grilled cheese with mayo?

[geminigirl]

maybe I'm crazy but I thought I rememebered a post about grilled cheese where you used mayo instead of the butter to grill...I can't seem to find it. Just in the mood for grilled cheese tonight and was thinking of giving it a try, my friends at work thought I had lost it when I mentioned the mayo idea...thanks for any help or suggestions.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

I am an odd ball, I don't like the taste of butter w/grilled sandwiches. I don't even like toasted hamburger buns w/butter. I use a light coating of mayo, I think I use heart smart. I prefer it and it browns evenly. I got the idea when I saw someone use it on a Mexican torta sandwich at a taqueria. Next time you have some leftover cheese and bread give it a try.

[CarmenR]

Ok I know this is SUPER old but I just discovered this tonight and have eaten TWO gigantic grilled cheeses in the last hour- american and provolone with tomatoes, hellmans mayo on the outside. I am a mayo lover for sure, so this totally scratched a salty fatty itch ive been having all day. Bumping this because, freal yall, you NEED to try it if you love mayo!

[chiklet]

I love tortas and realized it was because they toast the bread with a thin layer of mayo before stuffing it with more greasy goodness. I'd give the grilled cheese with mayo a shot.

[fern]

I learned from a friend to use mayo when making a grilled cheese with tomato. I've done it a few times and it tastes good to me. Hmmm, maybe when I get my cholesterol where it should be I'll sneak one in and try it with bacon added.

There are few things in this world that I love as much as butter, though, so I usually use it.

[Caroline1]

Tried the mayo bit. Hellmann's. Sort of okay, but it depends on the type of cheese. Not good with mild cheeses. Like butter, but I use way too much. Tried olive oil. Really good but the olive oil "pools" and results in saturated and unsaturated areas. So I bought one of those pump'n'spray bottles for spritzing oil... Filled it with olive oil. GREAT grilled cheese with any kind of bread, any kind of cheese, but only with a cast iron pan. And a cup of creamy tomato soup. :-) Happy camper!

[paulj]

What do greasy spoons use? I'm guessing they brush on melted butter, or that butter flavored margarine that slather all over fried eggs.

With whole wheat bread on my panini grill I don't feel much need for butter on the outside of the sandwich. But I tried some Hellmans today. It was fine; a little crisper than usual. I didn't taste anything unusual, but then the sandwich had spicy ham, aged cheddar, whole grain bread, and roasted bell peppers. With white bread and bland american cheese, the flavoring components of the mayo might stand out more.

[jfood]

it was probably 2 summers ago that the post about the mayo-fry technique appeared. Jfood tried it with Hellman's lite and it was awful. The dog ( :-)) ) really liked it.

Then jfood went back to the salted butter route and he was happy but the dog moped away :-((

[dmjuli]

It really only works with the regular Hellmans. I don't think the Hellman's lite has enough fat .

[fallingup]

I've only ever made this with regular Hellman's and it was terrible--greasy and eggy tasting. I actually figured lowfat mayo would be better here--provide the tang but not the oily flavor. Guess not.

[aaronsland]

I grew up on these. I still make my grilled cheese this way. The trick is to use mayo (not miracle whip) and put it on thin. I only put it on the outside of the bread. I also use butter sometimes, don't know if I prefer one over the other. Anyway, try it you might just like it".

[chef chicklet]

sometimes, I think the bread is a little crispier than with butter, that is if you're using a white or buttermilk bread. The other suggestion, I use a cast iron griddle for these sometimes. Not a non stick pan.

[chef chicklet]

Well, I don't know if it was me but I have. For me t started with being out of butter, so I used mayo. I liked the way it worked so I do that myself. Smeat it on, it browns nicely.

[danhole]

gemini,

here is that thread you are thinking of:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/563486

[geminigirl]

this actually isn't it, or the one above but thanks for trying! I think it was a post specifically about grilled cheese and mayo and I think I even posted on it so I will keep searching...went with butter last night cause I was too tired to have to re-do if I didn't like the mayo:)

[Quine]

Well for me the butter grilled cheese and the mayo grilled cheese are both good, but very different. The butter ones, are good bread (yum, whole grain!) great cheese, and the butter melted in the pan, cause you can't spread it well on the bread, squished down and flattened in the pan.

