The Real Grilled Cheese
We have a Grilled Cheese Apron on our Online Shop that inspired this post. We love the apron and think that it’s a lot of fun, but after a while we got to thinking, what actually happens if you grill a loaf of Tillamook Cheese? We had to find out…
It turns out… you can grill cheese! It starts melting pretty fast and as cheese drips on to the coals, the fire flares up. Just like you would with anything else on the grill you have to rotate the loaf and it gets grill marks in it. One thing that I didn’t expect is that after I took the loafs of cheese off the grill, I found that only the outer layer of cheese was melty and gooey, and the rest of the cheese was still pretty solid. I guess you could keep it on the grill longer and let it keep getting gooey if you want to grill it all the way through? You just might not have a very big loaf left!
However, my real problem is that I didn’t know what to do with a grilled cheese once it was grilled. We got out a bag of tortilla chips and sliced cheese onto them. It was sort of like nachos, but you only heat up the cheese! Tell me, what would you do with a loaf of grilled cheese?
August 14th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Lots of hamburgers and hot dogs smothered in cheese.
August 14th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
So, I had an old, little electric smoker. (lil Chief). I would wait for a VERY cold winter day, put some chips on, open the top just a bit, and put a few loafs of Swiss cheese on there. It would last for quite a while, and only melt down a bit. They turned out quite delicious.
There ARE cheeses out there that you can grill… it doesn’t look like Cheddar is one of them. :-)
August 14th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
If it were me, I’d get take two slices of my favorite sourdough, through them on the grill, to make the most epic grilled cheese!
You could also grill some bacon on foil to go with your sandwich. Sort of a fun summer twist to one of the best sandwiches in the world and it would truly compliment the grilled Tillamook. Plus, the grilled bread would help the part of the cheese that didn’t get gooey melt.
August 14th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
I’d treat it like raclette–keep scraping off the melty bits and putting it on ‘taters, veg, etc. Let the new outside get melty, scrape, top, eat. Repeat.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
Well I think this is a great concept. I personally would take Tillamook cheese block and just eat it LOL The idea of grilling a block of Tilla mook is interesting. I would make sure the block of cheese is extremely cold. I would slice jalapenos and place them around the block of cheese. Then wrap in bacon ( Wrights thick bacon) Grill on high heat until bacon is crisp and Done. Serve with a cracker of choice or slice and use it as a baked potato topping
August 15th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Hey Henry!
I like your ideas! Smokey cheese on burgers and hot dogs is heavenly!
- Kelly from the Tillamook Team
August 15th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Thanks for your comment Kevin! Do you still smoke your own cheese? Tillamook makes a smoked cheddar but smoked Swiss sounds delicious!
I think you’re right! One of those loafs is Pepper Jack, I think!
- Kelly of the Tillamook Team
August 15th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Hey Laura! I like your ideas! Adding bacon to something always makes it better! I will have to give your idea a try! Thanks for your comment!
- Kelly from the Tillamook Team
August 15th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Hey Wendy! This is one good way to make nachos! Grilled nachos could become the new snack food!!
- Kelly of the Tillamook Team
August 15th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Hi Kimberly! Are you a chef at heart? Your idea sounds like a professional take on pure tastiness! Thanks for sharing your tips! I may have to put them into action!
- Kelly of the Tillamook Team
February 25th, 2013 at 11:21 am
Ok. This looks AWESOME! I will be trying this!
Smoked cheddar is next on the list to try!
February 25th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Hi Deanna!
I’m so glad you came to check this experiment out! Smoked Medium Cheddar is one of my personal favorites! It’s absolutely delicious on a panini or in fondue! As for smoking your own, you might want to read this first (yes, we’ve tried it too!) http://www.tillamook.com/community/loaflifeblog/test-kitchen-diy-tillamook-cheese-smoking-possible/
Let me know how it goes if you try either of these!!!
All the best,
Amalya, of the Tillamook Team