The Best Ways To Achieve A Meltier Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast sandwiches are an excellent way to start your day, which fast-food chains like McDonald's have certainly capitalized on. However, you can make a fantastic breakfast sandwich with the meltiest, most delectable cheese without leaving home, provided you use the proper methods. One major factor is the iconic foil wrapping McDonald's uses to cover its sandwiches. This wrapper traps steam from the freshly cooked ingredients inside, transforming the cheese texture into a gooey, melty masterpiece. You can replicate this experience by wrapping your just-cooked breakfast sandwich in foil and allowing it to rest for a few minutes before eating.

J. Kenji López-Alt shared a neat trick with Serious Eats if you want to expedite the process. "I actually like to wrap my sandwich up in foil and place it back in the skillet with the heat off, letting the residual heat in the metal continue to gently warm the sandwich until it forms one grand, amalgamated vision," he said. 

Of course, choosing the right cheese is equally essential for meltiness. With a staggering number of cheeses to choose from, you must select a variety with specific essential characteristics.

American cheese is the preferred choice for McDonald's breakfast sandwiches, which stands to reason. Consider that American cheese is ideal when aiming for the soft, melty texture that elevates a breakfast sandwich to a sacred experience. However, American cheese can be a bit mild in flavor. Accordingly, you may want to experiment with more flavorful varieties when putting together your breakfast sandwich.

Young cheeses with a healthy portion of milk proteins and fat typically melt the best when heat is applied. Gouda is one worthy selection for your sandwich, as it offers unbelievable meltability and a subtly sweet flavor. This sweetness adds complexity that's missing when you opt for milder American cheese. If you want something with a bolder flavor profile, mozzarella is the way to go. Mozzarella is known for its legendary cheese pull and is also quite flavorful. Many brands contain underpinnings of grassiness and a tanginess that perfectly complements the richness of breakfast meats.

Cheese placement is one of the most crucial aspects of making a melty breakfast sandwich. As illustrated by this Reddit thread, where to put cheese on a sandwich is a hot-button issue that many feel passionately about. According to one commenter, "There is a very different mouthfeel when it's on bottom." 

On the flip side, another user offered a different perspective: "If it is a hot sandwich, then the cheese goes on top. If it is a cold sandwich, then the cheese goes on the bottom."

Following this logic, placing the cheese on top of the meat just makes more sense when constructing a hot breakfast sandwich. This placement helps the cheese achieve the preferred melty texture, which allows your cheese of choice to gently envelop the other components of your sandwich. This ensures you get a good portion of cheese in every bite, which wouldn't be the case if you placed cheese on the bottom layer of bread. By employing these tips, you can build a superior breakfast sandwich in the comfort and convenience of your own kitchen.