The Ultimate Grilled Cheese
A grilled cheese looks too simple to have a recipe, and then you eat a bad one — pale, greasy, one cold streak of unmelted cheese — and realize there's a right way. The right way is low and slow, not high and fast.
Two things changed mine forever. First, mayonnaise on the outside instead of butter: it browns more evenly and crisps like a dream (trust me before you judge me). Second, grate the cheese instead of slicing it — it melts faster and more evenly, so the middle is molten by the time the bread is golden.
Cover the pan for the last minute. That little trap of steam finishes melting the cheese without burning the bread, and gives you that pull-apart stretch that makes the whole thing worth it.
Mia's tips
- •Use a mix of cheeses — sharp cheddar for flavor, a little mozzarella for the stretch.
- •Mayo on the outside browns more evenly than butter and won't burn as fast.
- •Low and slow: rushing on high heat burns the bread before the cheese melts.
Recipe
The Ultimate Grilled Cheese
Golden, shatteringly crisp outside, molten middle — the grilled cheese that actually deserves your best tomato soup.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the outside of each slice of bread.
- 2Pile the grated cheese between the slices, mayo-side out.
- 3Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat and add the sandwich.
- 4Cook 3–4 minutes until deeply golden, pressing gently with a spatula.
- 5Flip, cover the pan, and cook 2–3 minutes more until the second side is golden and the cheese is molten.
- 6Rest 1 minute, cut on the diagonal, and serve hot.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
