There isn’t one definitive ‘best’ cheese for grilled cheese. Just ask our Test Kitchen, who will give you a laundry list of varieties they like, usually a blend of melty choices and sharp, nutty cheeses too. While I admire their commitment to finding the perfect mix for just the right cheese pull as well as flavor, I know as a home cook I want one cheese that does all the heavy lifting.
Enter Kerrygold’s Dubliner cheese. It’s the platonic ideal of cheeses for not just grilled cheese, but sandwiches, cheese boards, and more.
What Is Dubliner Cheese?
Although I use ‘Cheddar’ in the headline, technically Dubliner is not a type of Cheddar, but a cheese in a league of its own (forgive my shorthand there). But it shares a lot of characteristics with the familiar grilled cheese staple, especially in texture.
Dubliner is named for the capital of Ireland, which is Kerrygold’s home country, and has its own diverse range of robust flavors, landing somewhere between sweet and nutty. There is a subtle sharpness paired with a rich creaminess that makes it ideal for grilled cheeses. It’s made, much like Kerrygold’s famous butter, from grass-fed cows, which lends the cheese its nuanced and complex flavor.
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Why Dubliner Cheese Works So Well In Grilled Cheese
Any cheese you like is going to make a good grilled cheese, whether Kraft Singles or an artisanal Gruyère,because at the end of the day melted cheese in any form is delicious. For me, Dubliner packs in a lot of the salty and nutty flavors I prize in harder cheeses with the melty goodness of softer ones. Many chefs and recipe developers will tout using a blend of cheeses to maximize both flavor and ooze, but I like turning to this one cheese for ease and efficiency.
As with any kind of cheese used in grilled cheese, the key is thinly slicing or grating it to ensure smooth, even melting. A big hunk of cheese is never going to melt into oozy perfection in the time it takes the outside to get beautifully golden brown.
Where To Buy Dubliner Cheese
You can find this cheese in most supermarkets (including Walmart and Publix), but I have to shout out the large (and affordable!) slabs of it you can purchase at Trader Joe’s. Stored along with the other specialty cheeses like burrata and Manchego, it rivals their popular ‘Unexpected Cheddar.’
