[0 - 0] - I'm Frank Proto,
[0 - 2] professional chef and culinary instructor.
[2 - 4] And today I'm gonna show you the best way
[4 - 8] to make grilled cheese at home, Frank-style.
[8 - 9] We're talking everything you need to know
[9 - 11] to make the crispiest, crunchiest,
[11 - 14] cheesiest grilled cheese sandwich you've ever had.
[14 - 16] This is grilled cheese 101.
[17 - 20] When you talk about grilled cheese, everyone has an opinion.
[20 - 21] There are tons of variables
[21 - 24] when it comes to a really good grilled cheese.
[24 - 26] You got your bread, you got your mayonnaise or butter.
[27 - 29] You have the cheese that you use as well.
[29 - 35] I believe mine is the best. [gentle music]
[35 - 37] The bread that I like to use for my grilled cheese
[37 - 39] has a very tight crumb.
[39 - 40] Now, if you don't know anything about bread,
[40 - 43] the inside is the crumb.
[43 - 44] I don't want lots of holes in here.
[44 - 46] So the Wonder bread is okay.
[46 - 49] You know, it's a nice slice. It's got a nice tight crumb.
[49 - 51] I find that when you use this type of bread,
[51 - 52] the outside gets nice and crispy,
[52 - 54] but the inside gets a little pasty.
[54 - 56] And I don't like the texture of it when it's cooked.
[56 - 60] Versus this loaf. This one's a little sturdier.
[60 - 61] It's got a nice crust.
[61 - 64] The crumb is pretty tight and it's not mushy
[64 - 66] and it won't get pasty when it's cooked.
[66 - 69] Sourdough is delicious, but once you start toasting it,
[69 - 71] it's like razor blades on the roof of your mouth.
[71 - 74] And this also has a lot of air pockets in it,
[74 - 75] which for bread is great,
[75 - 77] but for grilled cheese isn't great.
[77 - 79] The cheese just kind of slips through.
[79 - 80] It's less of a sandwich
[80 - 83] and more of crispy cheese with bread around it.
[83 - 85] This bread is kind of a nice marriage
[85 - 88] between a really nice loaf and a store-bought white.
[88 - 93] It has the best of both worlds. [gentle music]
[93 - 96] All right, it's time to get funky with the cheese.
[96 - 98] I have a block of Gruyere cheese.
[98 - 103] Gruyere cheese is Swiss cheese's stinkier, smellier cousin.
[103 - 105] If you've never had it, it is delicious.
[105 - 107] It's got some funk to it.
[107 - 109] It's expensive, but, what we're we're also gonna use,
[109 - 112] is something a little cheaper. American cheese.
[112 - 113] Each of these cheeses have properties
[114 - 116] that I like in a grilled cheese sandwich.
[116 - 118] The American cheese, nice and melty.
[118 - 121] The Gruyere cheese, really flavorful.
[121 - 122] Put these two together
[122 - 124] and we have a really nice combination of cheeses.
[124 - 127] We're gonna start out by shredding our Gruyere cheese.
[127 - 129] We're gonna cut the rind off.
[129 - 130] Whenever I grate cheese,
[130 - 133] I like to make a small piece, right?
[133 - 134] This piece is really big.
[135 - 136] And I have decent sized hands,
[136 - 138] but this one is just too big for my hands.
[138 - 140] So I take a smaller piece of cheese.
[140 - 143] And when I grate it, grater on the side.
[143 - 146] Not like this. I call that granny style.
[146 - 147] I put the grater on the side.
[147 - 151] I hold the tray and the grater together and I push.
[151 - 153] This way, you're doing less work.
[153 - 156] You're using your body weight, not necessarily your muscles.
[156 - 159] I will never use pre-shredded cheese for these sandwiches
[159 - 161] because pre-shredded cheese has things in there
[161 - 163] that stop them from sticking together,
[163 - 165] which also makes them not melt really great.
[165 - 168] Not melty enough, not good.
[168 - 172] Shred your own cheese. [gentle music]
[172 - 175] What I'm looking to do here is get a nice crunchy exterior
[175 - 177] and a nice melty interior.
[177 - 179] And everything about that is controlling your heat
[179 - 181] and getting the timing right.
[181 - 183] Let's get into it. Medium low heat.
[183 - 184] If I have it on high,
[184 - 187] my bread's gonna burn before my cheese is melted.
[187 - 190] And then I'm gonna get some mayonnaise.
[190 - 192] I hear all you haters out there.
[192 - 195] "Mayonnaise, not butter? What, are you crazy?"
[195 - 197] Yes, I'm crazy.
[197 - 201] Mayonnaise, in my opinion, is the better thing to use here,
[201 - 202] for a grilled cheese.
