Pizza on the Grill

Cooking pizza on the grill gives you that authentic pizza oven flavor. It's rustic in appearance and just begs to be experimented with. It's also a great way to clean out the refrigerator of cooler.

I used a gas grill in this video, but you can easily cook it on a charcoal grill or over a campfire on the back of your cast iron frying pan and a foil hood.

 
 

Serves 2-4

Prep Time: 20 minutes                 

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Basic Grilled Pizza Recipe

 8 ounces pizza dough, in a ball (most pre-made dough is sold in 1 pound packages which will make 2 pizzas)

½ cup polenta (coarse cornmeal) or grits

¼ cup California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil

Toppings

½ to 1 cup of sauce (your favorite red sauce, pesto or 1 cup canned tomato sauce mixed with 1 clove garlic minced,  ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp. dried oregano)

1 cup grated cheese

4 to 8 ounces of fully cooked sausage, pepperoni or meat of your choice

1 cup sliced, cooked vegetables *

¼ cup parmesan cheese

2 Tbls. fresh herbs

As far as toppings and combinations, your choices are endless. Here are a few tips when making grilled pizzas. Most large grocery stores sell pre-made pizza dough that is inexpensive and convenient. It is usually sold in 1 pound packages, which are best cut in half when prepared on the grill.  Many restaurants will even sell you pizza dough if you ask. Some will even sell you sauce and cheese to go with it! Nationwide, Trader Joe’s is a great place to find dough and they often have a few varieties to choose from. Make sure to fully cook all meat toppings. *Saute or grill vegetables before topping your pizzas, as the cooking time is so quick for the crust that the vegetables will not cook once on top of the pizza.  Have all of your ingredients ready to go and at your side and most importantly make sure you let the dough come up to room temperature before you begin grilling.

On a gas grill

Heat grill on high with the lid closed for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat on all burners to medium. While the grill is heating, sprinkle your work surface with the polenta. Roll out the dough. There are many ways to do this. You can use a rolling pin, you can press the dough from the middle out or my preference is to stretch it with my hands and let it’s own weight pull it into form. The edges should be slightly thicker than the center. You will want the dough to be 1/8 to ¼ inch thick. You should aim for an organically shaped piece of dough roughly 12 inches in diameter. The shape of your grill should determine the shape of your pizza. Brush both sides generously with the olive oil. Pick up the dough by the two corners closest to you and in one motion, lay it flat on the grill from back to front. Close the grill and grill 3 minutes. Check the crust and if needed, continue grilling a few minutes until the bottom is marked and nicely browned.  Remove from grill and place on polenta sprinkled rimless baking sheet or pizza peel-grilled side UP. Be sure to close grill and crank heat to high to get it nice and hot. Spread sauce, pesto or olive oil on the cooked side of the pizza, sprinkle with cheese and top with meat and vegetables. Switch the grill to indirect heat if you have a 3 or 4 burner grill by turning off the middle 1 or two burners and keeping the outside burners on high heat. If you have two burners, turn one off and the other on high. You will then place the pizza over the burners that are off, and use the indirect heat to finish the cooking of the pizza. It will take 7 to 10 minutes to finish. If you have only one burner, like the O Grill that I used, turn heat back down to medium-low, open grill and place topped pizza on grill. Close lid and cook about 6 more minutes, checking every three minutes by looking at the bottom of the crust for marks and crispness. The cheese should also be bubbly. Remove from grill, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and some fresh cut herbs from your traveling herb garden. Enjoy!

Great Combo Ideas

• Basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes. Garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil
• Olive oil, sautéed greens, crumbled sausage, halved cherry tomatoes(raw), fresh goat cheese. Garnish with parmesan cheese and chopped rosemary
• Red sauce, grated mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms and peppers, shredded chicken, olives. Garnish with parmesan and chopped oregano or thyme and chili flakes
• Olive oil, grated white cheddar cheese, heirloom tomatoes, crumbled bacon. Garnish with fresh arugula

Encores: Use leftover jarred pasta sauce as a base for your pizzas. Leftover grilled or roasted vegetables and meats make simple and convenient pizza toppings. Get creative and design your signature pizza for each season.