I’ve tried making American grilled cheese sandwiches before, but for something that seems so simple, it’s never worked.

How hard can it be? Bread, cheese in middle, cook in trying pan to create crispy bread with melted cheese inside. But whenever I’ve tried before I end up with burnt bread, with un-melted cheese in the middle.

So basically I’m going to have to read the instructions! This seems like a job for America’s Test Kitchen because a) they’re American and know about grilled cheese, and b) their recipes are well tested.

So what does their recipe suggest? Well butter the bread, not oil the pan, use grated cheese: but the main thing is that this is a long low fry. Low heat for 10 minutes on each side. That’s where I had been going wrong, trying to cook too quickly, causing both the burning and lack of melting.

So let’s get set up with my sourdough bread, grated cheddar, and mustard for one sandwich, and Worcestershire & Tabasco for the other.

Frying pan on very low…

Wait for 10, long, minutes, before turning.

Looking good!

Oops… I ate them before taking a picture! So I guess I’m going to have to do another batch, so I can get a photo!

They were delicious! Exactly as they should be, crispy outside, and actually melted cheese inside.