Try This Savory Ingredient Swap On Your Next Grilled Cheese And You'll Never Go Back

There are so many opinions floating around the internet claiming the best methods to cook a grilled cheese. Some promote butter on the outside of the bread, others — including Tasting Table — say mayo is the best, while many more will assert that a combination of butter and mayonnaise is the dream combo. However, another bombshell has entered the grilled cheese villa: Bacon grease is the savory ingredient swap for your next grilled cheese that will have you never looking back at butter or mayo again. 

There are so many ways to upgrade your recipes with bacon grease, and while you may have had a grilled cheese with bacon in it, chances are you may not have ever cooked an entire grilled cheese sandwich directly in bacon fat. Bacon grease has an average smoke point of around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, similar to butter, so one of the keys to getting a gorgeous, golden brown crust on a grilled cheese when using bacon fat is to not let the pan get to the point of smoking, but rather cooking it gently over medium heat.

Bacon fat imparts so much more savory flavor onto the crust of the bread than any oil would, given its delicious origins. There are unique hints of smokiness and meatiness that you just can't get from browning a slice of bread in butter, oil, or mayonnaise. 

Whether you're making crispy oven-baked bacon, frying it on the stovetop, or using the sous vide method, you'll have leftover grease that's been rendered down from the high quantity of fat in the bacon. What remains in the pan is akin to liquid gold, which is why we're begging you to stop throwing out bacon grease. To extract even more fat from the streaky meat, starting bacon in a cold pan (or cold oven) is essential. Keep in mind that there is a right way to store leftover bacon grease and keep it fresh, and it's best not to let it cool in a plastic container or keep it in an open jar on your countertop. 

Bacon grease would bring an incredible extra savory note to our blackberry grilled cheese with prosciutto and sage recipe. You could even use it when making an easy air fryer grilled cheese by brushing the outsides of the bread slices with melted bacon fat. If you dream of doubling down on the bacon business, you could crisp bacon in a pan and then set the strips on a paper towel before adding them directly into the building of your grilled cheese. From there, cook the grilled cheese directly in the pan with the leftover bacon grease. No matter how you incorporate it, bacon and its rendered fat will upgrade your next grilled cheese immensely.