My Secret to the Crispiest Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

As a kid, I’d slap a few squares of rubbery American cheese between slices of fluffy white bread, nuke it in the microwave, and call it a culinary masterpiece (or, at least, an after-school snack). I eventually graduated to a grilled cheese sandwich — dropped in a pan with butter and squished with a spatula until crispy.

That crunch — the more obnoxiously loud, the better — is what makes a grilled cheese sandwich so delectable. But a spatula can only get you so far in achieving that crispy, crunchy, golden-brown perfection.

Browning is key to taking your meals to the next level. A seared ribeye steak, caramelized onions, and toasted marshmallows all have one thing in common: They’ve undergone the Maillard reaction, where sugars and amino acids break down when heated to unlock deep, rich flavors. It’s the umami that chefs rave about and that our tastebuds crave. But most importantly, it’s the thing that makes toasty, buttered-up grilled cheese sandwiches so irresistible.

To achieve superior browning, contact is essential. And The Chef’s Press — a stainless steel cooking weight I purchased at a local kitchen-supply store two years ago — is the secret to making that contact possible.

View on Amazon

The Chef's Press

Cooking Weight (8 oz, 13 oz, 18 oz)

(Expert Pick)

This heavy, flat-bottomed stainless steel weight maximizes surface-to-heat contact for more-even searing, faster cooking, and crispier results. Presses can be stacked together for added weight.

Check on Amazon

Why It Works Better

Over the years, I’ve found that it’s safer, more efficient, and more convenient to have a dedicated tool for the task. Take it from me, a once-scrappy line cook who MacGyvered solutions that never worked. Balancing a stack of hotel pans on top of asparagus resulted in trapped steam and soggy spears. Meanwhile, using the bottom of a cast-iron skillet to flatten bacon meant boiled strips and another dirty pan to clean.

Now I use my cooking weight to gently press the uneven bread onto the pan. Doing this helps the thin layer of ghee crisp the sourdough, and it ensures that the melty cheese oozes into every crevice of the bread. The Chef’s Press also has a built-in handle, making it easier to momentarily lift the tool as I flip the sandwich to toast the other side (if it’s too hot, use tongs to grab the handle and safely move the press around). Plus, the vented design keeps moisture at bay and prevents the bread from getting soggy.

Designed by a Chef

It’s no surprise that a seasoned chef (and the previous owner of several San Francisco–based restaurants) designed this brilliant kitchen tool in 2006. Bruce Hill is the founder and creator of The Chef’s Press, and when we spoke over the phone, he told me this kitchen tool was born out of necessity.

“When I took over [Bix restaurant], the guys were using grill presses. But the grill presses that they had at one time had wooden handles, and then the handle burned off, and then they replaced the wood handle with a coat hanger,” Hill said. “I looked at that and said, ‘I've got to make something better than this.’”

So he immediately got to work on developing prototypes, which ultimately became the 8-ounce, 13-ounce, 16-ounce, and 18-ounce presses currently sold, all of which are made with 100% American steel. And they all serve a different purpose.

More Than Just Sandwiches

Aside from using the 8-ounce weight to make the crunchiest grilled cheese sandwiches imaginable, I also use it to brown veggies and proteins. It helps me wrangle splayed-out bok choy leaves when I’m searing them open-faced, and it’s impressively good at ensuring that skin-on chicken thighs crisp up like bacon.

Using the weight to push ingredients into the pan creates superior caramelization.

I love my 8-ounce press so much that I’ve been eyeing the heavier, 18-ounce version for bigger cuts of meat and cooking larger batches. The neat thing about these presses is that they’re compatible: You can stack them like Lego pieces to increase the weight (for finicky ingredients that don’t flatten easily) or to keep vacuum-sealed foods submerged in a sous vide bath. These presses are also easy to clean, with a bit of dish soap and water, and they’re dishwasher- and oven-safe.

Since adding a cooking weight to my culinary toolkit, I have been much more prepared in the kitchen. This tool has undoubtedly leveled up my cooking, and my crispy, golden-brown grilled cheese sandwiches are proof of that.