Balsamic Blackberry Brie Grilled Cheese

Jan 23, 2025 • Tom Jackson

There’s nothing quite like the comfort of a grilled cheese sandwich, but sometimes, we all crave a little something extra. Enter the Ham & Brie Sandwich with Blackberry Balsamic Jam—an elevated take on the classic, featuring rich, melt-in-your-mouth brie, savory ham, and the sweet tang of blackberry balsamic jam. The Texas Olive Ranch Red Balsamic Vinegar adds a deep, robust flavor that takes this sandwich to a whole new level of deliciousness. Perfectly balanced with smoky, sweet, and tangy notes, this sandwich is a comforting indulgence with a sophisticated twist—proof that sometimes, comfort food can be elevated without losing any of its heartwarming appeal.

What You'll Love:

The blackberry balsamic jam is made from scratch in under 20 minutes. Blackberries and Texas Olive Ranch Red Balsamic Vinegar into a hot skillet — mash, simmer, reduce. That's the whole jam.
Fromager d'Affinois spreads straight from the fridge, no prep required. It's a double-cream soft cheese that melts into the bread on the griddle rather than pooling like standard brie.
Butter and olive oil together is the right call for brioche at 400°F. The oil keeps the butter from burning; the butter provides the color and richness.
The jam recipe yields enough for four sandwiches intentionally. A half batch won't reduce properly — save the extra and use it on toast, with pork, or on a cheese board.

Balsamic Blackberry Brie Grilled Cheese

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.6 stars by 8 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

2

Calories

762

Elevate your grilled cheese with this Ham & Brie Sandwich featuring Blackberry Balsamic Jam. The rich brie and savory ham are complemented by a sweet-tangy blackberry balsamic jam, enhanced by a hint of smoky flavor from the Yoder Smokers YS640s pellet grill.

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Ingredients

For the Sandwich

6 oz blackberries
1 cup Texas Olive Ranch Red Balsamic Vinegar
4 slices brioche bread
2 tbsp unsalted butter, for toasting
2 tbsp Texas Olive Ranch EVOO
4 oz Fomager d’ Affinois (Brie, or other soft cheese)
8 slices smoked ham, thick sliced
Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Pepper

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Directions

For the blackberry balsamic jam, place the blackberries and Texas Olive Ranch Red Balsamic Vinegar in a Lodge 10” Steel Skillet over medium high heat and mash the blackberries. When it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and let the mixture reduce until thickened, about 15-20 minutes. This will yield about one cup of jam, which is enough for four sandwiches, but you can save half for later when only cooking two.
Meanwhile, preheat the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 400ºF, with the cast iron griddle installed.
Heat the thick sliced ham on the griddle, then remove.
Build the sandwiches. Spread one side of the bread with soft brie cheese, and top with black pepper. Spread the other with the blackberry balsamic jam. Place ham in the middle, then toast the sandwiches on the griddle in melted butter and olive oil. Toast to golden brown, then flip to brown the opposite side.

Image of Balsamic Blackberry Brie Grilled Cheese

Recipe Note

Why does the jam recipe yield four servings when this recipe only makes two sandwiches?

Reducing a small amount of liquid in a skillet is inefficient — a very small batch cooks unevenly and is difficult to control. Starting with six ounces of blackberries and a full cup of balsamic vinegar gives you enough volume to reduce properly and predictably over 15–20 minutes. The directions call it out directly: save half for later. The jam keeps well refrigerated for up to two weeks and works as a condiment for roasted pork, a spread for a cheese board, or stirred into vinaigrette. Don't halve the batch.

What is Fromager d'Affinois and can I substitute regular brie?

Fromager d'Affinois is a French double-cream soft cheese made with an ultrafiltration process that concentrates the milk proteins, producing a cheese that is significantly creamier, milder, and more spreadable than standard brie at the same ripeness. Regular brie is an acceptable substitute — the flavor profile is similar — but it may need to sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before it spreads cleanly onto the bread without tearing. Either way, use the cheese cold from the fridge for the jam side of the bread and at room temperature for the brie side.

Why use a cast iron griddle on the pellet grill instead of a pan on the stovetop?

The cast iron griddle on the YS640s at 400°F holds an extremely even temperature across the entire surface — more even than a stovetop burner, which concentrates heat in the center. That evenness means both sides of the brioche toast at the same rate across the whole face of the bread rather than spotting in the center and being pale at the edges. The pellet grill also adds a very faint ambient smoke character to the exterior of the bread during the toast. If you're cooking indoors, a cast iron skillet over medium heat replicates the technique faithfully.

How do I know when the jam has reduced enough?

The jam is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and holds a clean line when you drag your finger through it — similar to a loose preserve consistency. It will thicken further as it cools off heat, so pull it slightly before it looks fully set in the pan. If it reduces too far and becomes paste-like, whisk in a tablespoon of warm water to loosen. The 15–20 minute window is accurate over medium-low heat; a higher heat reduces faster but risks scorching the berry solids against the skillet.

Can I make this indoors?

Indoor cooking rating: 5 out of 5 — Perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. The jam cooks on a stovetop burner; the sandwiches toast in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Every element of this recipe is naturally a stovetop cook — the pellet grill adds ambient smoke character but nothing structural. This is one of the most straightforward indoor recipes in the catalog.

Recipe Highlights

Mash the Berries Early, Then Leave the Jam Alone: The direction to mash the blackberries as soon as they go into the skillet with the balsamic vinegar is the only active step in the jam. Once mashed and brought to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and let the mixture reduce undisturbed — stirring too frequently slows the reduction and breaks up the berry structure more than necessary. Check every few minutes and stir once or twice to prevent sticking at the edges, but mostly leave it.
Heat the Ham on the Griddle Before Building: Direction step 3 calls for heating the thick-sliced smoked ham on the griddle before the sandwiches go on. This step caramelizes the surface of the ham slightly and drives off excess moisture — wet ham inside a grilled cheese sandwich releases steam during the toast, which softens the bread from the inside. A briefly griddle-heated ham also comes to temperature so the finished sandwich is hot all the way through rather than warm at the edges and cool in the center.
One Slice Gets Brie, the Other Gets Jam — Never Both on the Same Slice: The build direction is specific: brie on one slice, jam on the other, ham in the middle. Spreading both on the same slice produces a mixture that bleeds into itself during the toast — the acidity of the balsamic jam breaks down the cream cheese structure of the brie and produces a wet, loose interior. Keeping them on opposite sides means they meet only when the sandwich is assembled and pressed together on the griddle, where the heat seals them into the structure rather than mixing them.
Toast to Deep Golden Brown on Both Sides: The direction to toast to golden brown and flip is straightforward, but "golden brown" here means genuinely dark gold — not pale or lightly toasted. Brioche has a high sugar and egg content that toasts faster than standard sandwich bread; at 400°F on a cast iron griddle with butter and olive oil, the first side should take 2–3 minutes. Press lightly with a spatula during the toast to ensure full contact between the bread and the griddle surface.