Wow. I really don’t have many words to say about this grilled cheese sandwich. It was honestly SO good. I made five of them and they were gone so fast. As per usual, Grilled Cheese Social did not disappoint with this guy, The Bee Sting (remix) mozzarella grilled cheese with hot sopressata and basil infused honey.
I’m just going to cut to the chase and give you the play by play so you can go to the store (honestly, go ASAP) to get everything you need for this delicious creation.
Basil Infused Honey
First off, thankfully I realized at 12:00 PM the day I was going to make this that I needed to somehow make basil infused honey. Good job, me. I read that for this sandwich, it is good to do it overnight, but I figured 5-5.5 hours would be sufficient. And it was! I opened the lid of the container I had put it in and was overcome by the most amazing aroma. I should mention I don’t even really like honey. But now I like it infused with basil.
The directions say to use fresh basil but I used something else.. My uncle recently picked up “Lightly Dried Basil” from Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices from a local grocery store. Let me tell you, this is a game changer. It’s a small container with lightly dried herbs (in this case, basil) that you can refrigerate for up to four weeks after refrigerating. You open it and it smells so fresh! Total delight to the senses if you ask me. Because I was making five sandwiches, I used 1/2 cup of liquid honey and 1 tablespoon of these lightly dried basil guys and mmmm I felt like I had invented this myself (unfortunately, I didn’t).
The Cheese
Again, because I was making five sandwiches, I used almost 1 and half balls of fresh mozzarella. I used TreStelle because I am familiar with it and it is reasonably priced. As mentioned in the post (and as my husband reminded me when I said “The cheese isn’t super melty”), mozzarella doesn’t get super melty. So don’t stress about that. As long as it’s nice and warm, you’re good to go. I did find that as I let the sandwiches rest, the cheese continued to soften.
The Butter
Red. Pepper. Flaked. Butter. WOW. This made the sandwich a little extra spicy but the mozza and the honey help to tone it down. (When I say a little extra spicy, I mean that I had some bread with it and my mouth was very tingly… almost on fire). If you aren’t one for spice, it’s an easy solution – just use plain butter… and maybe a little bit less sopressata because it’s a bit spicy. Again, because I was doing five sandwiches, I used 1/4 cup of butter (softened in the microwave) with 1 tsp of pepper flakes. Done and done.
The Bread
Well, directions say to use a Batard. Even after Googling it, I’m not sure I understand what kind of bread this is. Anyway, I went to the store, looking for a big loaf with score marks in it and had holes in it. The first I found was French bread, and I know that isn’t a holey bread.. so the next choice was an Artisan Belgian Bread. When I cut it open I was disappointed that it was dense like normal bread, but it was really tasty so I highly recommend it if you come across it in your grocery store. Anyone know which direction to point me for a Batard in the future?
The Meat
Last part of the equation: the sopressata. If you are unfamiliar with this underrated Italian meat, you will be pleasantly surprised. It’s pretty spicy, but as I mentioned, the honey and the mozza will tone it down. I went to a proper butcher’s deli for this instead of getting it from the grocery store (because my grocery store, as I’m sure you guessed.. didn’t have any). This is a really reasonably priced meat, just so you know.. so buy lots!
Assembly
Finally, we have reached assembly. Honestly, once you’ve cut the bread, sliced the cheese and mixed the pepper butter, you’re good to go and assemble. Super simple and the sopressata and mozzarella are easy to lay flat, so your sandwich will not topple over, which is excellent news. The directions mention to cook it over lower heat so you don’t burn the chilli flakes – obviously I read that after I put them on but luckily it was already on low heat.
So, folks. If there is ever a day that you actually take my advice, let it be today. You’ve really got to make this sandwich. It is sweet and salty and spicy and the opposite of spicy all in a really yummy loaf of bread. Bon appetit!
