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How to make a better grilled cheese sandwich
Making grilled cheese sandwiches isn’t rocket science.
At least that’s the way Amy Hildenbrand, co-owner of the grilled cheese food trailer Austin Daily Press, sees it.
Start with good bread and cheese. Add meat and/or veggies and don’t forget the sauce. Press between two hot surfaces, and you have an easy, comforting meal that, if you build it right, can taste downright gourmet.
Hildenbrand, left, along with her business partner Cory Nunez and his girlfriend Melani Feinberg, are getting ready to make their national television debut on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” which premieres on August 15. The show, hosted by Tyler Florence, follows seven food trailers on a competition-filled road trip across the country.
Ahead of the series, Hildenbrand gave us some tips on making your own out-of-this-world grilled cheese sandwich.
If you’re making a sandwich with more than two slices of cheese, you’re probably going to want to press it with heated elements on both sides or else the middle isn’t going to get hot and the sandwich will just fall apart. “A $40 sandwich press from Target works just as well as a $300 one from Williams-Sonoma, and you can pick up cat food at the same time,” she says.
Buttered bread works just fine, but mayonnaise on the outside will give you a deeper flavor and crispier crust. For a real taste-explosion, try clarified butter or ghee. Hildenbrand: “It’s like freebasing butter.”
(An old trick leftover from my own childhood: Garlic salt on the outside of the bread.)
Hildenbrand says it’s important to layer the ingredients correctly from both slices of bread to the middle. Smear mayo, mustard or any kind of sauce or dressing (just about any salad dressing or spread will do: ranch, honey mustard, Italian, vinaigrettes, tapenade or even cream cheese) on the slices, then add cheese and keep meat and veggies in the middle. “Cheese helps seal the sandwich together,” she says.
“You have to have enough cheese to stand up against the bread,” she says. At Austin Daily Press, they use about six slices for the thick French bread, but sandwich bread can only withstand about two slices, maybe three.
We all know the usual suspects (Cheddar, Monterrey Jack for cheese, ham for meat), but just about any cheese will work. Feta, fresh mozzarella and provolone are a few of Hildenbrand’s favorites.
French bread works best because the soft insides absorb the extra liquid and flavors. Things get messy if you use pita, tortillas or flatbread, but you can get away with using an English muffin or a bagel if you heat up the bread slightly to soften it before making the sandwich.
As for meat, don’t stop at lunchmeat. Try meatballs cut in half or leftover steak or roasted chicken cut up into small pieces.
Raw tomatoes, white onions, pickles and strong greens such as arugula or spinach add texture as much as flavor. (Potato chips are another way Hildenbrand likes to add texture to a sandwich. Just make sure they are hearty kettle chips or else they will dissolve into the cheese.)
Grilled vegetables take a little more effort because you have to cook the veggies before making the sandwich, but this is where leftovers can come in handy. “With grilled vegetables, you want some bite to them, but it’s less about how you cook the vegetable than it is about finding the balance,” Hildenbrand says.
“You don’t want two inches of grilled squash between two slices of bread. It’s just like making a regular meal, you don’t want to overload on one particular part of the plate.”
Photo of Austin Daily Press team from Food Network.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment Categories: 15 Minutes or Less, Cooking
Comments
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By Peter Tsai
August 10, 2010 2:38 PM | Link to this
Great info and read. Both Amy and Cory are fun people and I’m looking forward to watching them throughout the show.
Had the chance to interview them recently as well - they had some great comments on the Austin food truck scene such as “average tacos and burgers with mediocre ingredients won’t make it in this city anymore.”
Interview: http://thetastingbuds.com/2010/08/austin-daily-press-of-the-great-food-truck-race-interview/
By Max
August 10, 2010 4:25 PM | Link to this
Try the grilled cheese at MAX’s Wine Dive - ranked one of the best in the country by Women’s Day magazine… it’s amazing!
By Nick
January 10, 2011 11:38 PM | Link to this
I feel bad that nobody has commented. This article has provided the basis for 70% of my lunches this past month! My tastebuds thank you.
By Pei Delaportilla
June 21, 2011 7:49 PM | Link to this
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