The Meatwave

After learning about Halloumi, the amazing grill-able cheese of Cypriot origin, I went on a mission to find what other cheeses could be taken directly to the flames in my early days of grilling. One of those that I read about and tried out was provolone since the Argentinian's successfully do this with their dish called provoleta. While my initial attempt wasn't a total failure, it was not what I was expecting I set provolone to the side until a trip to Buenos Aires piqued my interest once again, so I gave it another go and this time the results were incredible.

What constituted being not a "total failure" at my first crack at provoleta was the fact that I was able to get the cheese on and off the grill in one piece, but this barely happened as the cheese began to quickly melt and never developed the browned crust I was hoping it would. Still, I was able to dress up the blob of oozy provolone with oregano and crushed red pepper and had a still pretty satisfying dish that I was able to serve.

There were two main things I needed to correct though—getting a browned crust and making sure the cheese didn't melt too fast. My idea to solve the later issue was to go with a thicker chunk of cheese. I was serving this for a crowd, so I actually had my deli slice me off a large cylinder of provolone that was a little over two inches thick, which weighed in at a little over a pound. Then at home, I sliced that into three portions, each about three-quarters of an inch thick. I figured this thickness would be sufficient enough so the entire block wouldn't melt too quickly.

The bigger issue was getting that crusty sear, and that was more of a head scratcher for me. So I did some research online and found this YouTube video where this was solved by letting the slices of provolone form a rind, which was done by sitting the cheese out in the fridge for a couple days. The logic seemed sound and was proven in the video, so I ventured forth with this method by putting my three slices of cheese on a wire rack in order to expose as much surface area possible to air. I then let this sit in the fridge for a little over two days before grilling.

Of course you need some sort of vessel to get the final melty cheese from plate to mouth, so as I did in my original attempt, I tapped a baguette to this job. Since I had the grill already going, I utilized the existing heat to first toast all the slices of the baguette, which I had brushed lightly with extra-virgin olive oil.

The moment of truth then came after the bread was all done. The exterior of the cheese had hardened up nicely, so I had hope that this would work, but I was taken aback a bit with just how well it ended up going. I placed a slice of provolone on the grill and once I saw the cheese start to look a little droopy on the down side, I went in for the flip. I was expecting a bit of a mess here, but the cheese released from the grates with ease and the turn exposed a pretty perfectly golden and crisp crust. The second side then grilled up the same way, and the entire slice was softened throughout, but not to the point of falling apart. This made it easy to plate and serve up.

As soon as the cheese was on the serving board, I sprinkled on oregano and crushed red pepper, then allowed everyone to dig in. We all know soft, melty cheese is a thing of beauty, so what really rises provoleta into a higher class is that crispy browned crust that delivers an intensity of flavor that was totally missing the first time I made this dish. I happily ate piece after piece of provolone on the cracking bits of baguette, basking in a success that I was not fully anticipating. Now that I have a method down for provoleta, it'll certainly be something I grill way more often because it's simple, impressive, and super tasty, and dishes like those are few and far between.

Published on Thu Aug 8, 2024 by Joshua Bousel

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