Grilled Pizza

We started grilling pizza because we could never get it to turn out how we wanted in the oven.  This is as close as we could get to having our own brick pizza oven.  You can put any toppings on this pizza that you want.  Keep in mind that whatever you put on it will not cook as much as if you were making it in an oven.  You can pre-cook any ingredients that may take longer (green peppers, onions,  etc.).

Ingredients

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Pizza Sauce – You can use any kind of sauce you want (tomato, pesto, BBQ, olive oil, alfredo).  You get bonus points if you make your own!

Pizza Dough – This is not our recipe and I suggest following it exactly, besides adding herbs, pesto, etc.  We usually make a double batch (makes about 4 pizzas) and freeze most of it in individual bags.  I didn’t know where Amy found this recipe until tonight; I am considering finding a new one.  http://www.marthastewart.com/333200/basic-grilled-pizza-dough.  There is a lot of waiting, but it is very simple.

Cheese – We like to use a fresh mozzarella cheese, though there are tons of options here.

Toppings – Fresh tomatoes, basil, arugula; lots of options here, too.   Prosciutto works great for this pizza because it is so thin it will be able to crisp up some.  It is not cheap, though we usually buy a two-pack from Costco and it lasts of quite a few months in the freezer.  You don’t need much to give a lot of flavor.  It helps to make your pizza a little lighter as you don’t need a lot of meat and it is not greasy at all.

Directions

Prepare your pizza dough. Roll/stretch it to about 1/8" thick; the thinner the better. Make sure you have plenty of flour under your dough or you will have a tough time getting it up.

Prepare your toppings. You will want to have them ready to be put on quickly. Heat up your grill to around 400 degrees. The ambient temperature will drop when you open the lid, but it should go back up quickly if the grill is hot.

Put your dough on a pizza paddle or some soft of flat, mobile surface (one of those square, lip-less cookie sheets would work well). Brush a thin coating of olive oil to the top surface.

Flip your dough, oil side down, onto your grill. This is not easy to do. You may want just carefully lift the crust and drape it over the grill grates.

Brush a thin coating of olive oil on the top side.

Grill until the bottom is crispy. Flip the pizza. Turn the burner(s) under the pizza down or off. I usually turn up the other burners to create the affect of an oven.

Put on a thin layer of sauce.

Add your cheese.

Add your toppings that you want to be cooked somewhat (prosciutto and tomatoes). We like to add some red pepper flakes at this point. Close the lid and let it cook for 5-10 minutes.

Add your other toppings (arugula and basil). Drizzle with some olive oil. Close the lid and let it go for a few minutes. It will be ready when the crust is crispy to your liking.

Let cool for a few minutes, cut, and enjoy!