloucester, bleu, or whatever's available. Could also add stuff in with the cheese like jalapenos, tomato, or some meat cold cuts. You have to keep the pieces small though or they prevent the cheese from holding everything together. I also like sprinkling some shredded extra sharp/New York cheddar on the outside of the bread to crisp up.
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I add bacon to grilled cheese once in a while
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The fun thing about putting bacon in your grilled cheese is that you can grill it in the bacon fat instead of using butter.
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I didn't like grilled cheeses or just any cheese for the longest time because my family aways bought and used American slices or Velveeta, so I just thought all cheese was nasty. I finally learned better once I started going out on my own, like to friends houses and the mall and such. It turns out it's just Velveeta and American sliced sandwich cheese is disgusting.
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as long as you're not one of those freaks who tries to make grilled cheese in the microwave it's easy to improve at making it
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yeah i wasn't even aware anyone did that

it's like, the dumbest idea. bread doesn't crisp up in the microwave, it gets soggy
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