Have you met Chef Nevin yet? He's been busy cooking up mouthwatering meals in professional kitchens for nearly 20 years, but today you can find him in the TA corporate test kitchen, carefully crafting the Country Pride and Iron Skillet menus.
Today, Chef Nevin is getting cheesy - grilled cheese that is! As a bit of a grilled cheese expert, he's sharing his go-to techniques to build the absolute best grilled cheese sandwich.
Chef Nevin's Go-To Grilled Cheese Techniques
Bread
Grab your absolute favorite bread (Chef Nevin's is a rye, wheat biga loaf). Don’t select a strong-flavored bread altered by herbs because you want the cheese to be the star of the show! You need durable bread with no sugar. If the bread has sugar in it, it will grill before the cheese melts.
Butter
In almost all cooking, unsalted butter is the key to perfection. In this instance, however, salted butter is the key. Never use margarine, stick with butter.
Cheese
When building a grilled cheese, use a blend of cheese, including a sharp or funky cheese. To get the perfect melt, add the sharp cheese to the bread before putting on the soft cheeses. Great soft cheese choices are gouda, mozzarella, provolone and muenster. Chef Nevin also always uses high-quality American cheese.
Now that we've covered the basics, let's get to some grilled cheese recipes. Choose the set of ingredients that suits you, then follow Chef Nevin's instructions for the perfect, melty, grilled cheese sandwich.
Smokey Merlot Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 oz Merlot Cheese, Shredded
- 2 Each American Cheese Slice
- 1 Each Smoked Gouda Slice
Sharp Bite Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 oz Auribella Cheese, Shredded
- 1 Each American Cheese Slice
- 2 Each Muenster Cheese Slice
Directions
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Turn heat on medium-low and allow your pan to heat up. If you have a cast-iron pan, be sure to use it for this recipe.
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Butter the outside of each slice of bread.
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Place the first piece of bread butter side down onto the warm pan.
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Shred 1 oz cheese onto the bread.
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Place three slices of cheese onto bread, alternating varieties.
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Shred the remaining 1 oz of cheese on top.
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Top with other slice of bread, with the buttered side facing out.
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Cover with a lid to begin melting the cheese.
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When cheese is about 25 percent melted, flip and begin melting the other side.
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Once the cheese looks melted on the outside, turn the heat from medium to medium-high to brown the outside of the bread.
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Flip one last time to brown the other slice of bread.
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Transfer to a plate, and eat while hot!
Chef's Tips
Hungry for more? We're serving up Chef Nevin's creations at Country Pride and Iron Skillet locations across the country.