Skip The Stove: Make Your Grilled Cheese This Way For The Best Flavor And Crunch

When discussing unexpected stars of your summer grilling season, why not — hear us out — a grilled cheese sandwich that's actually grilled? Maybe it turned out all along that the secret to grilled cheese supremacy wasn't actually a product of skillet versus griddle, or the age-old question of white, wheat, or rye — it was getting that sandwich over actual flames for a smoky flavor and superior texture.

Celebrity chef Alton Brown, no stranger to culinary experimentation, makes his grilled cheese on the charcoal grill with both grilled bread and cheese that he grills separately (spoiler: it's a messy, ooey-gooey process that had us drooling over our keyboards). You can feel free to assemble your grilled cheese the old-fashioned way — building the sandwich off-heat and generously buttering the bread (or try boosting the flavor with mayo), then introducing it to the heat. 

Let's talk the actual grilling technique for a moment. Having zones for both direct and indirect heat will be your friend, here, since too much time sitting on screaming-hot grates could burn your bread before it thoroughly melts the cheese. You could consider Brown's technique: grilling your bread first, then moving the assembled sandwich off the direct heat to let the cheese and bread mingle as the cheese melts and spreads. Or, you can cook your assembled sandwich on lower, indirect heat with the lid closed, then transfer to the higher heat for the perfect char before serving.

As is the case with just about any specimen of grilled cheese, picking the right bread and cheese for the job is no small part of the formula for success. If your slices are too thick, you won't get your cheese to melt before blackening your bread. You want something crusty, but not too thick, like a great sourdough or country loaf. 

Consider the meltability of your cheese, always. American cheese has superior melting ability, even if it isn't the focal point of your sandwich. A grilled cheese on the grill, in our opinion, screams for a more "grown up" cheese option like Gouda, goat cheese, aged cheddar, or Gruyère. We suggest turning to shredded cheese, which belongs on sandwiches due to its easy, even meltability (not the pre-shredded type).

As for fillings, caramelized onions are the ingredient that can instantly upgrade any grilled cheese, or what about some hot honey on your grilled cheese? Get crispy with some fresh slices of tart green Granny Smith apples, salty with some prosciutto or a good ham, or extra savory with some bacon that you grilled right alongside your sandwiches. In terms of fun ways to make grilled cheese that produce smoky, crispy results, it doesn't get better than grilling.