Here's How You Can Make Grilled Cheese In A Toaster
Maybe your kitchen is being remodeled and your stove is off-limits. Perhaps you're trying to avoid your roommate and so you're relocating any possible appliances to your bedroom. Or you're a gas-oven lover stuck in an electric summer situation and just don't feel at home on that range. Or maybe you're just an endlessly creative cook, always looking for new ways to use what you've got. Whatever brought you to this place, there is a solution for making grilled cheese without ever touching your stovetop.
Believe it or not, you can make a double-sided grilled cheese using your amazing vertical toaster and (even better) without bringing in the fire department. We're not talking about using a toaster oven — anyone can do that. It takes a bit more skill and creativity to use a regular toaster, but with a little attention and practice, anyone can master it. First We Feast and Tastemade deftly explain the process (if you need a visual step-by-step guide, there's one on Instructables). First We Feast rates it a five (out of 10) on the difficulty scale. We'd say it's even easier except for the timing and placement, which do require some precision and management.
The method to the melty, cheesy madness
As Tastemade notes, the first key element is to turn your toaster on its side. You don't want the cheese dripping down into the heating elements and ruining everything, do you? Next, you will need a couple of slices of bread and a couple of slices of cheese. Carefully place your cheese on your bread slices and insert both (facing up) into your toaster. This next step is critical since timing is everything: you push down the lever to start the toasting mechanism, ideally setting it for longer than you think you'll need because you'll have to take the slices of bread out before the lever bounces back up and shoots your bread out onto the floor. After extracting your hot, cheesy bread from the toaster, you put them together (cheese facing in) and enjoy.
While most agree on the essential elements of the process, there are two slightly different schools of thought on the layering of cheese and bread: some recommend putting all the cheese on just one slice of bread and leaving the other piece cheese-free until the end when you combine the two (via Instructables).
It's true that purists might not accept this sandwich as a "true" grilled cheese, since it eliminates the hot greased surface that is a hallmark of a traditional grilled cheese, but then, purists probably aren't making a grilled cheese this way anyway. Still, whichever way you slice it, you'll probably never underestimate your toaster again.