Making A Grilled Cheese Sandwich

[AnnieDrews]

Please give input on the technque to making a good grilled cheese sandwich. I have never had much luck at all. Usually, the bread gets burned before the cheese even starts to melt. I have skillets and I also have a grill/griddle that can be placed on the gas burners of my stove.

I found a thread on grilled cheese ingredients, but I am looking for the specific technique to making one perfectly.

Thanks in advance!!

[chopper]

Gosh, I just made grilled cheese yesterday for lunch. I think the trick is having the heat at medium, and watching it carefully. I like spreading the butter, margarine, or spread on the bread first before putting it on the hot surface (grittle, skillet, or whatever). I used cheddar cheese yesterday (shredded-because that is what I had) but I have used american, swiss, or any kind of cheese we happen to have at the time. Don't forget the soup to go along with it!

[Rocklobster]

As much as I hate to say it, margerine is better than butter for grilled cheese sandwhiches. Butter will brown and burn before marg will. Chopper is right with the medium heat. It needs to be timed right to have the outside and inside done at the same time. Sometimes I will brown both sides, turn the heat down and put a lid over the sandwhich to help melt the cheese.
I've probably cooked over a thousand of them in my line of work, and sometimes when I am in a hurry, I will brown both sides and then fire it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to melt the inside.
There are many ways to skin a cat....

[NAchef]

People either put butter on bread or in pan, try both and see what you like.
I agree to shred cheese first.

The ultimate grilled cheese?

[AnnieDrews]

NAChef-That is the link I found, but it just talks about specific ingredients, not the actual technique. Thanks!

I guess I might try the lid trick or the microwave trick.

[pacanis]

I make mine in either a CI skillet if I only want one, or a CI griddle if I'm making two. I use butter and melt it on the griddle, set the sandwich in it, move it around, then do the same with the other side, adding more butter if needed. Then I cover it with a pot lid so the inside melts or warms as the outside toasts. Flipping and heat control is something you just get the hang of. Don't be afraid to lift it, flip it and check often, it's not like a pan seared tuna

[DaveSoMD]

I make mine in a small non-stick skillet. I keep the heat at medium or just below and butter the bread liberally AND melt butter in the pan. Once the butter in the pan is melted and starting to bubble I add the sandwich and cover the pan. I think covering helps keep the heat in and melt the cheese. I check after about 2 minutes to see how it is looking and flip when GBnD, recover, and let the other side brown up.

[FrankZ]

I turn my skillet (or griddle) all the way up then once things are hot I turn it down to med-high. I use butter, though I have a butter bell and the butter is soft when it goes on the bread.

I turn them after it has sat in the pan for a minute or so, then flip when it is ready.

I have burned 'em but usually that happens when I get distracted.

[forty_caliber]

I must have made a gillion grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids over the years and never really thought about the process...

Liberally butter the bread add 2 slices of American and cover with another buttered slice. Drop in hot skillet and flip every minute or so until the cheese is melted and both sides are browned. Hold in a warm oven until the soup is ready.

.40

[Zhizara]

I like to spray with buttery flavored cooking spray. I was always getting too much butter/margarine and ending up with a greasy sandwich.

Medium to medium low heat will melt the cheese as well as toast the bread. Low and slow works best here.