Sandwiches & Handhelds · American

Ham & Cheese

Name: Ham & Cheese
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 4 slice bread, country white or sourdough (sliced 1/2 inch); 6 oz ham (thinly sliced); 2 oz gruyère (grated); 2 oz sharp cheddar (grated); 2 tbsp butter (softened); 2 tsp mustard, dijon; 1 pinch black pepper (ground)

7 ingredients · 15 minutes · 2 servings

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619kcal39g protein36.8g fat31.6g carbs~$2.59/ serving*

No alcohol

Contains: gluten, dairy · May contain: soy

Ingredients

Servings:

4 slice	bread, country white or sourdough (sliced 1/2 inch)
6 oz	ham (thinly sliced)
2 oz	gruyère (grated)
2 oz	sharp cheddar (grated)
2 tbsp	butter (softened)
2 tsp	mustard, dijon
1 pinch	black pepper (ground)
1 tbsp	mayonnaise (spread on the outside in place of butter)optional
2 tbsp	parmesan (grated, pressed onto the buttered outside)optional
1 unit	pickle (sliced lengthwise)optional
2 slice	tomato (sliced, salted and blotted)optional

Method

grate3 min
cold cheese, coarse holes
gruyère + cheddar on the coarse side of a box grater — shredded cheese melts in the four minutes it takes bread to brown, where a cut slice is still rubbery when the crust is already burnt. Gruyère supplies the stretch, cheddar the flavour; either alone is a compromise.
saute3 min
dry pan, medium-high
ham slices, loosely ruffled, until the edges curl and the surface goes matte — deli ham is pumped with brine and that water has to leave in the pan, not inside the sandwich, where it steams the crumb grey and soggy
prep2 min
room-temperature butter
butter all four outer faces edge to edge, mustard the inner faces, then build cheese + warm ham + cheese so that melted cheese touches both slices and welds the sandwich shut. Cheese only on one side and the top slides off on the first bite.
fry4 min
medium-low, covered
sandwiches in the dry skillet — the butter on the bread is the cooking fat, so nothing extra goes in the pan. Covering for the first side traps enough heat above the sandwich to melt the interior while the bottom colours; medium-low is not timidity, it is the only heat at which the middle catches up with the crust.
fry3 min
medium-low, uncovered, pressed lightly
flip and finish uncovered so the trapped steam escapes and the second face crisps. Press with a spatula, don't lean on it — crushing the crumb closed makes it dense rather than shatteringly thin.
rest2 min
on a rack, not a plate
a rack keeps the underside from sitting in its own steam, and two minutes lets the cheese set from liquid to pull so it stays in the sandwich when cut on the diagonal