Grilled Pizza

We're on Day-3 of a heatwave here in Ohio, with temperatures yesterday reaching 94-96 degrees.  The heat was oppressive, but worse than the heat was the humidity.  Imagine trying to breathe through a thick, hot, wet towel...yeah, that's what it was like.  Definitely not a good day to be in the kitchen, so we moved lunch outside to the grill.  One of our favorite hot-weather meals is grilled pizza.  You DO know that you can bake pizza on a gas grill, right?  Probably a charcoal grill too, but I can't attest to that personally.  You don't need any special tools or techniques; just a good dough recipe,  your favorite toppings and a wide metal spatula.

For the dough recipe, go here.  This recipe makes a huge batch, enough for a couple pizzas + bread sticks, so I normally use half of it and toss the other half in the freezer for later.  I do alter the recipe just a bit, omitting/reducing the spices and adding a couple tablespoons of olive oil to give the dough a bit of chewiness.  But that's just my preference.  It's your dough...do what you want :) 

After you've made up the dough, roll/toss it into personal-sized pizzas; usually 6 inches, give or take.  There's nothing special or magical about the personal pizza other than the fact it's easier to move onto the grill than a 16-inch!  A 6-inch pizza fits perfectly on our metal spatula and also cooks more quickly.  If you have a metal pizza peel, go for a larger pizza.  Again, it's your dough, do what you want. 

Place the shaped pizza dough on a baking sheet that has been oiled liberally or lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.  Either will keep the dough from sticking to the surface and easier to move onto the grill later.  A word of caution on the cornmeal...use too much and your pizza will taste like scorched popcorn.  Trust me.  Top your pizza however you like it.  My kids are traditionalists, so normally mozzarella and pepperoni.  My husband and I enjoy leftover chicken or steak, mushrooms, onions, banana peppers.  Or go veg and run your pizza through the garden.  Whatever you like. 

Now the real trick to grilling a pizza is temperature.  You want that grill screaming hot!!!  I mean "take-your-breath-away and singe-your-eyebrows" hot.  You will be baking the pizza directly on the grate. No pan. No baking stone.  By heating the grill to extremely high temperatures, the dough will begin baking as soon as it touches the grates and won't have time to squish down into the spaces between the grates.  I normally wait until the thermometer on our grill is buried at 700 degrees before I even consider adding the pizza.  This is one area you can't skimp on.  You can use iffy dough.  You can use so-so toppings.  But the grill has to be hot, crazy-hot for the pizza to turn out well.


Once you have your pizza dough topped and the grill heated properly, the most difficult step is moving the squishy pizza dough to the grill without dumping it.  A wide spatula will work with personal pizzas, but with a larger pizza you will need a pizza peel.  I've tried making the pizza on the back of a baking sheet and sliding it onto the grill...with marginal success.   This is one of those areas that you just have to practice and figure out what works for you.  For me, a wide spatula is the key.  Don't be surprised if you dump at least one pizza.  Or it flips upside down as you transport it from baking sheet to grill.  It happens.  But the more you practice, the better you get at the transition.   When the dough is on the grill, close the lid!  You want to keep that grill as hot as possible and not let any heat escape. 


The beauty of grilling pizza in a molten-hot grill is that it only takes a few minutes to bake.  Normally 3-5, depending on your grill and the thickness of the dough.  Give it a few minutes to bake and then take a quick peak.  The dough will have raised a bit on the edges.  The cheese will be melty.  If you use the spatula and gently lift the dough, there should be grill marks on the crust and the dough should be rigid in the center.  Just like a traditionally-baked pizza, you want lightly browned dough, melted cheese and toppings that are heated through.  On my grill, that's about a 5-minute baking time.  

When you're satisfied with the results, carefully remove the pizza from the grill using a metal spatula and move it to a cutting board.  Let it cool for a few minutes...this is imperative if you want your mozzarella to stay on the pizza and not puddle onto the plate/cutting board.  When you slice into the pizza, you'll immediately notice a very crunchy bottom crust with a chewy, dense crust on the outside.  It is perfect for dipping in garlicky olive oil or ranch dressing.  Served with a side salad and fresh fruit, you have a balanced meal without heating up the house or spending your cash on delivery pizza.  In my case, where there is no delivery, grilled pizza makes the perfect 'fast food' for hot, busy summer nights.

For something different, try dough topped with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese.  I can't accurately describe it but to say it's simply delicious. 

Hope you try it.

Hope you like it.