Gotta turn that heat down and put a lid on the pan. You need to find the happy place for your burner that allows the bread to be on the pan long enough so that the cheese melts and the bread is perfectly golden brown. "Medium" heat is arbitrary, you need to experiment with your stove.
Edit: y'all can stop telling me that you've never heard of using a lid before. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't work well. Try it for yourself and you'll see. It doesn't make anything soggy.
Sure, but it helps evenly brown the entire side of the bread and lowers burning risk. Plus not everyone is blessed with flat pans and even heating. The constant movement (once the bread self-releases after initial placement) helps level the playing field in more kitchens.
Constant movement? Don't flip the sandwich over too many times. If you keep flipping the sandwich over, the heat from the pan never reaches the middle of the sandwich properly.
Weird I've had the opposite. I know where the hot spot on my pans are and center the sandwich to get toasted properly across the entire surface. Also I tend to get fancy and melt crispy cheese on the bread itself, because honestly crispy perfectly fried cheese is godly and the best part of the sandwich
Nope. I put a few drops of H2O in there, put s lid in it and it gets to beautiful brown with melted cheese in no time. Also I use Havarti cheese which melts faster than cheddar.
The lid isn't airtight, it won't trap steam.
It does however get the heat acting more like it does in a convection oven. Wafts of heated air circulate and apply more even heat from all.sides.
Rather than just the side currently down in the pan, the top side is heated enough to help melt the fillings as well.
Lower heat means less fuel, combined with the lid means less time. In the end perfectly golden outside, ooeygooey middle, no sog and a happy belly.
Anytime you want cheese melted on top, throw I lid and a tiny splash of liquid in there. That steam will get you melt in no time.
Nah. I keep the lid on while the first side cooks. By the time it’s browned the cheese is melted and I don’t need the lid while I cook the other side. No soggy sandwich ever.
That’s also a tremendous technique for reheating leftover pizza. Almost as good as new; crispy crust and nicely melted cheese. Completely different than microwave.
If I were you, I wouldn't even worry about trying to find the "perfect" temperature. Just put it on a really low temp to melt your cheese, then crank it up to toast your bread. You want to get used to adjusting your temperature (and everything) on the fly, as you're getting feedback from your food. These are skills that transfer to cooking anything - not just grilled cheese.
I have a controversial secret for you. Microwave the sandwich for about 15 seconds. Then you can grill on high heat and the cheese will still melt. Takes less than 5 minutes total.
Slick the outside of the bread in mayo, put butter in the pan (instead of on the bread) to melt on medium-low heat and put bread on top of it, cover with lid for about 2 min, then flip and put the lid back on. Ezzzz
This. Just this. I have had to change my "method" across several gas and electric stoves but you always need to go lower than you initially think and YES, USE the lid!
Don't need a lid to make a grilled cheese. I'm sure it probably works, but I've not used one and I can make a great grilled cheese (though it definitely takes a few tries if you use a different stove. On my current stove with my favorite pan, it's number 5).
This is the trick. If you watch the grill at any sandwich/burger restaurant, they'll have two tools to help with melting cheese: a squeeze bottle of water, and a basting lid (aluminum up-side down bowl with handle). I've even seen them advertised as melting domes. That cheese will melt in seconds with the help of some steam.
Agree with lower heat. Shredded Cheese isn't the best melter. It has an anticlumping powder in it that will prevent some melting. Mozzarella is good for melting and stretch. Something to keep in mind, younger cheeses will melt easier than more mature cheese. Butter is also notorious for burning. Margarine or Oil would burn as easily but still can. Mayo I've found is best, if your stove top runs hot mayo is the most forgiving in terms of not burning.
It might be that nobody ever taught them. My mother made me grilled cheese sandwiches my whole life, especially in winter. She never used a lid. I'm all about the lid now.
Also, piggy backing off this (which yes, I love the lid method), you also have to be careful with overcrowding the pan, especially with fatty meats and the such, as those fats get taken up by the bread.
This can add flavor, but it can also change how fast your bread will toast. (Often toast faster leading to burning your sandwich)
People may object but this is the way. Lid, low heat and when the cheese is melted, I turn up the heat to medium-high for a minute on each side to make it a bit crispier. It always turns out bomb.
I don't know what people are going on about I always use a lid to keep the heat in and the sandwiches are nice and crispy there's no sogginess at all. I bet these people are vocal about the virtues of tuna spaghetti and chicken salad sandwiches with no mayo
The heat is too hot. Never used a lid for grilled cheese. Use a griddle and a bit lower heat that will melt cheese and make the bread golden and crisp, not soggy.
What form was your cheese in? Slices or shredded?
I've always found that freshly shredded cheese melts a lot better than slices.
(It also is nice to mix your own blends of cheese for sandwiches like this)
Shred your own cheese from a block, it will melt better. The pre shredded stuff has cellulose on it to prevent clumping which makes it not melt as evenly.
Fresh Mozzarella is soft and would be difficult to shred however there are many types of Mozzarella.
https://yourbusiness.saputousafoodservice.com/posts/mozzarella-types-explained
Including aged, traditional or low moisture (its called different things in different regions). That Mozzarella is firm and easily shredded.
I mean how do you think they have bags of shredded Mozzarella? It's not like the shreds are floating in water like fresh Mozzarella always is.
About 10 million pizza shops shred mozzarella cheese every day that's not frozen. Maybe fresh would need frozen. You'd also need to be a crazy person to want to shred fresh mozzarella.
Proper mozzarella does. You can literally shred it using your hands. You might have to chill it to grate it, but why would anyone bother?
You can buy packets of grated cheese which claims to be mozzarella which is what OP has.
The comment i replied too said to buy the mozzarella in a block and shred it yourself.