[202 - 205] It's got a little more zip, a little more flavor.
[205 - 206] It doesn't burn like butter.
[206 - 208] You brush it on the bread
[208 - 210] so that you get a nice, even browning on your bread.
[210 - 213] And then what I do is I take that
[213 - 215] and I put it in my pan, right?
[215 - 216] So the first layer's down.
[216 - 218] And then I'm gonna add my American cheese.
[218 - 223] And I'm not worried if my cheese overflows on the sides.
[223 - 225] Part of the reason I'm using a non-stick pan
[225 - 228] is because I'm kind of hoping that happens.
[228 - 231] The cheese kind of like goes over the sides,
[231 - 233] gets in the holes and gets super crunchy.
[233 - 235] And I want little bits and pieces of that
[235 - 238] because I think it just makes the overall experience better.
[238 - 242] So I'm gonna do about three slices Gruyere.
[243 - 245] The fact that the Gruyere is shredded
[245 - 247] makes it melt a little quicker.
[247 - 249] But I'm gonna try and go all the way up to the edges.
[249 - 251] I like to season the inside
[251 - 255] of my sandwich with salt and pepper.
[255 - 257] Cheese has a lot of salt content.
[257 - 259] But I think that a little more salt
[259 - 260] makes this all the more better.
[260 - 262] Just to kind of bump up that cheese flavor.
[262 - 265] I find just doing this or assembling it in the pan,
[265 - 267] you don't have to transport it.
[267 - 268] You don't get mayonnaise on your hands.
[268 - 270] It's just a lot easier to do it this way.
[270 - 272] And then this goes on top.
[272 - 274] Make sure that you match. And now we wait.
[274 - 277] The reason I like to do this over low heat
[277 - 279] is that it makes it more foolproof.
[279 - 281] The bread's gonna cook slowly and crisp up.
[281 - 283] The cheese is gonna melt all the way through.
[283 - 285] It takes a little more time, but it's worth it.
[285 - 287] How many times have you had a burnt
[287 - 288] on the outside grilled cheese
[288 - 290] with the cheese that's not melted in the middle?
[291 - 293] It is just a cheese sandwich. It is not a grilled cheese.
[293 - 295] So to make sure this isn't burning,
[295 - 298] I just check once in a while to see where we're at.
[298 - 299] But we're not even really getting brown yet.
[299 - 302] And that's okay. Let's turn this.
[304 - 306] Oh my Lord, look at that.
[306 - 309] Come on. How does that not make you smile? Look at that.
[309 - 312] Look, I have some cheese toasties on the edge.
[312 - 315] Even I'm impressed with myself. [laughs]
[315 - 317] So you'll know that your cheese is starting to melt
[317 - 320] is when you try and pull this top piece of bread off
[320 - 322] and it sticks, right?
[322 - 323] That means the cheese is melting
[323 - 325] and holding everything together.
[325 - 328] One caution here, give it a little more time than you think.
[328 - 331] Because the center usually takes a little longer
[331 - 333] than the rest of the outside of the sandwich.
[333 - 334] My cheese is starting to melt
[334 - 336] and that's gonna gimme a nice crispy edge.
[336 - 340] That is the stuff right there. That makes me happy.
[340 - 342] This is looking wonderful.
[342 - 344] I'm getting some cheese leaking out the side
[344 - 345] and getting crispy in the pan.
[345 - 349] It's gonna be great. [gentle music]
[349 - 351] Get your hot grilled cheese sandwich.
[351 - 354] Make sure you have chef hands, but look at that.
[354 - 356] This is what I'm talking about.
[356 - 357] This is what makes me happy
[357 - 359] when I see a grilled cheese sandwich.
[359 - 362] Little bit of cheese leaking out and getting crispy, okay?
[362 - 364] Nice brown, nice and crisp.
[365 - 367] I'm gonna cut it in half.
[367 - 372] Quick downward motion. Put it on the plate.
[372 - 374] The only thing I can think to make this sandwich better
[374 - 377] is a handful of crunchy potato chips.
[377 - 381] And that is my perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
[381 - 382] Let's look at this baby.
[384 - 386] Oh, we got some cheese pull there. Look at that!
[386 - 388] So when you open up this sandwich,
[388 - 390] you can see, my cheese is fully melted.
[390 - 392] It's gooey and delicious.
[392 - 395] I have crunchy cheese along the edges.
[395 - 398] My bread is nice and crispy. Come on.
[398 - 401] Is that not a beautiful grilled cheese sandwich?
[403 - 405] This sandwich has everything.
[405 - 410] Creaminess, cheesiness, crispiness. It hits all the notes.
[410 - 411] And that's why I think
[411 - 414] it's the best grilled cheese sandwich out there.