Recipes

Grilling Cheeses

Close-up of marinated grilling cheese on a sourdough crisp

My first encounter with grilling cheeses was at the 2019 San Francisco Fancy Food Show. You can watch my video to learn more about my experience at that amazing specialty food show.

After trying some of those cheeses at the show, I decided to buy a few and grill them at home on my Weber Summit 450. I bought the following:

Selection of grilling cheeses

The first two were ones I saw and tried at the Fancy Food Show. The third one was something I picked up at Whole Foods.

I removed each cheese from its packaging in preparation for grilling. The Rougette BonFire Grilling Cheese consisted of two discs of cheese wrapped in paper and sealed in individual plastic trays. For some reason, the paper fused with the surface of the cheese and I could not easily separate the two by hand or with a knife. Sadly, that cheese went straight into the garbage. My recollection from the Fancy Food Show was that I didn’t care much for the texture of that cheese anyway. I’m sorry I couldn’t include it here but I’m not sure it was much of a loss, to be honest with you.

As for the other two cheeses, there were no complications during package removal. I preheated the grill on HIGH for 5 minutes, cleaned the grates with a grill brush, then reduced all burners to MEDIUM for another 5 minutes before placing the cheese on the grate.

The Rougette BonFire Marinated Grilling Cheese is fried in an aluminum tray (included) with a rapeseed oil marinade consisting of basil, ginger, chives, oregano, parsley, thyme, onions, and other flavors.

Rougette BonFire Marinated Grilling Cheese packaging

The Kourellas Greek-Style Grilling Cheese went directly on the grate surface; the package says it can be grilled or fried.

Both cheeses were cooked for 10 minutes over MEDIUM heat. The marinated cheese was flipped in its tray halfway through cooking; the Greek-style cheese was turned every 2.5 minutes to achieve typical diamond-pattern grill marks.

Grilling cheeses on the Weber Summit 450 gas grill

Both cheeses were served with San Francisco Boudin Bakery Sourdough Crisps and slices of freshly baked La Brea Bakery Take & Bake French Baguette.

Grilling cheeses ready to eat

The clear winner was the Rougette BonFire Marinated Grilling Cheese. The cheese was savory and melty, the herb flavor was pronounced and delicious, and the crispy fried bottom surface added even more flavor. Who doesn’t like fried cheese, am I right people?

The only improvement would have been to flip the cheese one last time in its pan or out onto a plate before serving to visually expose the crispy bottom side, as seen here:

Crispy bottom side of marinated grilling cheese

I am sorry to report that the Kourellas Greek-Style Grilling Cheese was a dud. It had a rubbery texture and a cow/sheep/goat milk flavor profile that just didn’t work for me or my wife. It might have been better if fried in an herb marinade like the other cheese, but who knows?

Close-up of Kourellas Grilling Cheese on a slice of baguette

So if you’re interested in trying something new and cheesy on your Weber gas grill, look for Rougette BonFire Marinated Grilling Cheese at a supermarket near you. Makes a great appetizer, or it can be diced and served on a salad or on top of vegetables. More recipe ideas are available at the Rougette BonFire website.