Not Butter Or Mayo: Use This Oil For A Grilled Cheese With 10x The Flavor

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Since the Platonic ideal of a grilled cheese consists of little more than bread, cheese, and the application of heat, there are many, many variations on the "perfect" toastie. Alton Brown likes to cook his grilled cheese between two pans, for one. We've also explored using focaccia as the bread in your sandwich (along with croissants, challah, brioche, et cetera) and every imaginable cheese swap under the sun. One element of grilled cheese that often gets paid dust in terms of creativity and culinary zeal is the fat you use to grease your bread. Butter is the old faithful, while some heathens will simply zap their poor sando with a blast of Pam and call it a day. We're here to tell you that, for an oily coating that will amp the flavor of your grilled cheese by a factor of 10, you want to use ghee.

Ghee, a form of clarified butter (distinct from French-style clarified butter by virtue of being more concentrated), gained popularity in India thousands of years ago as a component of Ayurvedic cooking. It's lactose-free, shelf-stable, has a higher smoke point than fresh butter, and brings an absolutely delicious taste with both nutty and caramel notes. Brushed onto the bread of your grilled cheese — it's solid at room temperature but melts easily when warm — ghee will impart not only a burst of unexpected flavor on the outside of your sandwich, but it will also promote even, golden browning from corner to corner. Is it any wonder that foodies call this a "must" for next-level gourmet grilled cheese?

Ghee's biggest downside is the fact that it can be expensive. It takes a lot of butter to reduce into ghee, and good butter already isn't the cheapest ingredient. Organic, grass-fed, highly-rated ghee from Spring Sunrise is just a few Amazon clicks away, but, for maximum budget optimization, you can make your own. Just melt and simmer high-quality butter until the liquid separates completely from the fats and evaporates, then strain the fat with cheesecloth and store it in an airtight container. Ghee is shelf-stable and keeps long-term in your pantry, so it's well worth the investment of your time and energy.

Clarified butter will dress up any grilled cheese, from the kind you make in a hotel room with an iron all the way to a bougie handheld that's fit for company. Call us snobs, but we're really excited about the latter possibilities. We're talking about the kind of sando that demands the nicest fresh-baked bread you can source and one or more cheeses that you've been saving for a special occasion. Slice the loaf, shred the cheese, and spread your bread lovingly with ghee. Pile your sandwich with high-end fixings, like real Italian prosciutto, fig jam, sun-warmed basil leaves, or juicy slices of ripe tomato fresh from your summer bounty. Griddle your sandwich, and prepare your taste buds for a grilled cheese sandwich that will make your toes curl and your soul elevate to a new plane of culinary delight.