For many Americans, a grilled cheese sandwich catapults you back to childhood when you ate the melty treat at the coffee table while watching The Rockford Files (for those of a certain generation) and waiting for the second course: Campbell’s cream of tomato soup with Saltines crumbled in it.
As with previous columns, we are talking here about taking cherished taste memories and giving them an advanced degree or two. For a grilled cheese to enjoy with wine, branch out from the white bread and grocery store “cheese” singles of your childhood (though if I’m honest, that is pretty powerful). This is about as WYSIWYG as they come; there is nowhere to hide with so few ingredients.
Number one is the bread. Use whatever you think is appropriate to the cheese. I prefer white sourdough or, occasionally, rye to the exclusion of all others so allow your own personal preference to dictate here. For wine-pairing purposes, I am using sourdough here. The bread should do two things: contain the cheese (so do not use those modishly holey breads) and develop a nice crisp surface in the pan. I like bread with a decent, but not too dark, crust for texture and flavor.
Second is the butter: Swords are drawn over salted versus unsalted. I prefer unsalted but am not gonna fight anyone over it. It should be room temperature because you are going to butter the bread, not melt the butter in the pan first.
Now for the tricky part: If bread and butter are the drums and the bass, then cheese is the lead guitar and the vocalist. It has two jobs here: to add flavor and to melt. Sounds simple, but a lot of cheeses that bring plenty of the former do so at the expense of the latter. You can use excellent cheeses but avoid super-aged Cheddars, for example, since they are not going to melt to that desirable gooey texture.
Your first decision with the cheese is how grown up you want to be. This is a case where I want to be only a little grown up. (My younger son is a grilled cheese expert and among his requirements is that the cheese be orange, even though I insist that color does not affect flavor. He’s 20, and living proof that knowing what you want is half the battle in life.)
You need a melty base. I prefer Cheddar, and typically use the better-quality blocks from the likes of Cracker Barrel that are in most grocery stores. There are ranges of sharpness in these cheeses, but the texture is pretty much the same for our purposes. When I make grilled cheese, that’s my base for simple pleasure.
But I have used other cheeses to good effect. Our cheese columnist David Gibbons recommends Gruyère or Comté to bring flavor but says they should be grated for proper melting; Gouda can be good too. Basically, if it melts and you like it, play ball. He and I agree that the real fun is mixing cheeses, as in fondue. You can use a lot of a reliably melty cheese and then grate or sliver something with more character on top.
Is Red or White Best with Grilled Cheese? A Winning Wine Pairing
For wine matching, you have some wiggle room. What would not go well with melted cheese on buttered toast? (Don’t answer that.) But this is a case where I go against type. You know those rich, buttery, vanilla-y, oaky New World Chardonnays on seemingly every wine list and at every party? Everybody likes them. Except me. But with a grilled cheese, they are great. Cheese goes with richness; butter, duh; and the toasty surface with vanilla and oak. Try it and see if you agree.
Our Editors' Recommended Chardonnays
• The McPherson Chardonnay Victoria 2022 (93 points, $18) has a rich note of smoked, salted butterscotch that opens up to a core of mango puree and peach cobbler, plus accents of browned butter, baked apple and sweet cream. All of the richness is balanced by fresh acidity.
• The Patz & Hall Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2022 (93, $35) offers generous, juicy flavors of ripe, succulent peach, apricot and mango, with notes of toasted coconut, crème anglaise, tangerine and orange blossoms. The intensity persists on the finish, with hints of shortbread and grilled pineapple.
• The J. Lohr Chardonnay Arroyo Seco Arroyo Vista 2023 (90, $25) displays a polished, generous mix of lemon sherbet, mandarin orange, pineapple and pear flavors. Details of lemongrass, apricot and spices linger on the long, juicy finish, along with a touch of honeysuckle.
Find more recommended Chardonnays in our Wine Ratings Search.
Recipe: Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- Two slices good quality bread, sliced 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
- Cheese to cover a slice of bread thoroughly to the thickness of one slice of bread
- Butter, room temperature
There are no quantities because proportion and personal taste are more useful than bread dimensions and weight of cheese. Also, I am a firm believer that, in cooking, one should add what seems like a reasonable amount of cheese, then double it.
How to Make Grilled Cheese
1. Use a heavy bottomed pan and warm it up while you prep the sandwich.
2. Butter only the outside of the bread, never the pan, which is inefficient and can lead to inconsistent browning and even smokiness.
3. Slice or grate your cheese. Grating does speed up melting but can be messy, so I generally slice it. Arrange the cheese on one slice of bread.
4. Bring the pan to medium heat and put the bottom slice (the one with the cheese) in, butter side down, pressing down gently all over for even contact. Immediately cover the pan.
5. After about two minutes, take the lid off and gingerly check the bottom slice, which is done when the surface is golden brown. Put the other slice on top, butter side up. If the bottom is done, carefully flip the whole sandwich; if not, cover and wait a bit longer, then check again, flip when done and cover the pan again.
6. If I’m concerned the cheese is not melting quickly enough, I will sometimes turn the heat down a little so that the cheese can catch up without causing the bread to burn. Check after a couple of minutes. When the second slice of bread is golden brown, remove the sandwich to a cutting board and let it rest for a minute before slicing. I know there is great and vigorous arguing over diagonal or straight, but I am on Mercutio’s side. There are more important things to fight over.—Serves 1
Dressed-Up Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes
Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Apples and Dijon
If you want to enjoy a souped-up grilled cheese, this recipe takes the best of the traditional style, with a golden, shatteringly crisp crust and gooey cheese, and adds sophisticated flavors and enough heft to make a full, well-rounded meal. This version uses Gruyère, and the toppings are two classic pairings for cheese—caramelized onions and raw Granny Smith apples—to provide contrasting flavors and textures. Whole-grain Dijon mustard provides some kick. Try it with an unoaked Chardonnay with vibrant acidity to echo the tartness of the green apple. Get the recipe!
Mrs. Crunchy, a Sublime Sandwhich
Born in Parisian cafés soon after the turn of the 20th century, the croque monsieur is a toasted ham-and-Swiss sandwich taken to the max. It delivers a richness enhanced by the inclusion of brioche bread and béchamel sauce, and features a deliciously savory, molten core punctuated by a delightfully crispy exterior. The title can be literally translated as "Mr. Crunchy." The monsieur becomes a madame when topped by a fried egg, which, proverbially, lends the impression of a lady's hat. U.S.-based chef Laurent Tourondel, who comes from a small town in France's Auvergne region, shares this authentic recipe.
