Grilled Pizza

In my opinion, Friday night and pizza belong together. I dont know about you, but I still get that same feeling I did as a kid when Friday rolls around- that butterfly of excitement and anticipation of a whole weekend of having fun. What better way to start off the weekend than with a childhood favorite, and hey, an adult favorite for that matter. Through the winter months I make my pizza the traditional way, in the oven, but once the weather warms up, we start grilling it. Have you tried it? You should. Its a lot of fun!

I've included the pizza dough recipe I use, but feel free to use your favorite, or easier yet buy some from your favorite pizza joint already made.

Mixing up the pizza dough:

When the dough starts to cling and form a ball and clean the sides, I like to take it out of the mixing bowl and finish kneading it by hand on a lightly floured surface.
Keep kneading it until it becomes a smooth elastic ball. Then let it rest.

The finished product- Yum! It tastes more like gourmet pizza than your local pizza joint kind of pizza. Grill marks taste delicious, but be careful because burnt pizza doesnt taste so delicious- yes, it happened!

Next time I make grilled pizza I will try to get more pictures (and hopefully better ones!) of the grilling and assembling process and we can revisit this.

Grilled Pizza

Dough (from the pampered chef pizza stone)

1 1/2 c. flour

1 pkg. of yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. very warm water

1 T. veg. oil

*Mix together the dry ingredients in your mixer bowl.

*Then add the water and oil. Mix until the dough clings to itself and forms a ball.

*Then take it out of the bowl and knead it by hand a few minutes on a lightly floured surface until it becomes smooth and elastic.

*Let it rest at least 10 min (or if you like, until it doubles in size)

*Divide the dough in two and roll each half out on a baking sheet (for easy transportation from inside to outside) sprinkled with cornmeal. Let it rest while you get all your other ingredients outside.

Pizza sauce (homemade or store bought)

Your favorite toppings (precooked if needed- such as mushrooms, onions and sausage)

*Prepare the pizza dough and while it is resting you can prepare all your other ingredients.

*Turn half of your grill on high and let it heat for for 5-10 min. to insure it is good and hot. The other half of your grill should be on low.

*Gather all your ingredients and all your tools you will need before you head outside to get started- you wont have much time to run in and out of the house for ingredients and such once you put the dough on the grill.

*Right before you put the dough on the grill, turn the hot side down to low. Carefully place the dough on the grill and close the lid. Let it sit for about 2 min. If you move it too soon, it will rip, but watch it to make sure it doesnt burn.

*When you have grill marks and it starts to brown, remove it with a large spatula and put them on the baking sheet, cooked side down.

*Fill your pizzas up with your favorite toppings, but be careful not to overload it, otherwise it wont cook right and will remain soggy. My pizza, the pepperoni (in the front) had a little too much cheese, I just cant hold back! And the hub-ster ALWAYS overloads his! :)

*Put your pizzas back on the grill, this time on the cooler side, close the lid. Let it cook for about 10 min., until the dough is cooked through and the cheese is melted- adjusting the temp if its not cooking fast enough or turn it off and just leave the other side of the grill on if the dough is cooking too fast.

*Put them back on the baking sheet,

*Bring to your outdoor table and enjoy with a fresh garden salad and a bottle of wine!

If you have questions, as Im sure I was unclear on some points, leave a comment and I will answer back in the comments. Or just head over here and we can make it together!