Why You Should Salt Your Skillet For The Best Grilled Cheese

A grilled cheese offers a special kind of comfort food appeal. However, there's a surprising amount of nuance to assembling the sandwich. In addition to carefully selecting the bread and cheese, you'll want to consider seasoning, too. After all, salt is an integral part to giving the sandwich that pop.

Some employ a salted butter to add that savory taste, while others will season the cheese prior to melting. However, to really get the perfect salty bite, then you should season your skillet. Simply melt your butter — or other oil of choice — and then sprinkle on the salt from a height, Salt Bae style. It'll land and disperse around the pan. Then, you can throw on your slices of bread, thereby evenly coating them with the seasoning. As a result, you'll be able to enjoy exterior bites with a pleasant tinge of saltiness.

Of course, the type of salt matters, too —  you'll want to go with coarser kosher as opposed to table or sea salt. Its granule size and structure adhere to the bread well. So keep such a technique in mind, and you'll be able to assemble a delectable grilled cheese.

Understandably, the focus of a grilled cheese is oftentimes on the gooey interior. However — as evinced by the skillet salting — there's potential to enhance the sandwich with external flavor, too. After all, the golden brown crisp of the bread is a highlight of the dish, so why not sprinkle on something extra?

Consider flavors that combine or contrast with that salty touch. For instance, your grilled cheese will taste like heaven with a mayo swap. Cover both sides of the bread with the condiment, and you'll get an extra dose of palatable browning with some sweetness. Additionally, you can use the mayo to mix in additional seasonings. From Italian herbs to chili flakes or garlic powder, it's a nice way of amplifying flavors. Just steer clear of any spices that would burn on the pan.

In a similar vein, you can give your grilled cheese more flavor with a compound butter. Since you'll use the flavored fat to toast the sandwich, it'll meld with the sprinkled salt. A seasoned, garlicky grilled cheese? Now that's a mouth-watering enhancement.