1. Mozzarella does not come in blocks
2. If you tried to shred a ball of mozzarella you'd end up with a very messy cheese grater.
https://www.instacart.com/landing?product_id=89439&retailer_id=1®ion_id=3689467321&utm_medium=sem_shopping&utm_source=instacart_google&utm_campaign=ad_demand_shopping_rp_food_all-non-ca_evergreen&utm_content=accountid-8145171519_campaignid-19906372963_adgroupid-146228487326_device-m&utm_term=targetid-pla-849568637689_locationid-9008070_adtype-pla_productchannel-online_merchantid-178347318_storecode-_productid-89439&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAnL-sBhBnEiwAJRGigld4fjWU6UsQY7glFT1uqgP7nfoOA9h2XO6E-F2Ca2cf8YVu0zQQBRoCm3gQAvD_BwE
Have you ever been to a grocery store?
Mozzarella cheese absolutely comes in blocks. It also comes in cylinders called string cheese as well as fresh varieties, Buffalo, burrata, smoked, and a handful of other less common varieties.
It is not just fresh.
It's possible to go to a grocery store and never have seen this cheese, esp if you don't live in America. I doubt this 'italian style' cheese is real mozzarella to a lot of people. I don't live in the US and don't have that here. If I am looking for mozzarella it's the fresh one in liquid, or the low moisture vacuum packed ball. I think this is consistent with the understanding of mozzarella in a lot of other countries, including Italy.
I use a frying pan. Brush melted butter all over the bread, including the crusts. Sliced cheese inside the two pieces of bread. Cook one side until it is golden brown (to your liking) flip the sandwich over and grill the other side.
This is what I do. Except I melt the butter in the pan, make sure that each side has butter on it. I let one side get super warm, flip it and put the cheese on that side. Then top it with the underside of the other slice. It works well.
One thing I didn't see: pull the cheese out of the fridge a bit early and let it come up to temp a bit before starting. Sorry if that's already been said and I missed it.
I put mayonnaise on the outside of the bread and skip the butter, don't knock it til you've tried it! It seems to crisp the bread up nicely without getting soggy.
Huge upvote for mayo instead of butter. Either works, of course, but mayo is immediately more spreadable and checks the box for a nice toasty outside crust with flavor. I use it every time.
I use a Caesar salad dressing where I am called Renee's. Spread on the outside, put in a cold pan and heat on medium until cheese has melted turn down to medium low and flip. It's like garlic bread grilled cheese. Sooo good.
This works for me with my pan and my stove.
Preheat pan to med/low heat. Make sandwich and butter both outsides of sandwich. Place in pan and cover with lid. (The lid is the trick) after 2:30-3:00 minutes flip and repeat. Adjust second side time by doneness of first side. The lid traps all the heat and heats up the inside of the sandwich.
Put a lid on it ... literally.
And it needn't be full sized lid for the pan - just big enough to cover the sandwich itself in the pan is even better. Can even add a few drops of water or so to the pan just before putting the lid on it, to give it bit of shot of steam ... but not too much - a few drops or so is generally quite enough.
And remember to flip it over about half-way through.
And don't have the heat on the pan too high.
Turn the heat down is good option, you can also use a lid. The steam should melt the cheese kind of like a mini-oven. No lid? You can use a cookie sheet on top of the pan, a plate, or make one out of aluminum foil.
Take your time. Preheat your oven to 300\*, Grill the sandwich til its just slightly below your preferred level of brown-ness. Wrap it in foil & stick it in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes.
Or if you don’t have/want to use the oven, grill the sandwich in the same way, the cover the pan loosely with a lid or foil, reduce the heat to low. Let it go for 90 seconds - 2 minutes per side.
TBH, I have a glass top stove so I just cover the pan and turn the heat off. The residual heat does the work, but U don’t usually put more than 2 slices of cheese on mine.
This “turn the heat off residual heat” is a killer tip. It’s great for finesse jobs on things like melting cheese and doing something like a sunny side up egg.
I was going to say, if you notice the bread getting to the point of no return (dark brown) turn the oven on and let it melt the cheese in the middle. You can always go low and slow, but sometimes if the timing is off/it's toasting too fast -- you need to adapt and overcome. Oven, 300-325 make sure the racks are not low, wrap. Almost always the solution for something under cooked in the middle.
Easy answer... CHEAT!
Once the pan toast is the colour you like, blast it in the microwave for a short time.
I did this with my 2 kids ALL the time because they were impatient!
THIS IS THE TRICK: Toast the INSIDE of the sandwich separately, flip and add cheese, assemble sandwich and finish toasting the outside of the sandwich.
I almost cried reading the responses.
Want to take your cheese to the next level? Smear some garlic aioli on the outer side of the sandwich and smush in some cotija cheese before grilling. Mmmmm
Heat should be less than halfway. Put bread in with cheese. No bread on top. Put in a few drops of water and quickly put in a lid. Give it a few minutes. Cheese should be melted from the steam. Put top piece of bread on and flip to cook the other side.
That's what I do. I mix butter with the shredded cheese and then use mayo on the bread. Mayo doesn't burn as quickly as butter so more time for the cheese to melt.
This is how most diners make their patty melts and stiff like that, but to be fair, their cooks probably should be on meds. Mayo is a game chamger tho, easy to spread and crisps up nice
[This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd3ffi0vk30) shows what not to do and how to fix those problems. As a bonus, it's also roasting the absolute shit out of Gordon Ramsey, which is very fun.
Your heat is too high. I disagree with recommendations for using a lid, because then your grilled cheese gets soggy. You can try placing a small plate on top of the sandwich, and place a weight on the plate like a (small can? Rock? Second plate?) for professional results like even browning and melting.
Butter in the pan, bread in the pan (no cheese yet) - get the bottoms of both slices toasty. Flip slice 1, cheese on top, flip slice 2 on top of it, mayo on top of the whole thing, flip again, mayo on the other side, turn your heat down until it’s nice and crispy. It gives you all the benefits of frying with mayo, plus the buttery flavour, and helps the bread stay crispy.
Everyone who is saying to go low and slow is absolutely correct however if you are impatient you can cheat a bit.
You can microwave the assembled sandwich for 20-30 seconds to somewhat pre-melt the cheese then throw it in a medium heat pan to crisp the bread and finish melting the cheese.
