Pizza on the grill? You bet! If you love the taste of wood-fired pizza, you’ll be amazed at how closely you can approximate that taste on the grill in your own backyard. Once you’ve tried it, grilled pizza will become one of your favorite go-to backyard barbecue recipes.
Why Grill Your Pizza?
When it’s so easy to bake in the oven, why would you choose to grill your pizza instead? First, because you don’t have to heat up your oven, and in the summer time, you want to avoid as much heat in the house as possible! Grilling pizza gives you an alternative to traditional barbecue menu options while still allowing your to keep the heat outside, not inside.
But the best reason to grill pizza is that it’s so distinctively delicious. There is nothing like that smoky, slightly charred crust when you bite into a homemade grilled pizza. I guarantee you’re going to love it.
What’s Different About Making Pizza on the Grill?
The primary difference is that you start grilling the crust before you add the toppings. This way, you ensure that the crust gets done all the way through and you don’t end up with sticky dough in the middle. Of course, this means you’ll need to have everything prepared ahead of time and be ready to quickly top the pizza halfway through grilling. Once you’ve grilled one side of the dough, you’ll flip the pizza, remove it from the heat, brush the grilled side with olive oil, and add your toppings. Then, return the pizza to the grill to finish cooking.
Grilled Pizza Recipe
Ready to give it a try? Here’s a step-by-step recipe you can use tonight!
- Make or buy your pizza dough. You can buy fresh dough from many grocery stores or pizzerias.
- Spread dough into desired shape. An oblong pizza may fit your grill better than a traditional round shape.
- Oil grill plates to prevent sticking and heat to medium high for direct heat grilling.
- Transfer pizza dough to hot grill using a rimless cookie sheet or pizza peel.
- Grill the dough for 5-6 minutes, watching carefully to see when it begins to brown. When you see nice brown grill marks, remove the pizza from the grill using your cookie sheet and spatula.
- Now for the fun part! Flip the pizza over so that the grilled side is up. Brush with oil and top with sauce and all your favorite toppings. Be careful not to spread the toppings too thickly or the pizza may not grill all the way through.
- Return the pizza to the grill and close the lid. Grill for 5-6 more minutes, or until the crust has turned golden brown and the cheese has melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
That’s it! While it may take a time or two to figure out the best heat and cooking time based on your grill, you will be so glad you stuck with it once you have perfected your grilling technique.
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