Culinary Curiosities

[jmfargo]

I don't know about you but I love grilled cheese sandwiches. My mom used to make them on special occasions for me and my four siblings, usually accompanied by some kind of soup. To this day a grilled cheese sandwich still feels like a special occasion, even though I can easily make one for myself any time I want one.

Sort of like bacon.

A while back I was watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network and Guy Fieri said something along the lines of how the real secret to making a grilled cheese sandwich wasn't to use butter (which is what I've always used, of course) but instead to use mayonnaise.

I was appalled. Even now this idea sort of twists my stomach into a knot and makes my taste buds want to rebel against me for even thinking about what it must taste like. My brain won't wrap itself around the idea of that in any way, shape, or form being a good thing.

But I've had it. My brain is wrong. While I prefer butter over mayonnaise, mayo is a perfectly fine substitute if you're out of butter or if all you have is hard butter that's going to rip through the bread and be useless*. It crisps up like butter, is easier to spread evenly on the bread, and tastes generally fine. It doesn't have the same buttery flavor, of course, but the texture isn't changed at all, which is good and makes it an acceptable substitute, if not exactly perfect.

Then, laurapatrick said something that got me to thinking. "I guess since butter is a fat and mayo is a fat, you could use any kind of fat to make a grilled cheese."

And my friends I am here to give you a revelation that could, quite possibly, bring you to your knees in its simple glory. Today I sampled this revelation and let me tell you:

It. Is. Good.

What is this ground-breaking, earth-shattering, heaven-felling secret? Well, that's what I'm going to tell you. It's simple and amazing and you'll be glad you know me simply for how life-changing this secret could be for you and your loved ones:

Bacon grease.

You can make grilled cheese with bacon grease, and it's every bit amazing as a bacon-grilled-cheese-sandwich sounds like it should be.

You're welcome.**

*Or you could, I don't know, melt the butter on the skillet and lay the bread in the butter instead of trying to spread it. My friend turbotroll taught me that one.

**I do not take credit for the heart failure later in life due to this revelation, just the happiness that leads up to it. Again, you're welcome.

Comments

[yshaloo]

I always melt my butter in the pan - I rarely leave any out at room temperature.

Mayonnaise sounds wrong, but I was surprised a year or two ago when I tried Coolio's ghetto garlic bread which uses mayonnaise and is STUPENDOUS!!

I may try the bacon grease, thanks for the heads up :)

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking that if I do mayo again I'll make an aioli, blend in some garlic, maybe a few other flavors. I think a grilled cheese garlic-bread sandwich sounds amazing!

[xhollydayx.livejournal.com]

Perhaps a stupid question, but does using bacon grease leave any bacon taste? Mind you, I don't eat bacon so I have no frame of reference. However I do occasionally buy a few pieces to give to my dogs (they just had their birthday, so they had some!). I learned teh butter in the skillet secret from an ex who used to be a cook. On payday we'd always buy one small hunk of nice cheese, and usually make grilled cheese that night.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

It does leave a bacon taste and that's one of the best things about it! It's fairly subtle but it's definitely soaked into the bread.

[michelleh324.livejournal.com]

So much deliciousness!

[sarin-girl.livejournal.com]

damn.... all your bacon talk! : (

I need to get my health back on track, so for a while, no bacon : (

I even got really desperate and tried Soy Bacon, it was terrible but it's the only thing I got so it will just have to do : (

[angielabrie.livejournal.com]

Wait until you try frying that tasty grilled cheese sammich in rendered duck fat.