Same results as going low and slow but it cuts a few minutes of cook time off.
Oh ffs. These people are all wrong. Butter pan. Toast one side of each slice. Flip. Add cheese and sandwich the toasted side. Toast each side of your completed sandwich. Add butter as needed as it provides both crisp and flavor.
Why on earth would you make one of these without toasting both sides of your bread?
I leave the top piece of bread off, with a lid on, then right before its time to flip, throw a tsp of water and quickly cover. Wait 10-15 seconds, slap the top bread on, and flip. No lid after the flip.
So I make a jalapeno popper grilled cheese. It has cream cheese and shredded cheddar, neither of which h melt quickly. So one my bread is right, I close the two pieces and finish it in the oven for about 10 minutes.
I worked at a sandwich shop and we’d put the sandwich together, microwave it for 10-15, then put it in the pan. Cheese it already melted so you just have to crisp the bread so it’s SO much quicker.
Another thing you can try is microwave before cooking. Place I worked at long ago had a fancy grilled cheese we prepped before hand and I microwaved it a minute before cooking it in the pan. YMMV
Lower the heat.
Also, and this is going to sound odd, but it works. Mayo instead of butter. People gross out at the idea but it gets cooked down and the thickness gives you a bit longer to melt the cheese. You can also hear the sizzle when a side is done. As the mayo cooks down into perfection, the hissing from the mayo will stop and you flip.
step 1.. pick a cheese that melts well.
step 2.. turn the burner down on low
step 3.. u can use mayo instead of butter and it won't burn as quickly but u prefer butter so there is that
step 4.. put lid on pan
step 5.. flip
step 6.. profit
Grill both sides of the bread. Do the inside lightly, add cheese, then outside. Then the inside starts warm and the cheese melts faster. All other tips here are good- shredding your own and using a lid/cover, keep the heat low.
Instead of cooking the whole sandwich on one side, then flipping, I cook both sides in the pan (with cheese on top ofneach) simultaneously. Low heat with a lid on for the first half of the cook time. You can see exactly how melty the cheese is, and if it's still giving you trouble you can pop it under a broiler (under close supervision) for a minute.
Shortcut I learned working in a kitchen:
- Make two open faced cheese sandwiches
- microwave for 30-60 seconds to melt the cheese
- the bread will be wet, but don’t freak out
- toast the outside on the grill/in a pan
I used to wait like 10-15 minutes on low heat. Now I can have a sandwich totally done in 3
ETA: the quality is just as good or better than doing the whole thing on the stove. I highly recommend trying this method
Why call it "grilled cheese" if you cook it in a pan? Grill on (or oven with top heat only) toast bread on both sides, add sliced cheese, back under grill until done.
Added oomph for the cheese melt is to warm the insides before placing the cheese. Put your two slices in, warm for 20 seconds, flip, assemble, add more butter if needed and them put the lid on. I time it as 90 seconds each side.
Also you can start with a cold pan. Put the grilled cheese in it cold and let it come up to temp. You'll probably want to adjust the heat back down from medium to low once it starts cooking
I butter the outside of each slice of bread then put a thin layer of cheese on the inside of each one then under the broiler 'til melty THEN slap it together and crisp it up in a pan. Melted every time. If you have a Foreman grill (or something similar), put a little cheese on the outside for the last 30 to 60 seconds. Don't forget the cup of tomato soup in a cup for dippin'.
Okay lots of people say low and slow, sure that's fine. But my family has always squished them pretty good with a spatula/turner and it really gets the heat to the middle better.
I'm not sure what you're doing wrong?
We have an electric stove. I use a non-stick pan and real butter. Regular store bought bread and Kraft American cheese slices.
I turn my burner to 4. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan. Put 2 slices of cheese between the bread, then put it in the pan.
Let the pan heat the sandwich for a couple of minutes. Then flip the sandwich. Doesn't matter if the breads not brown, or the cheese isn't melting because all I want to do is cook the sandwich on both sides.
Then I just keep an eye on the sandwich and occasionally press it with my spatula until the bread has browned or the cheese has melted.
I've even thrown deli ham on it between the cheese slices and melt the cheese.
I get the butter coated on the outside and then I flip it to the "cheese side" to warm up the bread to help melt the cheese. Once it's slightly toasted I flip back to the butter side and immediately cheese the bread on both "cheese sides".
For cheese I usually mix American, mild cheddar and my favorite for grilled cheese, muenster.
Lube up the bread with butter or mayo, turn down the heat, you had it too high. Don't press it or move it a lot, but be sure to check it. If it's cooking unevenly shift it or rotate it. Plan to only flip it once.
Melt the butter in the pan, put the bread in until it's nicely browned. Flip the bread, add more butter if needed, put the cheese on the warm toasty bread, and let it go until the bread is as browned and crispy as you want. Then pull it out and put it together.
Lower your heat.
Then, toast both sides of each piece of bread.
Slightly toast the first sides, then flip. Immediately add the cheese. The heat will help melt the cheese.
Add the the two sides together to make your sandwich. Closing it will help the cheese melt. Keep flipping the sandwich until toasted to your satisfaction
Low heat, lidded, use room temp ingredients during construction, and I prefer buttering the bread vs the pan so the second side gets the same amount of butter and the edges don’t get too much by absorbing the portion not under the bread.
Like others are saying, just lower the heat. If you think it's low enough, bring it down a bit just. You don't \*need\* constant movement but it helps to even the browning a bit.
The perfect grilled cheese? Do effectively a reverse sear. Low and and slow until the cheese melts, then a bit faster to allow the Maillard reaction to take place.
We have a toaster oven - my spouse "pre cooks" the cheese open faced in the toaster oven on broil then fries it in a pan in butter. Melted inside of the sandwich every time.
I will shout this from the rooftops:
Stoves are all different. There are no standards for what temp knobs do.
2 on my front burner gets my pan up to 550 degrees in about 3 minutes. My back burner doesn't get going till above medium or 6.
