Grilled Pizza

This is more of a technique than a recipe, but we enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share!

After our first time grilling this year, Abe was so excited about doing it again at our first opportunity, and this time he wanted PIZZA!  A surprising choice, but it sounded good to me too, so I did a quick Google search and found numerous links to tips and techniques for grilling pizza.  After reading through a number of them, I decided on the one below.

The result?  We loved it.  It definitely has a charred taste, but it reminded me of a brick oven pizza.  Crispy, flavorful, and delicious!

Grilled Pizza

Pizza dough (this is the recipe I always use)

Olive oil

Toppings of choice (we did BBQ Chicken!)

Flour or corn meal for dusting the cookie sheet or pizza peel

 

Make the pizza dough or use prepared pizza dough.

 

Prepare the grill for high direct heat. Prepare a small bowl with olive oil for greasing the grill grates and for brushing the pizza. Prepare the toppings.

Shape pizza dough (*the recipe suggests 12 inches in diameter, but we found this a bit large to flip easily, so I'll make them personal sized next time).

When the grill is hot (you can hold your hands an inch over the grates for no more than 2 seconds), dip a tightly folded up paper towel in olive oil and use tongs to wipe the grill grates. Slide the dough off the cookie sheet onto the hot grill grates.

Quickly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil.  Then close the lid of the grill and let cook for 2 minutes (**We found that our (baby Weber) grill cooked much more quickly than the 2 minutes that the recipe suggested, so just keep an eye on it until you're sure about how yours cooks).

After 2 minutes, the top of the pizza dough will start bubbling up with air pockets. Allow to cook longer if the bottom if it isn't browning (but it should be, if your grill is hot enough).

After the pizza dough has browned lightly on one side, use your cookie sheet or pizza peel to remove it from the grill. Use a spatula to flip the dough over so that the grilled side is now up. Keep the grill covered so it retains its heat for the next step.

Brush the grilled side of the pizza with olive oil and then place sauce and toppings on; don't overdo it or the dough won't crisp up, and it will be difficult to handle the pizza.

Slide the topped pizza back onto the grill. If you are using a gas grill, reduce the heat. If working with a charcoal grill, close the vents on the cover almost all the way. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until the bottom begins to char and the cheese is bubbly.   Remove from grill and let rest a few minutes.

Enjoy!


source: adapted from Simply Recipes