The ultimate savory and sweet grilled cheese with hot pepper jelly, salty bacon, and creamy cheeses sandwiched between crunchy sourdough. A gourmet version twisting a traditional grilled cheese sandwich into a flavor explosion that will keep your taste buds coming back for more.
The mayo and butter fried in the bacon grease creates a new level of crispy you normally don’t get on bread and it really adds another dimension to this grilled cheese sandwich. Give it a try and leave me a review. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Sourdough bread for your grilled cheeses is the best option but you can certainly use Texas toast or thick bread slices of another variety.
Liberally spread the mayo and butter on the bread while your cast iron pan heats up. Once the cast iron is warm, drop in a tablespoon of bacon grease reserve.
Lay your first piece of sourdough bread, butter side down. Quickly spread some hot pepper jelly on the bread followed by the shredded cheddar, bacon, and havarti cheese. Before adding the other piece of sourdough bread, spread more hot pepper jelly on the other side.
Wait until the bottom is crispy and brown, then flip and crisp up the other side. The cheese should be falling and melting on to the cast iron.. this is a good thing! It may seem like it’s burning, however the fried cheese sizzling on the cast iron is a bonus.
Enjoy immediately!
If you're looking for the how-to video, check out my Instagram reel for this recipe.