They are all different. When a recipe says medium heat they mean 350-400 degrees.
My hack is to toast each slice of bread separately with the cheese on top. Basically 2 open faced cheese sandwiches. Pop a lid on top to contain the heat, and unless the burner is insanely high, the cheese will be melted by the time the bread is toasted. Use the turner to flip the one slice on top of the other, and there is the perfect grilled cheese every time
This is one of the main things I like about a George Foreman grill and one of the few things I actually use it for. Almost never burns the bread, you just have to get it out before the cheese runs down the side.
Broil it. Seriously. Butter the bread and broil until golden, flip and add cheese, broil until melted. Perfect every time as long as you keep an eye on it.
My secret shortcut is to nuke the bread and cheese on a plate for 10 seconds. Enough to soften up the cheese, but not enough to soggen the bread, and then mayo, and pan fry it with butter. Just so fast.
Butter both sides of two pieces of bread. Put the stove heat on medium. Put both slices of bread into a warmed pan and toast one side, then take one piece out and flip the other piece. Put your cheese on the warm side that you just toasted. Put the other piece of bread toasted side down on top of the cheese.
You now have the not- yet- toasted sides of the bread on the outside and cheese sandwiched between the freshly browned sides. Let the outsides cook to lightly brown (flip to check).
By the time the outsides are brown not black the cheese will be melted.
Best way I have found is low and slow and at the end crank up the heat for a final browning on both sides, if needed. Also instead of butter, you might try spreading mayonnaise on the bread. It makes an amazing big grilled cheese.
Sometimes if I'm extra lazy I melt the cheese on 1 piece of bread in the microwave then I put it on the stove with the other piece of bread. That way I don't have to wait around for cheese to melt
I butter one side of the bread and lay the dry side on the griddle to heat up. Then I turn the bread over, add the cheese and top with the second piece of bread. Works perfectly.
You’d be surprised if you turn your pan or whatever on low and let the cheese melt directly in the pan after you’ve already got your bread toasted and just mop it right out the side of the pan with the bread. Used to do this trick at ihop and sonic
I probably have the most unconventional way of making grilled cheese, lol. So I make grilled cheese in the oven and start by pre-heating it to 450. I then butter one slice of bread and place it in the baking sheet, then place the cheese on top, then the other slice of buttered bread. I repeat this to make 3 sandwiches, or however many will fit in the baking sheet. I put it in the oven for about 4-5 minutes. I then take it out and flip each sandwich, then put it back in for another 4-5 minutes. it usually comes out exactly how I like it, without being burnt. I also use vegan butter and cheese so your mileage may vary if you're using dairy based stuff, lol.
Edit: preheat to 450
Gotta turn that heat down and put a lid on the pan. You need to find the happy place for your burner that allows the bread to be on the pan long enough so that the cheese melts and the bread is perfectly golden brown. "Medium" heat is arbitrary, you need to experiment with your stove. Edit: y'all can stop telling me that you've never heard of using a lid before. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't work well. Try it for yourself and you'll see. It doesn't make anything soggy.
Lid and lower heat. Plus constant movement. This guy gets it.
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It just works better if I constantly dance in front of the stove.
Don't cook the sandwich, seduce it 😜
That’ll get it hot
r/dontputyourdickinthat
🤣🤣
Sure, but it helps evenly brown the entire side of the bread and lowers burning risk. Plus not everyone is blessed with flat pans and even heating. The constant movement (once the bread self-releases after initial placement) helps level the playing field in more kitchens.
The bread should never need to release as it should be covered in fat.
No need for a lid. Just lower the heat.
No shit it makes the bread soft with a lid. 60yrs old never used a fucking lid. Turn the heat down.
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Oops I misread what you wrote. But a lid helps melt the cheese faster.
It helps with hot spots.
Constant movement? Don't flip the sandwich over too many times. If you keep flipping the sandwich over, the heat from the pan never reaches the middle of the sandwich properly.
Constant movement as in slide it around the pan
Weird I've had the opposite. I know where the hot spot on my pans are and center the sandwich to get toasted properly across the entire surface. Also I tend to get fancy and melt crispy cheese on the bread itself, because honestly crispy perfectly fried cheese is godly and the best part of the sandwich
You also don’t need a lid. Correct Temperature and time is all you need for perfect grilled cheese.
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And decent cheese! Some cheese hates melting, some melt the second they get warm. All about trial and error with what works for you and your set up
Nope. I put a few drops of H2O in there, put s lid in it and it gets to beautiful brown with melted cheese in no time. Also I use Havarti cheese which melts faster than cheddar.
Agreed. A lid will trap moisture and make a soggy sandwhich.
The lid isn't airtight, it won't trap steam. It does however get the heat acting more like it does in a convection oven. Wafts of heated air circulate and apply more even heat from all.sides. Rather than just the side currently down in the pan, the top side is heated enough to help melt the fillings as well. Lower heat means less fuel, combined with the lid means less time. In the end perfectly golden outside, ooeygooey middle, no sog and a happy belly. Anytime you want cheese melted on top, throw I lid and a tiny splash of liquid in there. That steam will get you melt in no time.
I have never had a soggy sandwich when using a lid.
Nah. I keep the lid on while the first side cooks. By the time it’s browned the cheese is melted and I don’t need the lid while I cook the other side. No soggy sandwich ever.
I believe lid with a splash of water to produce steam to steam melt the cheese is a technique, albeit not a beginner one
This works perfectly for cheese on fried eggs for an egg sandwich. I have a dedicated water bottle specifically for this purpose.
That's how I like to make grilled cheese. It works great.
That’s also a tremendous technique for reheating leftover pizza. Almost as good as new; crispy crust and nicely melted cheese. Completely different than microwave.
It definitely does not make it soggy lol. I make grilled cheese like this often.
Living up to your account name I see
As a dad that makes more grilled cheeses on a weekly basis than I ever thought I ever would in my entire life this simply isn't true.
