By Nora
During the summer, i'd say that we grill our dinner four out of seven days a week. However, it does get difficult to come up with new, exciting recipes for the grill other than the standard steak and burger fare. I had been wanting to try to grill pizza for a while, but it seemed, well, intimidating and I just couldn't understand how the dough would actually cook on the grates. My desperation for something other than meat from the grill finally won over my reluctance to try pizza, and a few weeks ago we took the plunge.
Verdict? BEST. THING. EVER. No kidding, since we discovered that grilling pizza is actually quite easy and also FREAKING DELICIOUS, we've made it at least a dozen times. And i've since perfected my technique so that the pizzas turn out perfect every time. FIrst, I use this dough recipe from Bobby Flay (I correctly assumed since he is a grillmaster, that he would have a good dough for the grill), but you can certainly use store-bought dough, although in my experience it's not as easy to work with and not nearly as tasty. One VERY important tip I have about the dough---make sure it is chilled in the fridge right up until the point you are ready to use it. This will make it much easier to work with, because once the dough gets to room temperature, it can rip and be very hard to stretch out to the desired size.
Once you get your dough to the desired size (we usually make two individual sized pizzas so we can choose our own topping), put it on a floured plate and spread some oil on the side you are going to grill first. Then slap the oiled side on the grill, cook for 4 minutes over high heat, oil the exposed side in the meantime, and then flip. Turn the heat down to low and put your toppings on the already grilled side. I usually go in this order: sauce, toppings, cheese, and then any herbs/spices you want to add. The cheese will hold the toppings in place for an optimal eating situation. Cover the grill and cook for 8 minutes on the lower temp. Then open the cover and revel in glory of your grilled pizza.
(This was a three-cheese pizza, and I definitely recommend using fresh sliced buffalo mozzarella if you can swing it.)
Comments