(upbeat music)
- When it comes to grilled cheese,
do you believe less is more,
or more is more?
Hi!
I'm Mimo.
I'm a Culinary Producer at Tasty.
Today, I'm going to test recipes
for a three-, six- and 12-ingredient grilled cheese.
May the best grilled cheese win.
First up, we're making our three-ingredient grilled cheese.
For the first ingredient,
we are going to start with bread.
I decide to go with brioche,
because it's buttery and fluffy with a hint of sweetness.
Our next ingredient is butter.
Everything is better with butter.
And since we only can use three ingredients,
we want to make them count.
We are going to generously butter one side of the bread
and place it on a hot skill.
And for our third and final ingredient,
we are adding sliced American cheese.
And we have picked American cheese
because it's such a classic.
Top the bread with three slices of American cheese,
place the other slice of bread on top, butter side up.
When the bottom slice of bread is golden brown,
flip and continue cooking until the other side has browned
and the cheese is fully melted.
And there we have it,
our classic three-ingredient grilled cheese.
Bread, butter, cheese.
That really might be all you need.
I guess we will have to wait and see.
Next up, we have our six-ingredient grilled cheese.
Our first two ingredients are the same as our last version.
And those are bread and butter.
For this version,
we chose sourdough bread,
because we are looking for a bread that's hearty
with a little bit of a tang.
After we spread the butter on one side
of each slice of bread,
we are going to place them butter side down.
And now it's time to introduce our new ingredients.
Ingredient number three is grated garlic.
I mean, think about it.
This is basically becoming a garlic bread grilled cheese,
which sounds like a dream come true.
Ingredient number four is pesto.
We tried many different options
for seasonings and condiments,
but what we realized is that pesto is the best way
to bring the flavor home.
Now, it's time for cheese.
We are going to pick two different types of cheese,
mozzarella and sharp provolone.
We're using two types of cheese
because mozzarella is creamy,
while sharp provolone
will give our sandwich a nutty flavor.
And you're probably noticing that these steps
are in a bit of a different order than last time.
For the three-ingredient grilled cheese,
we just built the sandwich right onto the skillet.
But because we have more ingredients this time around,
we are building our entire sandwich first
to ensure even cooking throughout.
After cooking for about five minutes on each side,
our sandwich is a beautiful golden brown
and our cheese is nice melted.
Time to eat.
Look at that ooey, gooey goodness.
Let's get started on the 12-ingredient grilled cheese.
Our first ingredient is, of course, butter.
We're going to melt one tablespoon of butter
in a small skillet.
Then add in a quarter cup of sliced, yellow onions
and a pinch of salt.
Yep, I said onions!
Make sure to stir your onions often
until they are soft and starting to caramelize.
Caramelizing onions usually takes up to 40 minutes,
but since we're using a very small quantity,
we're cutting ours back to 10 minutes.
Next, add in a generous amount of brown sugar
and continue cooking the onions
until the sugar starts to caramelize.
Add balsamic glaze and stir.
By cooking these beautiful caramelized onions,
we will add in some sweetness to our final dish.
Next up, ingredient number six, thyme.
In a small pot,
combine the rest of your butter and the thyme
to create a delicious infused butter.
This simple hack is going to be a game changer.
We're going to brush our infused butter
into ingredient number seven, our bread.
For this recipe,
we went with artisanal country bread
with a thick crust and of course, texture.
This thyme-infused butter will take our bread
to the next level.
That is why we're brushing a generous amount on both sides.
Now, it's time to fry.
Everyone has their own grilled cheese preference,
but I think we can all agree
that we want the bread to be golden brown and crispy.
Now, we are going to start assembly.
This is definitely way more work
than the average grilled cheese,
but trust us,
the outcome will totally be worth it.
Ingredient number eight.
Coarse-ground Dijon mustard.
Spread the mustard evenly on both slices of bread.
Next up, aged cheddar.
We're going to add the shredded cheese.
Next, ham.
This is not just a ham and cheese sandwich.
This is an upgraded grilled cheese.
Our next cheese is Gruyere.
Gruyere is rich, creamy and salty,
while the aged cheddar is sharp.
On our other slice of bread,
add the caramelized onions.
Sandwich it up!
Before we throw this back on the heat,
let's sprinkle the pan with our 12th and final ingredient,
Parmesan cheese.
We will then carefully place our sandwich on top
of the Parmesan cheese.
While the Parmesan cheese melts and crisps up
to create a crust,
we're going to top the other side of our sandwich
with the rest of the Parmesan.
This is my favorite hack to get our bread nice and crispy,
which will really make a difference in the final sandwich.
Since both slices of bread are a beautiful color
and our cheese is melted,
it's time to plate.
Here we have it.
Our 12-ingredient grilled cheese.
Not only do we have a creamy, cheesy interior,
but we have a crispy Parmesan crust,
sweet caramelized onions and a kick from the mustard.
And there we have it.
Our three-ingredient,
six-ingredient and 12-ingredient grilled cheese.
When picking my favorite sandwich between the three,
I had to consider flavor,
texture and which sandwich I would want to eat again.
I love how easy and classic
the three-ingredient grilled cheese is.
And the pesto and cheese combo
in the six-ingredient grilled cheese tasted so great.
But, at the end of the day,
I keep going back for more bites
of the 12-ingredient grilled cheese.
Thanks for joining me
as I test our favorite three grilled cheese sandwiches.
Let us know how you make
your favorite grilled cheese at home.
Bye!
(energetic music)