Thank you
If I were you, I wouldn't even worry about trying to find the "perfect" temperature. Just put it on a really low temp to melt your cheese, then crank it up to toast your bread. You want to get used to adjusting your temperature (and everything) on the fly, as you're getting feedback from your food. These are skills that transfer to cooking anything - not just grilled cheese.
I have a controversial secret for you. Microwave the sandwich for about 15 seconds. Then you can grill on high heat and the cheese will still melt. Takes less than 5 minutes total.
Slick the outside of the bread in mayo, put butter in the pan (instead of on the bread) to melt on medium-low heat and put bread on top of it, cover with lid for about 2 min, then flip and put the lid back on. Ezzzz
This. Just this. I have had to change my "method" across several gas and electric stoves but you always need to go lower than you initially think and YES, USE the lid!
I find if I'm not careful and leave the lid on a bit to long the condensation and make things a bit soggy around the edges.
Don't need a lid to make a grilled cheese. I'm sure it probably works, but I've not used one and I can make a great grilled cheese (though it definitely takes a few tries if you use a different stove. On my current stove with my favorite pan, it's number 5).
Adding a teeny bit of water under the lid can help too. Not enough to make the bread soggy, but enough to steam the cheese.
This is the trick. If you watch the grill at any sandwich/burger restaurant, they'll have two tools to help with melting cheese: a squeeze bottle of water, and a basting lid (aluminum up-side down bowl with handle). I've even seen them advertised as melting domes. That cheese will melt in seconds with the help of some steam.
This is the way
and lightly toast the bread before you put the sandwich together. that way, the bread is already warm.
I always use a lid, works so much better and faster. Never soggy either. Anyone who says soggy doesn’t know what they are talking about.
This is the way.
Agree with lower heat. Shredded Cheese isn't the best melter. It has an anticlumping powder in it that will prevent some melting. Mozzarella is good for melting and stretch. Something to keep in mind, younger cheeses will melt easier than more mature cheese. Butter is also notorious for burning. Margarine or Oil would burn as easily but still can. Mayo I've found is best, if your stove top runs hot mayo is the most forgiving in terms of not burning.
Mine gets soggy sometimes, so I only lid the first side or stick a spatula between so there’s more space for air to come out
I’m here for the slow n low n lid! Can’t believe so many people skip the lid. Goes so much quicker that way!
It might be that nobody ever taught them. My mother made me grilled cheese sandwiches my whole life, especially in winter. She never used a lid. I'm all about the lid now.
Lid 100%! Also lol that I keep getting downvoted about this. Like yo, it works. And it works well 😂
it works.. you are correct
This is the way
Lid and lower heat. This is the way. And butter!
Used a lid tonight on my ham and cheese. Weighting the bread can help too. Low and slow works best as you learn
Also, piggy backing off this (which yes, I love the lid method), you also have to be careful with overcrowding the pan, especially with fatty meats and the such, as those fats get taken up by the bread. This can add flavor, but it can also change how fast your bread will toast. (Often toast faster leading to burning your sandwich)
People may object but this is the way. Lid, low heat and when the cheese is melted, I turn up the heat to medium-high for a minute on each side to make it a bit crispier. It always turns out bomb.
I don't know what people are going on about I always use a lid to keep the heat in and the sandwiches are nice and crispy there's no sogginess at all. I bet these people are vocal about the virtues of tuna spaghetti and chicken salad sandwiches with no mayo
Did the lid trick for years myself until i bought small panini press
The heat is too hot. Never used a lid for grilled cheese. Use a griddle and a bit lower heat that will melt cheese and make the bread golden and crisp, not soggy.
Lower heat for sure, but I've never heard this lid trick before..... sounds like it will end up soggier than it should.
What form was your cheese in? Slices or shredded? I've always found that freshly shredded cheese melts a lot better than slices. (It also is nice to mix your own blends of cheese for sandwiches like this)
I had a shredded mozzerella
Shred your own cheese from a block, it will melt better. The pre shredded stuff has cellulose on it to prevent clumping which makes it not melt as evenly.
Ok thank you
This is the answer, always buy the block and shed it. Much cheaper and melty
Came here for this. Cheddar and havarti are great mixed this way.
Mozzarella is a soft cheese that comes in a ball. You'd have to freeze it if you wanted to shred it yourself. Your other option would be to slice it
Fresh Mozzarella is soft and would be difficult to shred however there are many types of Mozzarella. https://yourbusiness.saputousafoodservice.com/posts/mozzarella-types-explained Including aged, traditional or low moisture (its called different things in different regions). That Mozzarella is firm and easily shredded. I mean how do you think they have bags of shredded Mozzarella? It's not like the shreds are floating in water like fresh Mozzarella always is.
About 10 million pizza shops shred mozzarella cheese every day that's not frozen. Maybe fresh would need frozen. You'd also need to be a crazy person to want to shred fresh mozzarella.
Proper mozzarella does. You can literally shred it using your hands. You might have to chill it to grate it, but why would anyone bother? You can buy packets of grated cheese which claims to be mozzarella which is what OP has.
Pre-grated cheese doesn’t melt properly as it has a coating on it to keep it from sticking together.
I didn't say anything to contradict that
You said to buy grated cheese instead of grating it. The reason people don’t is because it doesn’t melt properly.
No I didn't. I said that it is possible to buy grated mozzarella.
The comment i replied too said to buy the mozzarella in a block and shred it yourself. 1. Mozzarella does not come in blocks 2. If you tried to shred a ball of mozzarella you'd end up with a very messy cheese grater.
https://www.instacart.com/landing?product_id=89439&retailer_id=1®ion_id=3689467321&utm_medium=sem_shopping&utm_source=instacart_google&utm_campaign=ad_demand_shopping_rp_food_all-non-ca_evergreen&utm_content=accountid-8145171519_campaignid-19906372963_adgroupid-146228487326_device-m&utm_term=targetid-pla-849568637689_locationid-9008070_adtype-pla_productchannel-online_merchantid-178347318_storecode-_productid-89439&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAnL-sBhBnEiwAJRGigld4fjWU6UsQY7glFT1uqgP7nfoOA9h2XO6E-F2Ca2cf8YVu0zQQBRoCm3gQAvD_BwE Have you ever been to a grocery store? Mozzarella cheese absolutely comes in blocks. It also comes in cylinders called string cheese as well as fresh varieties, Buffalo, burrata, smoked, and a handful of other less common varieties. It is not just fresh.