The mayo ones are plain old white bread and american cheese one. I spread a VERY thin layer of mayo edge to edge, inside and outside (the inside is to "glue" the cheese better to the bread for when I flip it") on the bread. Then I place it in the pan, no squishing! This way I get a very thin crispy outside crust and the, oh so dip-able inside of the sandwich.

[fallingup]

I love mayo, so I tried this a while ago hoping for a delicious grilled cheese, but it tasted horrible. I guess my mayo wasn't the right kind. The sandwich just ended up smelling very oily and eggy, in a bad way.

[jacquelyncoffey]

I love mayo too, but it tastes funny when cooked/grilled on the outside of the bread. I don't think it was the mayo, but the cooking of it.

[jerzzy]

I've also made it with mayo and definately do NOT prefer it.
It works, guess it's just a matter of taste.

[akq]

One of my friends makes hers this way and I've tried it myself. It works, but it doesn't tast as good as using butter, imo. The mayo basically turns into just the oil and that's mostly what you taste. It is easier to spread the mayo on the bread than it is to spread cold stick butter, which is why I usually just put the butter in the pan and have to try to squish both pieces of bread into the pan together in order to get the butter on both of them. Kind of a PITA.

[alkapal]

same as akq.

while it isn't butter -- by any means -- i make big batches of reuben sandwiches using squeeze margarine, like this country crock brand: http://www.countrycrock.com/prod_sque...

it actually does a nice job. -- and please, this is not a shout out invitation to the "eeew, i can't stand those fake foods" crowd.--

the alternative, use softened butter (NOT melted butter, which just soaks in to the bread and makes a greasy mess!)

[lynnlato]

Try bacon fat instead of butter. It makes a perfect grilled cheese! I am a recent convert - turned on to it by another CHer.

[alkapal]

oh yeah, lynnlato, i love the bacon fat, too. but for lots of sanwiches, there is not enough bacon fat around -- at least not enough so that i can also make some baby limas with bacon fat, or fresh field peas, or good collards, or cornbread! ;-)

[lynnlato]

Yeah, you need a whole lotta bacon fat! I'd only break it out for my most favorite friends and family - ha!

Damn you CHers from turnin' me on to this stuff!!!! :-)

[fallingup]

I use the fake butter spread for my grilled cheese too, when I'm in a hurry. No shame in that.

I never use regular butter. When I want a real grilled cheese, I use ghee because it's usually just soft enough at room temperature to spread, plus it tastes amazing.

[Caroline1]

Using grass fed butter with my cholesterol problem instead of regular or just "organic" butter got a stamp of approval from my cardiologist. Oils in diminushing quantity as per her recommendations are olive oil first, grass fed butter second, and peanut oil for frying. That's it! Oh, and oatmeal once a day. '-)

[lynnlato]

Caroline, this is good info. My SO just got the hammer on his diet. Apparently, he has hypertension and needs to cut out salt and drop 10 lbs. I imagine his cholesterol will come back elevated as well. I just told him of your suggestion of grass fed butter and oatmeal once a day. Where does one find grass fed butter? Does it taste different? He's looking forward to steel cut oatmeal - thanks!

[Caroline1]

I buy my grass fed butter here:
http://www.grassfedtraditions.com/gra...
It freezes just fine, so to save on shipping I buy two orders of the 6 one pound blocks at a time. I get the unsalted, and frankly, no, it doesn't taste like non-grass fed, regardless of whether it's organic or not. Of course, grass fed is organic. Initially, the flavor is very mild, but with time you grow to really enjoy it. Today for lunch I had a small (4 oz) lobster tail (lower cholesterol than shrimp!) and drawn grass fed butter. It's a lot of fun to feel like you're sinning when you're really being angelic.

I do live in an area with a fair share of "gourmet' markets -- Whole Foods, Central Market, Sprouts, etc.) but not one of them carries grass fed buttfer or milk. If a pound of milk lasted as long as a pound of butter, I wouldn't be so hesitant to order it on line, but the shipping costs!

Oh, and for the record, I received my last order of butter during the summer (90 to 100F) and it came through just fine.

[paulj]

It was mentioned on a thread about uneven toasting in a cast iron skillet. Mayo is mostly oil, so would be a good way of getting a uniform coating on the outside of the bread.

[foster]

I dont like the idea myself, but recently a friend talked about it too. Also, mayo is often used as a topping for broiling, so it makes sense. And, here is one of many recipes online http://www.recipezaar.com/108522

[Kari]

My husband puts the mayo on the inside, then butters the outside. I find warm mayo gross, he likes it.