Never Eat Soggy Grilled Cheese Again With This Chopstick Trick
A grilled cheese sandwich is about as simple as any sandwich comes. Toasted, buttery bread and melted cheese come together to make something that combines incredible texture and flavor, hitting all the senses of just about everyone including hungry kids, adults, teenagers, and professional chefs. Making grilled cheese is pretty easy to get right because all you need are a few ingredients and a hot skillet. In under 10 minutes, you can have melty, gooey, cheesy goodness resting inside two crunchy pieces of bread.
But how many times have you taken a bite of your grilled cheese masterpiece and found that one side isn't nearly as crunchy as it was coming off the pan? It's really not difficult to see what happened here — as you lay the hot sandwich on a plate the steam created from the moisture of the food and the heat of the pan gets trapped against the plate. It goes right back into the bread, softening it and disintegrating that glorious crunch you were so looking forward to. This won't stop you from finishing every last bite of your grilled cheese or dunking it into tomato soup, but if there was only a way to keep both sides crunchy, you'd be all ears. Fortunately, there is.
Chopsticks give just the right lift
What you need in this situation is airflow. Air needs to be circulating around the entire sandwich so the condensation can move around and escape, leaving you with the crispy bread you so meticulously created. Standing the bread on its side will cause the cheese to move downward and, let's face it, that sandwich is going to come toppling down. You could eat the grilled cheese immediately but you risk burning your fingers and your mouth, thus, crushing your entire lunch experience.
Instead, America's Test Kitchen recommends grabbing a set of chopsticks, laying them parallel on your plate, and placing your sandwich on top. It can cool and there is just enough space underneath to keep the bread elevated off the plate to allow airflow. The toasted bread should stay nice and crisp on both sides from start to finish.
As you eat and your sandwich gets smaller, simply move the chopsticks closer together to allow it to lay on top without falling through onto the plate. This method will work for any kind of sandwich you grill or toast including paninis, BLTs, tuna melts, or open-faced sandwiches where only the bottom bread is toasted. Don't sweat it if people look at you strangely. You get the last laugh knowing your grilled cheese is way better than theirs.