Why Pressed Grilled Cheese Is a Smashing Success

In many ways, texture has sprung to the forefront of menu innovation. For about two decades, chefs and R&D specialists have been pushing the boundaries of taste, but texture has only recently entered the conversation. The collective lightbulb moment can be traced to the success of smashburgers. As chefs strive to find fresh differentiators that enamour patrons, sandwiches are well-positioned to be the next category for textural exploration.

Pressing sandwiches and the craveable melding of flavors go beyond a classic Cuban or panini. More specifically, pressing a grilled cheese in similar fashion as a smashburger speaks directly to this opportunity. The technique elevates texture, enhances flavor and heightens the overall dining experience. Today’s global sandwich trends are adopting less constrained approaches, employing techniques where contrasting texture is at the forefront of the flavor story. This speaks to consumers seeking comfort in familiar flavors paired with the novelty of a new experience.

Operators can follow a discovery path, applying the technique to traditionally “unpressed” sandwiches, concentrating flavors and upending the typical texture. Hot pressers could include banh mi, po’ boys, tortas or Italian roast pork. Traditional cold-pressed offerings, like a layered Italian picnic or muffuletta sandwich or even a Japanese wanpaku sandwich, could transform into hot new interpretations.

While F&B experts have a world of handhelds to explore using this technique, the humble yet enormously craveable grilled cheese is an ideal place to start. But before diving into TK menuing options and in-market examples, let’s spell out the key characteristics of a pressed grilled cheese:

• Noticeably pressed appearance, much flatter than a typical grilled cheese
• Well-toasted, evenly caramelized, golden brown crackly exterior crust
• A luscious gooey cheese-pull throughout the sandwich
• Lacey, frico-style rugged edges of crispy cheese that protrudes from the edges of the bread

From this foundation springs a multitude of options for customization and flavor play. Even an attribute as simple as size can serve as a point of differentiation. A standard-sized pressed sandwich offers tidier portable handheld noshing for on-the-go consumers seeking high-impact and flavor without the mess. For dine-in occasions, slider-sized pressed grilled cheese paired with a complementary dip make an inventive appetizer that’s sure to delight guests.

Read on for fresh ideas to transform the ubiquitous yet simple sando into a complex dining experience.

TRY THIS

All Cheese Filled

• Goat cheese + sharp cheddar + ghost pepper Jack + Japanese milk bread + taki dust
• Gruyère + young fontina + white cheddar + sourdough
• Raclette + fresh Asiago + pecorino Romano + brioche

Condiment Filled

• American cheese + hickory-smoked aged cheddar + chipotle barbecue onion jam + Pullman bread
• Leerdammer (Swiss-gouda) + pear chutney + fresh arugula + sourdough bread
• Camembert + hot-honey Dijon + croissant

Condiment Filled

• Brie + Gruyère + pulled green chile-braised beef short ribs + sourdough bread
• Sharp cheddar pub cheese spread + Muenster + charred breakfast sausage crumbles + sourdough bread
• Jalapeño-habanero pepper Jack + sharp cheddar + thinly sliced fried mortadella + Hawaiian roll

Vegetable Filled

• Lemon whipped ricotta + Romano + chopped grilled broccolini + roasted red bell peppers + sourdough bread
• White American cheese + blue cheese crumbles + roasted portobello duxelle + sun-dried tomatoes + sourdough bread
• Fresh mozzarella + Parmesan + fried breaded eggplant slices + smoked paprika mayonnaise + spicy garlic bread

Crunch Filled

• Mozzarella + provolone + aged Asiago + spicy pepperoni crisps + pickled banana peppers + sourdough bread
• Oaxacan cheese + asadero cheese + crushed habanero corn chips + telera roll
• Comté + crispy pancetta slices + herbed garlic bread

MENU SIGHTINGS

New York Grilled Cheese, with locations in Miami and Wilton Manors, Fla., takes the classic out of a frying pan and into the waffle press, creating a melty-gooey inside encased in a pressed outer crust of scrumptious nooks and crannies. Menu items include the Midtown Truffle Shuffle, Brooklyn Porkster and Soho Sweet Cheese to name a few.

BLUNCH in Boston serves an array of tempting pressed sandwiches including The Meltdown, a multilayered grilled cheese made of Swizz, mozzarella, cheddar, housemade boursin and fresh tomato on sourdough. Another favorite, the Pressed Everything BLTC Bagelwich, comprises an everything bagel, applewood-smoked bacon, baby lettuces, cheddar cheese, tomato and aïoli.

Also in Boston, Mike and Patty’s serves crave-worthy eats like the Breakfast Grilled Crack featuring an egg, xtra bacon, American, cheddar, Monterey and Gruyère on buttered sourdough.

In Hudson, Mass., Finnegan’s Pub ran a luscious Pressed Meatball Sandwich LTO: focaccia layered with shredded mozzarella and ricotta, topped with sliced housemade meatballs bathed in tomato sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan. The special was griddle-pressed, cut into two long rectangular halves and served with a side of vodka sauce.