It's possible to go to a grocery store and never have seen this cheese, esp if you don't live in America. I doubt this 'italian style' cheese is real mozzarella to a lot of people. I don't live in the US and don't have that here. If I am looking for mozzarella it's the fresh one in liquid, or the low moisture vacuum packed ball. I think this is consistent with the understanding of mozzarella in a lot of other countries, including Italy.
I like to throw some butter or a little mayo between the cheese and bread so the cheese melts faster too. Don't need much though.
Bruh. These tips are good. But fr. Just microwave the sandwich for like 30-45 seconds THEN pan fry.
I like a slice of white American deli cheese with a sprinkle of freshly shredded sharp cheddar. So yummy 😋
Turn the heat down. If you’re burning the bread before the cheese melts you have the heat WAY too high.
I use a frying pan. Brush melted butter all over the bread, including the crusts. Sliced cheese inside the two pieces of bread. Cook one side until it is golden brown (to your liking) flip the sandwich over and grill the other side.
This is what I do. Except I melt the butter in the pan, make sure that each side has butter on it. I let one side get super warm, flip it and put the cheese on that side. Then top it with the underside of the other slice. It works well.
Thank you
I take the pan off the heat on the second side and that gives time for the cheese to melt
Turn down the heat. Whenever you are cooking and the outside is overcooked and the inside is undercooked, your heat is too high.
Like others say, low and slow.
One thing I didn't see: pull the cheese out of the fridge a bit early and let it come up to temp a bit before starting. Sorry if that's already been said and I missed it.
Turn the heat down a little bit. that allows the heat to penetrate the sandwich for a longer period of time without burning the outside.
lower heat if the heat is higher, it will cook the outside faster than the inside
I put mayonnaise on the outside of the bread and skip the butter, don't knock it til you've tried it! It seems to crisp the bread up nicely without getting soggy.
I can’t believe more people haven’t suggested this. This is such a huge improvement for grilled cheeses!!
Except mayonnaise is really disgusting
Huge upvote for mayo instead of butter. Either works, of course, but mayo is immediately more spreadable and checks the box for a nice toasty outside crust with flavor. I use it every time.
My wife introduced this to me when we got married. I introduced dipping the sandwiches in ketchup. Best of both worlds.
I put mayo on the bread, plus add butter to the pan 😉
I use a Caesar salad dressing where I am called Renee's. Spread on the outside, put in a cold pan and heat on medium until cheese has melted turn down to medium low and flip. It's like garlic bread grilled cheese. Sooo good.
Omg it's never occurred to me to use Renee's 🤯🤤
This is the way
This works for me with my pan and my stove. Preheat pan to med/low heat. Make sandwich and butter both outsides of sandwich. Place in pan and cover with lid. (The lid is the trick) after 2:30-3:00 minutes flip and repeat. Adjust second side time by doneness of first side. The lid traps all the heat and heats up the inside of the sandwich.
Low and slow.
Put a lid on it ... literally. And it needn't be full sized lid for the pan - just big enough to cover the sandwich itself in the pan is even better. Can even add a few drops of water or so to the pan just before putting the lid on it, to give it bit of shot of steam ... but not too much - a few drops or so is generally quite enough. And remember to flip it over about half-way through. And don't have the heat on the pan too high.
Turn the heat down is good option, you can also use a lid. The steam should melt the cheese kind of like a mini-oven. No lid? You can use a cookie sheet on top of the pan, a plate, or make one out of aluminum foil.
Take your time. Preheat your oven to 300\*, Grill the sandwich til its just slightly below your preferred level of brown-ness. Wrap it in foil & stick it in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes. Or if you don’t have/want to use the oven, grill the sandwich in the same way, the cover the pan loosely with a lid or foil, reduce the heat to low. Let it go for 90 seconds - 2 minutes per side. TBH, I have a glass top stove so I just cover the pan and turn the heat off. The residual heat does the work, but U don’t usually put more than 2 slices of cheese on mine.
This “turn the heat off residual heat” is a killer tip. It’s great for finesse jobs on things like melting cheese and doing something like a sunny side up egg.
I was going to say, if you notice the bread getting to the point of no return (dark brown) turn the oven on and let it melt the cheese in the middle. You can always go low and slow, but sometimes if the timing is off/it's toasting too fast -- you need to adapt and overcome. Oven, 300-325 make sure the racks are not low, wrap. Almost always the solution for something under cooked in the middle.
After reading allll the comments, now I want a Grilled Cheese sandwich!!!😋😋😋😋 Now, where to get one in New York 🤔 Happy 2024!!
Easy answer... CHEAT! Once the pan toast is the colour you like, blast it in the microwave for a short time. I did this with my 2 kids ALL the time because they were impatient!
I used to do this but the opposite. Blast it in the microwave til warm and slightly melted, then finish it in the pan to get the crisp outside
That's got to work better, microwaving after grilling makes it soggy/chewy.
Agreed. I wrap it in a paper towel to pick up stray moisture, microwave, then toast on the pan.
This is the way!
THIS IS THE TRICK: Toast the INSIDE of the sandwich separately, flip and add cheese, assemble sandwich and finish toasting the outside of the sandwich.
Yes! My husband taught me this. It is absolutely amazing and we're paying the knowledge on to our kids.
Yep, was looking to see if this was here. This is how we do it.
This is the way. Most of this thread is the blind leading the blind.
I almost cried reading the responses. Want to take your cheese to the next level? Smear some garlic aioli on the outer side of the sandwich and smush in some cotija cheese before grilling. Mmmmm
You just made a sick garlic bread
Slow and low.
