Bacon, caramelised onion, thin apple and white cheddar between multigrain bread, with mustard on one side and mayonnaise on the other.
One sandwich, twenty five minutes, and every component gets cooked in the same skillet.
Mayonnaise inside, butter outside
Which is the reverse of what people often do, and it is right.
Mayonnaise on the inside face acts as a moisture barrier between the bread and the fillings, and it adds richness and a little acidity where you taste it.
Butter goes on the outside, where it browns. Some cooks use mayonnaise on the outside for browning too, and it works, but butter gives a better flavour and this recipe has enough richness already.
Room temperature butter spreads without tearing the bread. Cold butter drags.
Brown sugar with the onions
A teaspoon, added with the onions and a tablespoon of butter into the bacon pan.
Onions caramelise on their own given twenty or thirty minutes. Five minutes is not enough, so the sugar accelerates it, giving colour and sweetness in the time available.
It is a shortcut rather than the real thing, and in a sandwich with this much else going on it is a reasonable trade.
Cooking them in the bacon fat is the other half. They pick up smokiness that plain butter would not give.
Same skillet throughout
Bacon first, then onions in the rendered fat, then the sandwich itself.
Each stage builds on the last. The bacon leaves fat and browned bits, the onions pick those up, and the sandwich toasts in what remains.
Blot the grease from the bacon and onions if you want, which the recipe offers. This is already a rich sandwich at 636 calories and 52 grams of fat.
Cheese on both sides of the fillings
Half the cheddar under the onions, apple and bacon, half over them.
Melted cheese is the glue. Fillings sandwiched between two cheese layers are held in place; fillings sitting on top of a single layer slide out when you bite.
Three ounces grated across one sandwich is generous, and it needs to be for that to work.
Grate it rather than slicing. Grated cheese melts faster and more evenly, which matters when you are trying to melt it through before the bread burns.
Medium-low heat, two to four minutes a side
Lower than you might expect for a grilled cheese.
The problem with a loaded sandwich is that the bread browns long before the cheese in the middle melts. Medium-low slows the outside enough for the inside to catch up.
If your bread is golden and the cheese is still solid, the heat was too high. Turn it down and give it longer.
Thin apple slices
Half a Granny Smith, sliced thin.
Thin is what lets them soften slightly in the pan and sit flat in the sandwich. Thick slices stay crunchy and raw and they make the sandwich awkward to bite through.
Granny Smith is tart, which is doing real work against bacon, cheddar and caramelised onion. A sweet apple would tip an already rich sandwich.
Whole-grain mustard on the top slice
A tablespoon, spread on the bread that goes mustard-side down onto the cheese.
Mustard is the sharpest thing in the sandwich and it cuts through the fat. Whole-grain gives texture and a milder heat than smooth Dijon.
Putting it on the top slice facing in means it sits against the cheese rather than against the apple, where it would compete.
The sodium
Around 906mg for one sandwich, which is high for a single serving.
Bacon, cheddar, salted butter and mustard all contribute. Unsalted butter is the easiest reduction, and there is enough salt elsewhere that you would not notice.
Serving
Sliced in half, hot. This is a substantial sandwich and it does not need much alongside. A sharp pickle or a simple green salad if anything. Bread choice Hearty multigrain is specified and the density matters. A soft white loaf collapses under this many fillings and goes greasy from the butter.
Sourdough works well and adds its own tang. Rye is a good match for the mustard and bacon.
Scaling up
The recipe doubles or triples, though you will need to cook the sandwiches in batches unless you have a large griddle. Keep finished ones in a low oven on a rack rather than stacked, so the bottoms stay crisp.
Cheddar and Apple Grilled Cheese with Bacon
Description
A loaded grilled cheese with bacon, apple and caramelised onion, all cooked in one skillet.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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In an 8-inch nonstick skillet cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Tear or cut in half, blot the grease with paper towel if desired and set aside
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Add the brown sugar, onions and 1 tablespoon of the butter to the same skillet. Cook, stirring as needed, until the onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate, blot if desired and set aside
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Spread one piece of bread with the mayonnaise. Sprinkle half the grated cheese on top, followed by the onions. Place the apple slices and bacon on the onions, then add the remaining cheese
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Spread the other slice of bread with the mustard and place it mustard-side down on top of the cheese. Spread the outside of the top slice with 1 tablespoon of butter
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Place the sandwich in the skillet butter side down and spread the top of the sandwich with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Toast each side over medium-low heat until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted, about 2 to 4 minutes per side
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Slice and serve hot.
Note
Mayonnaise goes on the inside face as a moisture barrier and butter on the outside for browning. The teaspoon of brown sugar accelerates the onions, which would otherwise need 20 to 30 minutes to caramelise rather than 5. Cook everything in the same skillet so each stage picks up the last. Put half the cheese under the fillings and half over, since melted cheese is what holds them in place. Grate rather than slice the cheese so it melts before the bread burns. Cook over medium-low, lower than usual, because a loaded sandwich needs the inside to catch up with the outside. Slice the apple thin so it sits flat. Sodium is high at 906mg; unsalted butter is the easiest reduction.
