Making the perfect grilled cheese is a skill everyone should know. There are many different opinions on what spread makes the absolute best crust. I decided to test six popular methods to see which one actually tastes the best. The results were pretty surprising and I found one clear winner.
The Classic Comfort Food We All Love
We have all had a grilled cheese sandwich when we needed a quick and comforting snack late at night. Sometimes a bad sandwich can really ruin your mood so we need to find the best way to make it.
My Simple Cast Iron Cooking Method
I used plain white sandwich bread and American cheese for every single test so things stayed completely fair. I cooked them in a cast iron skillet over medium low heat for about four minutes on each side to get that nice browning.
Testing The Famous Mayonnaise Trick
People always say that putting mayonnaise on the outside makes the best crust but I really have to disagree. It definitely gets crispy but the warm mayo gives off a weird artificial flavor that just clashes with the creamy cheese.
Trying Out Healthy Extra Virgin Olive Oil
I brushed some olive oil on the bread and it gave the sandwich a really loud crunch when I bit into it. The problem is that the fruity flavor of the oil was way too strong and totally overpowered the simple cheese inside.
Mixing Mayonnaise And Butter Together
I thought mixing both spreads would give me the rich butter flavor along with the crispy mayo crust. The sandwich did cook up nice and crisp but that chemical oil taste from the mayo was still there and it just tasted slightly greasy.
Cooking With Savory Bacon Grease
Since I love saving bacon grease I decided to spread some cold fat right onto the bread for this test. It gave the sandwich an amazing smoky flavor that was super delicious even though it kinda stole the spotlight from the cheese itself.
The Big Surprise Of Coconut Oil
This was the biggest shock of the whole experiment because refined coconut oil made the absolute crispiest crust out of all the methods. The flavor is totally neutral so it lets the cheese be the star of the show while giving you that crazy crunch.
The Champion Classic Salted Butter
You just can not beat the traditional method of using good quality softened salted butter on your bread. As it cooks the butter gets this amazing nutty and toasty flavor that makes the perfect golden crust we all dream about when we are hungry.
Why Low And Slow Is The Secret
The real secret to getting gooey cheese without burning the bread is to have patience and keep your heat on medium low. It does not matter what fat you use if you burn the outside before the inside gets melted and warm.
My Final Verdict On The Best Sandwich
It turns out the way you probably grew up making these sandwiches is still the absolute best way to do it. Good old butter is the ultimate winner for flavor but you should definitely try the coconut oil trick if you just want maximum crunch.
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