How A Little Pressure Creates The Ultimate Crispy Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese is one of the few childhood meals that transcends into adulthood — alongside other favorites like boxed mac and cheese and peanut butter and jelly. While there are plenty of tips for making a crispy grilled cheese, you should really consider pressing down on the sandwich as it cooks for that crunchy, panini-style texture.

Pressure makes diamonds, and it also removes air from bread. So, when you add that fluffy grilled cheese bread to the pan, take a metal spatula or burger press, and press it down gently. Besides removing air, it pushes the bread right up against the pan's surface, so it can get evenly crispy throughout. Repeat the gentle pressing process on the other side of the grilled cheese, and when all is said and done, you'll have a crispy sandwich. Don't apply too much pressure, though, or you might literally squish that grilled cheese. Avoid anything extra heavy, like a cast iron pan. Something handheld where you control the pressure is best.

Pressing down on the bread is one easy method to crunch things up, but it all starts with the bread itself; avoid anything too doughy or fluffy, like fresh-baked sourdough or focaccia. If possible, slice the bread yourself, and keep it pretty thin, or just use classic white sandwich bread. If you're serious about a crispy grilled cheese, then add the bread to the grill pan before you even top it with cheese, allowing the inside of each piece of bread to toast for a bit. Add the cheese to the sandwich, and then cook the outside of the bread as usual for a sandwich that has firm bread on both sides of each slice.

Coat the bread generously with butter — or swap it out for mayonnaise for rich flavor — before cooking it. This is what helps build that crispy exterior. You don't want to unevenly coat the bread, or you could end up with part of the grilled cheese perfectly cooked and the other part just dry and burnt. And for the best crisp, let the cheese poke out from the sides of the bread. It will fall onto the pan as it melts, creating just a small amount of fried cheese on the outside of the sandwich — and everyone knows that's the best part.