Pizza on the Grill 101
This seems to be the summer of grilled pizza. Not only was it one of the first grill season postings here, but every where I look, people are writing and blogging about pizza. I promised that my next posting would be on grilled pizza to celebrate the publication of a new grilled pizza cookbook that I wrote with my good friend, Bob Blumer. Bob is known to many as the Surreal Gourmet and you might find a few surreal touches in our pizzas, but it is flavor and technique rather than presentation that stars in this book. The essence of grilled pizza is in the crispy, slightly smoky crust. We advocate using coarse-ground corn meal ( a.k.a. grits to me, polenta to others) to give the pizza a rustic crust and added crunch. There are a couple of important things to keep in mind when you are grilling pizza.
1. You can make or buy your dough from your favorite pizza parlor—grilling it works magic on every kind of dough!
2. Pour a little olive oil on the top, sprinkle with the grits and roll it out as thin as you can get it. The crust will puff up as it grills (and the yeast rises) so a thick raw dough will be a really thick crust and a very thin raw dough will be just right. If you like a thick crust, keep it thick but remember that it will take longer to cook through.
3. Have all your toppings prepped and pre-cooked if necessary—grilled pizza is a quick cooking thing and there is no time to go back inside for some of your ingredients! And, the great thing about grilled pizza is the grilled crust is like a blank canvas for all of your favorite flavors. The assertive crust is a perfect foil for stinky cheese and untraditional sauces like caramelized garlic and pestos.
4. Preheat your gas grill with all burners on medium high. Transfer your dough, and prepared ingredients to the grill area.
5. Grill the pizza in 2 stages. First, grill the dough over direct medium heat. (No pizza stone is needed.) Place the dough directly on the grates. Pick up the dough by the two corners closest to you. In one motion, lay it down flat on the cooking grate from back to front —as you would a tablecloth. Fear not, the dough won’t fall between the grates. Close the lid and cook for about 3 minutes until bottom is golden brown.
Note: The grill has to be preheated and hot inside. Close the lid ASAP so the dough will rise, become nicely marked on the bottom and rigid. (Don’t be tempted by too high of a heat, if you use a high heat, the crust will instantly burn.)
6. Remove crust with a pizza peel, switch your grill to indirect heat (turn the burner under the food off) and close the lid. Top the grilled side with your choice of toppings. Bob and I advocate a less is more policy but that is really a matter of personal taste. You can make it crisp and delicate or you can add more, more, more—whatever makes you happy! Put the topped pizza back on the grill and let it finish cooking with the lid down until the cheese is melted and all the toppings are warm, about 7 -10 minutes.
7. Enjoy your pizza with your favorite beverage.
Here are a few of our favorite topping combinations. Check out our new book for more pictures, recipes and drink pairings!
Pizza on the Grill: 100 Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer.
Queen Margarita Pizza
Spread crust with 1 cup crushed tomato sauce + 1 crushed garlic clove. Top with 8 ounces of sliced Mozzarella. Finish with fresh basil leaves when the pizza is done.
Season with salt and pepper.
Forty Olive and Pimento Pizza
Spread crust with 1 cup crushed tomato sauce. Add 40 pitted olives (a mixture of your favorites), a small sliced shallot and 1/4 cup pimentos. Top with 1 1/2 cups grated Manchego cheese.
Blistered Corn, Asparagus & Pesto Pizza
Sauté a cup of fresh or frozen corn kernels, a ½ cup of chopped asparagus and a ¼ cup of chopped, sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil for 5 minutes. Spread crust with 1 cup of pesto, add contents from sauté pan, and top with 6 ounces of sliced brie cheese.
Fig and Stilton Dessert Pizza
Spread crust with 1 cup of orange marmalade. Add 10 sliced fresh or dried figs. Top with 1 cup of crumbled Stilton cheese. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
SClark on June 10, 2008 at 07:05 PM
I have never heard of ground corn meal being referred to as "grits." I grew up in the South, where grits (made from hominy) are beloved by Southerners and much maligned by, well, pretty much the rest of the world.
Flap Jackson on June 10, 2008 at 07:42 PM
I've actually grilled pizza several times, and it is amazingly great. An original take on an old classic.
By the way, it goes best with other grilled items on the pizza. I grilled sausages, and that was amazingly good.