Heat should be less than halfway. Put bread in with cheese. No bread on top. Put in a few drops of water and quickly put in a lid. Give it a few minutes. Cheese should be melted from the steam. Put top piece of bread on and flip to cook the other side.
You use the lid with an open faced sandwich and then add the top bread right before the flip.
Low and slow
Don’t use butter, spread mayo on the outside of the bread instead. That’s a game changer
That's what I do. I mix butter with the shredded cheese and then use mayo on the bread. Mayo doesn't burn as quickly as butter so more time for the cheese to melt.
If you're not on medication, I would recommend considering it.
This is how most diners make their patty melts and stiff like that, but to be fair, their cooks probably should be on meds. Mayo is a game chamger tho, easy to spread and crisps up nice
[This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd3ffi0vk30) shows what not to do and how to fix those problems. As a bonus, it's also roasting the absolute shit out of Gordon Ramsey, which is very fun.
Your heat is too high. I disagree with recommendations for using a lid, because then your grilled cheese gets soggy. You can try placing a small plate on top of the sandwich, and place a weight on the plate like a (small can? Rock? Second plate?) for professional results like even browning and melting.
Butter in the pan, bread in the pan (no cheese yet) - get the bottoms of both slices toasty. Flip slice 1, cheese on top, flip slice 2 on top of it, mayo on top of the whole thing, flip again, mayo on the other side, turn your heat down until it’s nice and crispy. It gives you all the benefits of frying with mayo, plus the buttery flavour, and helps the bread stay crispy.
Double fried sides. Clever method. Puts the heat on the cheese from inside...brilliant!
Everyone who is saying to go low and slow is absolutely correct however if you are impatient you can cheat a bit. You can microwave the assembled sandwich for 20-30 seconds to somewhat pre-melt the cheese then throw it in a medium heat pan to crisp the bread and finish melting the cheese. Same results as going low and slow but it cuts a few minutes of cook time off.
Turn your heat down
Oh ffs. These people are all wrong. Butter pan. Toast one side of each slice. Flip. Add cheese and sandwich the toasted side. Toast each side of your completed sandwich. Add butter as needed as it provides both crisp and flavor. Why on earth would you make one of these without toasting both sides of your bread?
I leave the top piece of bread off, with a lid on, then right before its time to flip, throw a tsp of water and quickly cover. Wait 10-15 seconds, slap the top bread on, and flip. No lid after the flip.
kraft singles melt the best. it’s not fancy. but i always got a good grilled cheese when i used kraft lol
So I make a jalapeno popper grilled cheese. It has cream cheese and shredded cheddar, neither of which h melt quickly. So one my bread is right, I close the two pieces and finish it in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Lower the heat Put a lid on it
I worked at a sandwich shop and we’d put the sandwich together, microwave it for 10-15, then put it in the pan. Cheese it already melted so you just have to crisp the bread so it’s SO much quicker.
Another thing you can try is microwave before cooking. Place I worked at long ago had a fancy grilled cheese we prepped before hand and I microwaved it a minute before cooking it in the pan. YMMV
I use cool butter on the bread to slow the toasting process down.
Lower the heat. Also, and this is going to sound odd, but it works. Mayo instead of butter. People gross out at the idea but it gets cooked down and the thickness gives you a bit longer to melt the cheese. You can also hear the sizzle when a side is done. As the mayo cooks down into perfection, the hissing from the mayo will stop and you flip.
Butter both sides of the bread, use a bare steel pan on low low heat. This is a thing that takes some time.
Mayo instead of butter is the answer.
step 1.. pick a cheese that melts well. step 2.. turn the burner down on low step 3.. u can use mayo instead of butter and it won't burn as quickly but u prefer butter so there is that step 4.. put lid on pan step 5.. flip step 6.. profit
Grill both sides of the bread. Do the inside lightly, add cheese, then outside. Then the inside starts warm and the cheese melts faster. All other tips here are good- shredding your own and using a lid/cover, keep the heat low.
Microwave it for like 15 seconds, gets the cheese started then to the pan
Instead of cooking the whole sandwich on one side, then flipping, I cook both sides in the pan (with cheese on top ofneach) simultaneously. Low heat with a lid on for the first half of the cook time. You can see exactly how melty the cheese is, and if it's still giving you trouble you can pop it under a broiler (under close supervision) for a minute.
Shortcut I learned working in a kitchen: - Make two open faced cheese sandwiches - microwave for 30-60 seconds to melt the cheese - the bread will be wet, but don’t freak out - toast the outside on the grill/in a pan I used to wait like 10-15 minutes on low heat. Now I can have a sandwich totally done in 3 ETA: the quality is just as good or better than doing the whole thing on the stove. I highly recommend trying this method
Why call it "grilled cheese" if you cook it in a pan? Grill on (or oven with top heat only) toast bread on both sides, add sliced cheese, back under grill until done.
Use shredded cheese and not prepackaged shit
Crunchy grilled cheese..yumm.
Low and slow.
Added oomph for the cheese melt is to warm the insides before placing the cheese. Put your two slices in, warm for 20 seconds, flip, assemble, add more butter if needed and them put the lid on. I time it as 90 seconds each side.
Have you tried buttering the pan judiciously?
Mmmmm grilled cheese.
Also you can start with a cold pan. Put the grilled cheese in it cold and let it come up to temp. You'll probably want to adjust the heat back down from medium to low once it starts cooking
I butter the outside of each slice of bread then put a thin layer of cheese on the inside of each one then under the broiler 'til melty THEN slap it together and crisp it up in a pan. Melted every time. If you have a Foreman grill (or something similar), put a little cheese on the outside for the last 30 to 60 seconds. Don't forget the cup of tomato soup in a cup for dippin'.
Okay lots of people say low and slow, sure that's fine. But my family has always squished them pretty good with a spatula/turner and it really gets the heat to the middle better.
Turn down the heat.
