Pizza on the grill

[Shirley Panek]

Has anyone ever tried this? It's been hot here, but I've been in the mood for homemade pizza, just not heating up the house to do it.

Do you put the pizza on a pan, or directly on the grill? If you put it on directly - won't it get "wavy" on the bottom (you know, from oozing through the grates, or do you think the grates are close enough together?) Can you put your pizza stone on the grill or is that a big no-no?

Thanks for all your help!

Shirley

p.s. I'm glad to see the board is back up. I logged on this morning and tried to post, but was banned. I, too, was suffering from CLBB withdrawl! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[Beth]

Shirley, I've been curious about grilling pizza too. We had one partial attempt, using our pizza stone on top of the grates. Our grates are too wide apart to use without something. I can't tell you how it worked, because we ran out of gas and brought it back inside!

[anna]

Hi Shirley, I saw a chef demonstrate grilling pizza one time and he put the dough only on the grill (sprayed with nonstick spray) initially, then flipped it over and put ingredients on the side that had gotten grilled. Then closed the lid so cheeses would melt, etc. This way the ingredients don't cause it to sag. There was an article one time in CL about this, but I haven't a clue when it was! Good luck - sounds yummy!

[robinf]

I make pizza on the grill fairly often. I use a screen rather than putting the dough directly on the grill itself. Like the demonstation mentioned, I also slightly cook one side before I put the toppings on, flip it so that I put the toppings on the "toasted" side and then put the pie on the grill. I found that otherwise, the bottem can to get overdone before the top is baked enough for my taste.

I love the smokey taste that the grill imparts and tend to use toppings that are complemented by it. Favorites include vidalia onion with pesto, black olive, spinach and goat cheese; fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella, tri-color roasted peppers with brie.

[Ralph]

I'll agree w/Anna & Robin: Take your "raw" dough that has been rolled out & put just the dough on the grill to toast/brown/singe/char it; you can do both sides. Take it off the coals, spread your toppings, then put back over the heat. Most of the topping ingredients should be cooked and/or ready-to-eat, so you'll only need to cook the pizza until all is heated thru & the cheese is nicely melted.
The grill imparts a great flavor, plus it's much quicker than in your oven.

[Carrie W]

Yes, grilling pizza is a great thing to do. If you're interested, I think it's Vegetarian Times that has recently (in the past two months) had an article and recipes about this. We made a roasted veggie pizza last night from the article. Basically, as others have said, cook the dough directly on the grill. After cooking one side for about 3 minutes (until the bottom sets and the top gets nice and bubbly), turn it over, cook the other side for a few minutes more, then add the toppings. Put the cover on the grill and cook a few minutes more, occasionally moving the pizza around the grill.

Good luck!

[food girl]

I have done this ONCE, I thought it was a huge pain. I was making several pizzas at once though. I put my pizza dough directly on the grill using a pizza peel.

The thing that I found difficult was getting all of the ingredients on quickly once I had the pizza flipped. I mean, you have got to have all of your toppings handy. I guess you could remove the pizza (half-done) from the grill and put the toppings on.

By the way, it was delicous! My husband still asks why we haven't had it again!

[Vanessa]

Some hints for pizza grilling!
Grilling tips for the perfect pizza
By Kate Lawson / Detroit News Food Writer

Grilling pizzas at home is a great idea for entertaining. The key is to plan ahead and have all the toppings assembled so your guests can create their own special version. The pizzas cook in minutes and afford a wonderfully smoky, chewy crust.

Here are some pizza-grilling tips from Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, authors of Born to Grill (Harvard Common Press, $27.95):

* Keep toppings simple. You don’t want a truckload of toppings overpowering the crisp, flavorful crust.

* Toppings such as chicken, sausage and shrimp should be precooked. You can also saute mushrooms, onions and bell peppers if desired. Keep toppings warm. Cheese should be finely shredded to ensure proper melting.

* Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking at the same time on both high and medium-low heat. You’ll use the high heat for the initial grilling, then once the toppings are placed on top, move it to the cooler part of the grill.

* Place the toppings, along with oil to brush the grill, a baking sheet and large spatula near the work area.

