Grilled Cheese Is an Art
Making Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches are a childhood favorite of mine. Gooey, warm American cheese melted between two slices of bread. What’s not to like? And so simple, right? So tasty, the outside all buttery, the inside a mild cheese, a bit salty. All you need now is a tall glass of ice cold milk, and a bowl of tomato soup.
I think a good grilled cheese can go bad fast, there are a few simple tricks to creating a perfect, buttery golden cheesy sandwich. It’s not a science, but I do think making a good grilled cheese is an art.
What You’ll Need to Make Texas Toast Grilled Cheese
- Texas Toast – Texas toast is just white bread cut thick, but the thick cut provides the perfect balance between cheese and bread.
- American Cheese – The original grilled cheese cheese. It’s mysterious but melts oh so well.
- Butter – Make sure the salted butter is room temp or use a spreadable option.
How To Make Texas Toast Grilled Cheese
To make Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches, first, prep your bread by buttering one side of each slice. Be sure to cover the bread edge to edge with butter. Also, unwrap the slices of cheese. Heat the skillet until warm, then turn down the heat to medium low.
Place a slice of bread, butter side facing down in the pan. Top with 1 1/2 slices of thick slice American cheese. Place a lid over the pan and grill the bread for 2-3 minutes. Check the bottom by carefully lifting a corner with a metal spatula to check the color.
Once the bottom is golden brown, top the sandwich with the other slice of bread, butter side up. Carefully flip the sandwich. Top with the lid and grill the other side for 1-2 additional minutes or until the other side is equally golden brown.
Remove the sandwich from the skillet. Repeat the steps for each additional sandwich.
Tip, Tricks, & FAQs
- What temperature should I use to make a grilled cheese? The trick to making a great, melty grilled cheese is to keep the heat low and slow. The lower the heat the longer it will take to melt. I suggest a medium low flame to speed up the process… but let the cheese melt without burning the bread.
- Keep it Clean. If you make multiple sandwiches and cheese drips to the skillet, consider carefully cleaning the pan between grills. Melted cheese on the pan will likely burn and smoke.
- What kind of butter should I use to make my grilled cheese? Soft butter is key, using anything to firm will tear the bread. If you don’t have butter, you can try mayonnaise.
- Can I use other breads or cheeses? Yes! Of course, but the grill times might differ. The trick is to keep the heat low and use the trapped heat under the lid with an open faced sandwich to melt the cheese. Experiment with other bread and cheese combinations.
- Can I use more cheese? You can… but I think this is a good balance of bread and cheese. Too much cheese will also drip out if you cut the sandwich in half. Trust me, I tried. It was too gooey and also didn’t taste good with that much cheese.
Texas Toast Grilled Cheese
Equipment
- large skillet – cast-iron or good stainless steel skillet with lid
- metal spatula (flipper)
- butter knife
Ingredients
- 2 slices Texas toast (thick sliced white bread) per sandwich
- 1 1/2 slices thick sliced plastic wrapped American cheese per sandwich
- 4 teaspoons soft butter (room temp) or spreadable butter (butter with olive oil blends that come in tubs) per sandwich
Instructions
- Note: I'm using the largest burner on my stove.
- Cheese. Prep your cheese. Unwrap the cheese from that lovely plastic protection. You will want the cheese ready to go.1 1/2 slices thick sliced plastic wrapped American cheese per sandwich
- Butter. Butter your bread. Spread 2 teaspoons of butter over one side of each piece of bread. It's key that you use soft, spreadable butter or the bread will tear. Be sure to get the bread covered edge to edge. Put them on a plate until the pan is ready.4 teaspoons soft butter (room temp) or spreadable butter (butter with olive oil blends that come in tubs) per sandwich, 2 slices Texas toast (thick sliced white bread) per sandwich
- Preheat. Warm a skillet over medium low heat. Let it heat for at least 1 minute.
- Grill. Grill one side. Place one slice of bread, butter side face down into the skillet. Top with 1 1/2 pieces of cheese, covering the entire face of the unbuttered bread.
- Cover it Up. Gently heat the cheese. Cover the open-faced sandwich with the lid. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Check the bottom occasionally by gently lifting a corner with a metal spatula.
- Flip. Grill the other side. Once the bottom of the bread is golden and the cheese is gooey, put the other slice of bread on top, butter side facing out. Flip the sandwich and put the lid back on. Grill the other butter side down slice for an additional 1-2 minutes or until completely golden brown. Keep the heat medium low.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately.
