I put this recipe together based off of a trip I took to Saxelby Cheesemonger. An adorable cheese shop in the Lower East Side that has a fantastic assortment of seasonal, sustainable, cheese, butter, milk, yogurt etc. produced in Northeastern united states…pretty much their dairy products rock. They have a grilled cheese menu that featured a cheese curd grilled cheese and I was like…hell YEAH!!! I am making me one of those!
Cheese curds are basically what cheddar is before it gets pressed together and aged. it is fresh, lightly salty and when melted gets stringy and perfect for a grilled cheese (these guys are insane deep-fried…Wisconsin style).
Below is a couple of cheeses I was playing around with while grilled cheese recipe testing. The curds are the cheese nuggets in the plastic container. The top right cheese is like a fontina and the cheese underneath it is a 2 year aged cheddar. All of these would be perfect in the grilled cheese but the cheese curds to me just seemed like such a fun twist (the cheese curds and the fontina together are also amaze).
ingredients
- 4 pieces of bread- I love A white pullman or sourdough
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 sage leaves-kept whole or chiffonade
- 1/4 lb cheese curds
- honey to drizzle
- finishing salt (only use if you are using the cheese curds as your cheese, since they are the most mild)
Directions
- Lightly brush one side of the bread with the melted butter and set aside.
- Place a cast iron pan on the stove and heat on medium heat for 5 minutes. Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and add in the the sage leaves. (if you are keeping them whole then place them close together if you are chopping them then just scatter them in). Place one piece of bread in butter side down (if the sage leaves are whole place the bread directly on top of them) and them place a nice amount of cheese curds on top. Lay the second piece of bread on top, butter side up. Place a pan and a weight on top (i use my kettle). Let toast for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. When the bottom is golden flip over and place the pan and the weight back on top. Let golden on the other side for a couple of minutes. When the grilled cheese is completely golden, flattened and the cheese is all melted, remove from the pan. Cut into 4 pieces, drizzle with a nice amount of honey and sprinkle with some finishing salt. Serve right away.