* Oil the bottom of the dough, then place on grill top-side down uncovered over high heat for 1 to 11/2 minutes until crust becomes firm but flexible. Flip the crust onto baking sheet and immediately brush top with oil, have your guests add their toppings.

* Return pizza to grill, uncooked side down, arranging so that half the pie is over high heat and other half over medium low. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, rotating it a quarter turn about once every minute.

* With the spatula, check the bottom during the last minute or two, rotating the pizza around the grill to get a uniformly brown crust.

* Remove and serve.

[lorilei]

Vanessa http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Thanks for the nice save.
I must confess that I haven't tried pizza on the grill for a number of reasons (convenience actually being one of them). But it was good to read some thorough info...

[RunnerKim]

I just grilled my first pizza over the weekend - and it was great! I was visiting my parents in the boonies of WA state and I had just put the stone in the oven to heat up and the power went out! A fairly common occurance where they live and it could be hours before it came back on.

I'd always wanted to try grilling a pizza but just hadn't attempted it. Fortunately I remembered enough about grilling pizza to know to do the crust before adding the toppings to the pizza (I got some good laughs/ribbing when I said I'd just go look up the directions on the Internet - duh! no power). We did a black bean-chicken fajita pizza so the BBQ flavor really enhanced the pizza. I found it to be very easy and I'll certainly use this method on hot summer days.

Kim

[Anne]

Hi to all pizza grillers. Yet another great idea that I have never tried but will after all the positive feedback. If you are using a homemade crust do you let the dough rise or rest a bit after it is rolled out? I usually do on oven cooked pizzas but the transfer to a grill seems like it would just flatten out the dough again. another question - what is a recommended size? I make hugh pizzas in my oven but think they might be cumbersome on the grill or hard to put toppings on fast enough?

[RunnerKim]

Hi Anne,

I normally use my crust shortly after shaping it (I generally don't use a rolling pin). It's not uncommon that it gets a few minutes of rest before I top with ingredients, though. I do let the dough rest a good 5 - 10 minutes before shaping - otherwise it can keep shrinking on me. Oh, I also take a fork and poke many holes in the crust (except for an outer rim) to prevent it from bubbling. If I use my deep dish pizza pan (vs. stone or the grill) I do let my dough rise before adding toppings.

Definitely use smaller - almost personal size - crusts on the grill. I make a recipe that calls for 3 cups of flour (1 cup water) and split it in half. This last time with the BBQ I tried using 3/4 of the dough (we had some little kids that were pickier about their toppings, so I was making a small pizza for them) and that was too large - difficult to maneuver and the crust got overly done while waiting for the cheese to melt, etc.

Kim

[JillC]

Just had to add my two cents worth here...
We grill pizzas quite often.
I make the dough in my breadmaker, roll it out, grill one side until its golden (I've never used cooking spray), bring the crust in the house and put the toppings on the grilled side, take the pizza back outside and grill the bottom/heat up the toppings (grill closed). The most challenging part is putting the raw dough on the grill. Mine never stays in a circle. I just drape it on and in doing so end up stretching it out.
Good luck to everyone who is trying it. It's a great way to make pizza and not have to heat up the kitchen and really is pretty easy.
Jill

[Beth Y]

CL did a piece on this awhile back, with pictures and lots of recipes. If anyone wants a date, I will dig it up.

[Shirley Panek]

Thanks for everyone's help! I made my pizza last night, and will have to try it again. I made a sun-dried tomato crust topped with pesto, sliced tomatoes, goat cheese, and pine nuts.

I ended up using a pizza pan (the kind with holes to make a crispy crust). My grill was on a little too high at first - one part of the crust got dark (although, it didn't taste burned, hmmm ... I wonder why that was?), so I turned it down. Anyway, I took it off and brought it inside to put the toppings on the grilled side, then back outside to finish cooking.

My husband was in a big hurry (of course, it's the day he decides to come home early! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif) so I think I could have left it on a few minutes more. But it was definitely worth trying again. If you have all the ingredients prepared, it's super fast!

Shirley

p.s. I think my pizza pan is about 14 inches, and I had no problem getting it on the grill.

[This message has been edited by Shirley Panek (edited 09-07-2000).]