Tribute: The Mother of all Sandwiches

Tribute: The Mother of all Sandwiches
by Kristin Franklin

If you were to ask me, what, in my opinion, is the mother of all sandwiches, I would not hesitate. I would not ponder. Nor would I hold my forefinger and thumb to my chin while peering toward nothing in the sky, contemplating. I would need no prodding, nor hinting, nor list of sandwiches to choose from. I would say, just give me some soft butter, 2 slices of good white bread, and a few Kraft Singles and I will show you.

If you aren't hungry after looking at this picture, you must have just eaten
seven grilled cheese sandwiches.

The Grilled Cheese Sandwich is my Mother of all Sandwiches. In its most basic form, as I’ve described above, it is pure, in no need of decoration. The only accompaniment I see fit would be a bowl of Campbell’s Condensed Tomato Soup, made with milk. You see, I have before attempted to “kick up a notch” the basic grilled cheese sandwich. In shame, I have regretted each time I’ve slapped that piece of deli turkey between the bread and cheese, or that slice of tomato, or those pickle chips and peanut butter (it was a phase). Each time, I cheapened what could have been: The Mother of all Sandwiches.

The grilled cheese sandwich is a standard, a foundation, a rock of a hand-held meal. Not only does it stand alone in its gastronomical glory, but it acts as a blue print from which other great sandwiches have spawned. It represents an idea, a concept, a method, a way.

The Way

Its title can be deceiving. The grilled cheese sandwich, in fact, is not grilled; it is griddled, i.e. cooked on a flat metal surface. It’s just that “The Griddled Cheese Sandwich” sounds a bit silly, as if one were gargling Listerine while ordering lunch. The flat metal surface of an electric griddle or that of a cast iron or non-stick skillet on the stove is ideal to achieve the sandwiches’ signature golden, uniform, crisp exterior. This cooking method, along with the right ingredients and an astute attention to heat control compose the trifecta for a winning Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

The correct ingredients are often a matter of taste. As mentioned earlier, I prefer a good white bread, Kraft Singles (American cheese) and soft butter. But in general, constructing the Mother Sandwich is up to you, the eater. I’ll just suggest that the bread be of decent quality (anywhere from Wonder to La Brea Bakery), the butter be butter, not Country Crock or I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter, please, and the cheese be one that melts nicely (cheddar alone is often too greasy). For me, delving into other cheeses besides American is better suited to spawn of the Mother Sandwich, such as the tuna melt or the Ruben.

Lastly, what I think can make or break the grilled cheese is heat control or lack thereof. Too high of heat will cook the outside of the sandwich, resulting in the correct exterior texture while leaving your cheese in a state of un-melted chemotropic limbo. Too low of heat will result in the bread absorbing too much butter before it has a chance to crisp. Consequently, you are left with a soggy, greasy, cheesy mess after a long while. Medium heat, I think, is the safest. The goal is to have the cheese melted perfectly just as the bread has achieved crisp, golden bliss.

From Skillet to Plate

Now that we have soft butter, a few slices of good bread, a uniformly sliced melting cheese and perfectly heated pan, we are ready. Since the butter is soft, it is easily spread evenly on one side of each slice of bread. It is important that the butter be distributed in one quite generous layer (the resulting sandwich should leave your fingers a bit shiny) which spans the entire surface area of the bread. Get out there, all the way to the crusts! Touch the crusts! A splotchy butter job can lead to unwanted burn spots.

The pan is ready and the bread is buttered. Cheese is on standby. (If using Kraft Singles, remove the plastic from each individual slice, please). We now place one slice of bread in the skillet, butter side down, obviously, and smile when we hear the pleasant medium-paced sizzle. The cheese is put in place then the second slice of bread, butter side up, completes the construction of the sandwich.

Now patience is required. It takes a few minutes for the first side to reach the perfect state of golden. If you see smoke, you’ve probably gone too far; your pan is too hot or you’ve waited too long. You must attend to your sandwich, adjusting the heat as necessary while listening, smelling and watching.

You suspect the first side is golden. It’s now time for the flip. A nice, heat resistant (or tempered) spatula, or flipper, is a cook’s best friend here. The sandwich should have released from the pan. It should be sliding all over the place when you swirl the handle of the skillet. Now flip, and hear the pleasant sizzle again. It is likely that the sizzle is louder and faster this time, since the pan has been exposed to heat for a longer period of time since the first placement of the bread. You will most likely have to turn the heat down a bit after the flip. In just a few minutes (this side seems to go a bit faster), the second side will be done and your cheese will be perfectly melted; you have achieved crisp gooey, buttery bliss. Enjoy, and pay homage to the mother sandwich with an empty plate.

A Few Tricks

It’s not a perfect cooking world out there. Do we always have softened butter available? No. Does the “medium” heat dial on our stoves always produce truly medium heat? Certainly not. What if the ends of the sliced bread, usually destined for the garbage or torn into pigeon treats, are all we have available to us? Here are a few ideas for making it work. After all, it is the Mother of all Sandwiches. We will do all we can.

In terms of butter, I prefer room temperature. In fact, it is best to just leave it out at all times, covered. But if all you are left with when the grilled cheese craving hits is refrigerated butter, don’t fret. You can always melt the butter in the pan. This requires even a greater attention to heat control and an acute sense of hearing. You want the pat of butter to nicely sizzle at a medium pace when it hits the warmed pan. If it turns brown, the pan is too hot. If it melts slowly in soft blanket with no bubbles, crank it up a bit till it sizzles. The only caveat I have for this last resort butter technique is this: put in more butter than you think you will need. Chances are your bread is a lot smaller than the surface of the skillet. Your bread will only absorb the butter directly under it.

You may find that, time and time again, you achieve perfectly golden exteriors while the cheese refuses to melt thoroughly, but you always use perfectly “medium” heat. A good trick to encourage the melting of the cheese is to, after the flip, place a cover on the skillet. A bit of steam will generate inside the pan, speeding up the melting process. Actually, I almost always use this technique to ensure nicely melted cheese. No, it’s not cheating.

So all you got are the butts of the bread, huh? Yeah, I know. Butter sure doesn’t absorb or spread very well on a crust-covered surface. The trick here is to butter the inside of the bread, the “bread” part of the slice. The cheese will melt just fine on the crust side. I think. If someone actually tries this, please let me know how it goes. Thanks.

Kristin can be reached at kristin@babblog.com.