Pizza on the Grill

Pizzaballs
I made a bunch of pizzas on the grill for appetizers.  I used a recipe that I have blogged about before for the dough.  Super simple just timely. 

Rotating pizza
The key is a super hot grill.  I learned a few things.  First of all, prep the pizza as you would for the oven.  Pulling it around and around until the dough is pulled into a round shape.

Pizzaongrill
Toss this on the grill and then put the toppings on the dough.  If you wait for the pizza to cook the bottom gets burnt too quickly on a grill.  My grill is on its last legs so we can't really turn the heat down without the grill just shutting off.  If you can, then I would turn the heat down to medium after the dough begins to harden, shut the grill and let everything melt.  Crank it back up to high for the next round and repeat.

Ongrillprep
We made a mixture of different pizzas.  Think of your pizza like an easel.  You can put anything you want on it. 

Piz
Fresh Ricotta, Sauteed Kale and Green Tomato Relish

Artichokes, Grilled Eggplant rounds, Fresh Ricotta

Mixture of spicy and regular peppers sauteed, Fresh Ricotta

Thinly sliced fresh Mozzarella, Sliced Cherry tomatoes, Chopped basil, Proscuitto

Happy customer
Happy camper.  Pictures by Diettra.

Comments (Archived):

  1. Holly Gewandter

    hi joanne,been cooking pizza on the grill for years. my trick is to cook the first side, take it off the grill and put the toppings on the cooked side. then slide it back onto the grill, shut the cover and let it cook til the bottom is done and the cheese is melted (or the ingredients are hot enough if there’s no cheese). btw, a big favorite with my crew is the unlikely combination of pesto, sliced potatoes (pre-cooked) and caramelized onions!enjoy!holly

    1. BB

      +1 on holly’s method (I can’t stand the heat of dressing a pizza over the flame) and an unconventional family fave is a roberta’s creation, the cortes.  This is “dressed” off the grill after the pizza crust has been cooked but while it is still bubbly and piping hot, and it does not go back on the heat: crumbled chorizo, dollops of sour cream, pickled onions, shaved radish + thinly sliced jalapeno, a fistful of cilantro, finish with a lime.

      1. Gotham Gal

        both of these sounds amazing.my grill is on its last legs so high heat is all i have. i will try both methods (and pizzas) on a different grill this fall.on another note, i just love robertas.

      2. BB

        actually, rereading Holly’s method – my approach varies slightly from Holly, I don’t flip the pizza, so I par cook the crusts, and then grilled side down, I top and finish with the grill closed. This can also be handy when entertaining, b’c you can basically par cook a bunch of crusts, and let people “decorate” their pizzas, and then quickly finish them.  This also reduces the sweaty, smoky mess one becomes when they are serving as pizza grill master.

  2. leigh

    A neighbor of ours just got a brick wood burning pizza oven – he makes us Pizzas in 17 seconds.  OMG.  so good.  especially with a bit of sea salt on top.  yum yum (the fact that he was a chef in Northern Italy for years doesn’t hurt either)

    1. Gotham Gal

      we bought our friend, for his big 50, a wood burning pizza oven from a place in CA (they come from Italy). It is fantastic. Took 24 hours to cure and weighs a ton but once he got it working…it was well worth the time.

      1. leigh

        yep – it almost needs it own garage! 

      2. daryn

        Buying/building a wood fired pizza oven in the yard has been on my list for the past few summers – one day!As far as cooking technique, one suggestion: get a pizza stone or two. If you crank up the grill all the way and let them pre-heat for 30+ minutes, it gets pretty close to a real pizza oven. Cook with the lid shut, and if the crust is done and the top needs a little more color, open the lid just slightly, and use your pizza peel to lift the pizza off of the stone and hold it up higher inside the grill (where it’s hotter). 

        1. Gotham Gal

          nice. i use the pizza stone in the oven but the grill is so much better.

          1. daryn

            Not sure what the temperature is, but way hotter than the 550 max on the oven. Ever since we started making them this way I haven’t looked back.

          2. Gotham Gal

            i am moving in the direction.

  3. awaldstein

    Yum….As is clear from the comments. Pizza is just one of those few foods that connects everyone and is impossible not to love.And of course, the wine variations around this are really fun. Afternoon pizza and champagne are not stretching it.

    1. Gotham Gal

      you are so right. everybody loves pizza. the crust is a blank slate to create whatever you like. the champagne idea is novel!

  4. andyidsinga

    very cool … gonna try it on our grill too 🙂