The Chopstick Trick That Easily Avoids A Soggy Grilled Cheese Bottom
Few things can ruin a sandwich quicker than soggy bread, especially when that sandwich is a grilled cheese. In its most basic form, the nostalgic sando has just two crucial elements: warm, melty cheese and two pieces of crisp, buttery bread. When one of those factors is removed from the equation, you're left with a meal that, let's face it, is just downright sad.
In grilled, griddled, and toasted sandwiches, sogginess starts accumulating the second the sammie hits the plate. This is because condensation collects underneath the bottom piece of bread as steam tries to escape, undoing all that satisfying crispiness you worked so hard to achieve. Diving into the sandwich straight after it's cooked is one way to prevent your bread from going limp, but if you want to avoid burning your mouth, using this chopstick hack is an even better solution.
As introduced by America's Test Kitchen, this method entails laying a pair of chopsticks parallel across your plate so that the distance between them is slightly less than the width of your sandwich. Then, when the handheld is ready to come off the pan, just carefully balance it on top of the sticks. This will create a gap between the plate and the bottom piece of bread, allowing the steam to escape from underneath your sandwich so it won't transform into moisture that will make the bread soggy and unappetizing.
Chopsticks aren't the only utensils you can use
If you haven't yet started using chopsticks to cook, your kitchen might lack a set of the utensils; however, this doesn't mean that all hope of a crispy grilled cheese sandwich is lost. In the absence of chopsticks, TikTok user @thatdudecancook suggests that two forks can perform the exact same task.
@thatdudecancook Nobody wants a soggy sandwich #grilledcheese
But what if you don't like the look of your sammie sitting on top of a set of chopsticks or forks? To plate your meal like a pro, try cutting your sandwich in half (or in the viral Y-cut) and place each half (or third) on the plate by resting it cut side down. This will allow the steam to escape properly from both sides of the bread, keeping them nice and crispy while also freeing your plate from the additional clutter of a pair of utensils.
A third potential option is to pull out your trusty wire cooling rack to place your grilled sandwich on until you're ready to dig in. This kitchen tool can especially come in handy if you're batch-making grilled cheeses, but in a pinch, it can be worth it when you're whipping up a solo sandwich, too. Sure, it might make one more dish to wash, but it'll all be worth it when you sink your teeth into a grilled cheese that's delightfully crispy on both sides.