Sizzler closed their remaining handful of stores in Australia when the pandemic hit. The Australian arm of the company revealed the secret behind the iconic recipe. The News article mentions a "precise" recipe, however no quantities were given, so there was a bit of trial and error in coming up with this. I've also suggested a few changes, which in my opinion yield a better result.
The only store in Hobart was opened in the mid 90s as I recall out in the northern suburb of Glenorchy. I have vague memories as a kid eating out there, but I do vividly recall the toast being my favourite part of the experience.
In the last few years before they shut down in Australia, we were able to get the kids to a few of the Queensland stores - Caboolture and Mermaid Beach. About the only thing they remember is the toast!
What is Sizzler Toast?
This is my copycat recipe of Sizzler's iconic toast. It's cooked on one side in a skillet or griddle with a topping made with pecorino and margarine or butter.
What you need to make Sizzler Toast
You can make this in a skillet, but for best results use a large griddle pan. The reason for this is in order to flip the toast you need to use a turner and get it under the bread, otherwise there is a good chance the toast will stick to the pan.
If you don't have a good non-stick pan, you'll need to use spray oil to stop the cheese sticking to the pan.
Sizzler toast ingredients
- Supermarket style thick-cut white bread - this is one of the few times you'll ever see me recommend this style of bread, but it's what Sizzler used and it works a lot better for the recipe than something artisan.
- Butter or margarine - Sizzler used margarine, however butter also works well. I'm assuming you're using a regular table spread which is salted, if it's unsalted you'll need to add some salt to taste.
- Pecorino cheese - a lot of online recipes use parmesan rather than pecorino. I've also seen American Sizzler videos where they mention the use of parmesan. I've tested it both with freshly grated 24 and 36mo Parmigiano Reggiano as well as the shelf stable stuff that comes in a green tub. In my opinion pecorino yields a much nicer result. If you choose to use parmesan, you'll probably need to add some extra salt because pecorino is saltier.
- Garlic powder, optional - this really works well and essentially makes it into a cheesy garlic bread.
- Italian herbs, optional - regular mixed Italian herbs you can get from the supermarket also complement the flavours very well.
How to make Sizzler Toast
- Mix cheese and margarine/butter - Mix together the cheese and margarine/butter so that they're well combined. If you're using garlic powder, add it to the margarine/butter and stir it through.
- Preheat skillet over medium high heat.
- Prepare toast - use 1 heaped tbsp (or 1 Australian tbsp - 20ml) - of the cheese mixture and spread over the bread.
- Cook toast - if you're not using a non-stick pan, spray some spray oil into the pan. Place the bread, cheese mixture side down, onto the pan and cook for about 45 seconds until golden and the cheese is melted. Remove from the pan without toasting the side of the bread without the cheese mixture.
- Serve - sprinkle over some Italian herbs if you want to use them, and then for the traditional Sizzler experience, cut into 4 triangles.
Tips
- Use partially frozen bread - the bread will thaw while cooking and this helps to prevent it drying out. It also makes it easier to spread the cheese mixture.
- Freshly grate the cheese - pre-grated cheese is full of anticaking agents to prevent it clumping together. This does affect the overall quality of the dish, so avoid where possible.
- Cheesier bread - if you want the bread to be cheesier, add more pecorino. The recipe card has details.
- Make extra spread and keep it in the fridge to spread on toast or oven baked rolls.
Making ahead and reheating
This doesn't store particularly well. If you make excess, I'd microwave it on low power until just warm - but it won't keep well for more than a day or so.
As for making ahead... the actual toast cooks very quickly, so if you're entertaining you could always make up a batch of the cheese spread and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to cook.
Sizzler Toast
| Prep | Cook | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 5 mins | 5 mins | 10 mins |
- 2 slices thick cut slices of bread ideally white commercial type - see note 1
- 40g margarine or butter, which I prefer - see note 2
- 20g pecorino cheese, grated or parmesan - see note 3
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder, optional see note 4
- Mixed Italian herbs, optional see note 5
- Spray oil
- Make the margarine mixture by combining the margarine, pecorino and garlic powder if using, and stirring well until it resembles a compound butter.
- Preheat a skillet over a medium high heat.
- Spread the margarine mixture evenly over the two slices of bread, placing the mixture on one side of each slice.
- Cook the toast - when the skillet is hot, spray some spray oil into the skillet and then place the margarine side down into the skillet. Cook for 1 minute or until the cheese is golden - you can carefully lift a corner up to see how it's cooking.
- Serve by optionally sprinkling some mixed Italian herbs over the toast and slicing into quarters.
- Bread - No artisan sourdough here! Use a thick cut of commercial-style white bread, around 1.5cm thick. If you put the bread in the freezer 20 minutes before cooking, it will partially freeze which will make it easier to spread the margarine.
- Margarine - the Sizzler recipe used margarine, I do quite like it with butter or a good butter blend. The recipe counts on the butter or margarine being salted; if using unsalted you'll probably need to add a little salt.
- Pecorino works best, but a lot of recipes use parmesan. Pecorino is a saltier cheese though, so you might need to add a little salt to the cheese mixture.
- Garlic powder - makes this into a kind of toasted cheesy garlic bread. Give it a shot, it's good!
- Italian herbs - I don't ever recall seeing these used at Sizzler, but the flavour works well. Give it a try!