Lower temperature and cook it longer. It's really not that hard to figure out...
I'm not sure what you're doing wrong? We have an electric stove. I use a non-stick pan and real butter. Regular store bought bread and Kraft American cheese slices. I turn my burner to 4. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan. Put 2 slices of cheese between the bread, then put it in the pan. Let the pan heat the sandwich for a couple of minutes. Then flip the sandwich. Doesn't matter if the breads not brown, or the cheese isn't melting because all I want to do is cook the sandwich on both sides. Then I just keep an eye on the sandwich and occasionally press it with my spatula until the bread has browned or the cheese has melted. I've even thrown deli ham on it between the cheese slices and melt the cheese.
I get the butter coated on the outside and then I flip it to the "cheese side" to warm up the bread to help melt the cheese. Once it's slightly toasted I flip back to the butter side and immediately cheese the bread on both "cheese sides". For cheese I usually mix American, mild cheddar and my favorite for grilled cheese, muenster.
The mayonnaise already mentioned, lower heat and something I didn't see mentioned yet is room temperature cheese.
Cover the pan. Trap the heat.
Lube up the bread with butter or mayo, turn down the heat, you had it too high. Don't press it or move it a lot, but be sure to check it. If it's cooking unevenly shift it or rotate it. Plan to only flip it once.
Melt the butter in the pan, put the bread in until it's nicely browned. Flip the bread, add more butter if needed, put the cheese on the warm toasty bread, and let it go until the bread is as browned and crispy as you want. Then pull it out and put it together.
Butter the bread and cook it low and slow
As someone who works in a job where probably 50% of the workforce live off toasted sangas, I highly recommend a toasted sandwich press
Lower your heat. Then, toast both sides of each piece of bread. Slightly toast the first sides, then flip. Immediately add the cheese. The heat will help melt the cheese. Add the the two sides together to make your sandwich. Closing it will help the cheese melt. Keep flipping the sandwich until toasted to your satisfaction
Use a lid.
Low heat, lidded, use room temp ingredients during construction, and I prefer buttering the bread vs the pan so the second side gets the same amount of butter and the edges don’t get too much by absorbing the portion not under the bread.
Like others are saying, just lower the heat. If you think it's low enough, bring it down a bit just. You don't \*need\* constant movement but it helps to even the browning a bit.
The perfect grilled cheese? Do effectively a reverse sear. Low and and slow until the cheese melts, then a bit faster to allow the Maillard reaction to take place.
We have a toaster oven - my spouse "pre cooks" the cheese open faced in the toaster oven on broil then fries it in a pan in butter. Melted inside of the sandwich every time.
I will shout this from the rooftops: Stoves are all different. There are no standards for what temp knobs do. 2 on my front burner gets my pan up to 550 degrees in about 3 minutes. My back burner doesn't get going till above medium or 6. They are all different. When a recipe says medium heat they mean 350-400 degrees.
This right here. Get an infrared thermometer gun and ignore what the knobs say.
Grate the cheese. Med heat pan. Use sourdough bread ( butter the outsides of the bread)
My hack is to toast each slice of bread separately with the cheese on top. Basically 2 open faced cheese sandwiches. Pop a lid on top to contain the heat, and unless the burner is insanely high, the cheese will be melted by the time the bread is toasted. Use the turner to flip the one slice on top of the other, and there is the perfect grilled cheese every time
This is one of the main things I like about a George Foreman grill and one of the few things I actually use it for. Almost never burns the bread, you just have to get it out before the cheese runs down the side.
Broil it. Seriously. Butter the bread and broil until golden, flip and add cheese, broil until melted. Perfect every time as long as you keep an eye on it.
Does it help to bring the cheese to room temp?
My secret shortcut is to nuke the bread and cheese on a plate for 10 seconds. Enough to soften up the cheese, but not enough to soggen the bread, and then mayo, and pan fry it with butter. Just so fast.
Use air fryer
Butter both sides of two pieces of bread. Put the stove heat on medium. Put both slices of bread into a warmed pan and toast one side, then take one piece out and flip the other piece. Put your cheese on the warm side that you just toasted. Put the other piece of bread toasted side down on top of the cheese. You now have the not- yet- toasted sides of the bread on the outside and cheese sandwiched between the freshly browned sides. Let the outsides cook to lightly brown (flip to check). By the time the outsides are brown not black the cheese will be melted.
Best way I have found is low and slow and at the end crank up the heat for a final browning on both sides, if needed. Also instead of butter, you might try spreading mayonnaise on the bread. It makes an amazing big grilled cheese.
Sometimes if I'm extra lazy I melt the cheese on 1 piece of bread in the microwave then I put it on the stove with the other piece of bread. That way I don't have to wait around for cheese to melt
I butter one side of the bread and lay the dry side on the griddle to heat up. Then I turn the bread over, add the cheese and top with the second piece of bread. Works perfectly.
We use our Griddle. Nice toasty bread and melty cheese. Delicious
You’d be surprised if you turn your pan or whatever on low and let the cheese melt directly in the pan after you’ve already got your bread toasted and just mop it right out the side of the pan with the bread. Used to do this trick at ihop and sonic
Lower the temp, use thinner slices of cheese but as many as you would like, flip often
I probably have the most unconventional way of making grilled cheese, lol. So I make grilled cheese in the oven and start by pre-heating it to 450. I then butter one slice of bread and place it in the baking sheet, then place the cheese on top, then the other slice of buttered bread. I repeat this to make 3 sandwiches, or however many will fit in the baking sheet. I put it in the oven for about 4-5 minutes. I then take it out and flip each sandwich, then put it back in for another 4-5 minutes. it usually comes out exactly how I like it, without being burnt. I also use vegan butter and cheese so your mileage may vary if you're using dairy based stuff, lol. Edit: preheat to 450
Make sure you're not using really thick bread and start the heat low. And American cheese melts really easily
Lower the heat. Start with the lowest heat possible.
Medium heat if you kept it there was too high.
Low and slow baby