Alton Brown's Revolutionary Grilled Cheese Trick

May 16, 2014 -- Think about the name "grilled cheese sandwich." If you take it literally, the cheese itself should be grilled -- which is exactly what Alton Brown does in the latest video from his Web series "Cook Smart."

Rather than just griddle the entire sandwich, Brown, mentor/judge of "Food Network Star" season 10 premiering Sunday, June 1, suggests actually grilling and melting the cheese, grilling the bread separately, and then assembling and grilling together. The end result makes for an extra-gooey, decadent sandwich.

Try for yourself with the recipe below.

Alton Brown’s Grilled Grilled Cheese

Makes 2 sandwiches

4 ½ inch slices of country-style bread

3 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated

3 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Butter or olive oil

Light a charcoal grill, with most of the charcoal piled to one side. Prepare two grill spatulas by tenting with heavy-duty aluminum foil to create shallow "trays."

Combine the cheeses and spices in a bowl. If using butter, butter each side of the bread slices.

Distribute half the cheese into one grill spatula tray and half into the other. Place onto grill over indirect heat. Keep an eye on the cheese so it doesn’t burn, moving the spatulas around as it grills for 6 to 9 minutes until bubbly.

If using olive oil, spray or brush onto each side of the bread slices as the cheese grills. Place the bread on the grill over direct heat and keep a close eye on the bread so it doesn’t burn. Toast it until dark brown.

Remove cheese and bread from grill and slide the cheese from one spatula onto a slice of bread. Top with another slice, then wrap in foil. Repeat with remaining cheese and bread.

Put the wrapped sandwiches back onto the grill over indirect heat for a few minutes so the cheese and the bread can "kind of get to know each other," as Brown said.

"That, my friends, is a grilled sandwich prepared from grilled cheese," Brown said.