Grilling a pizza is one of those things that I’ve always planned to get around to.. in the future. Maybe it was the tinge of weirdness, or additional steps required after making a pizza by hand, but I’ve always decided to do it a different day, or a different occasion. Procrastination aside, I finally started trying to grill pizzas over the last few weeks, and it’s been a revelation. Not of divine proportions, but probably about as close as you could get from a pizza lover. The fantastic thing about cooking pizza on the grill is you can get the pizza to a much higher temperature than a conventional oven. You also get a smokey, barbecuy taste that can’t be matched.
Grilling is always an imperfect science at the best of times. Getting the condition right for your particular grill or barbecue takes time. We had a few disasters here, quite a few.. 2 totally burnt pizzas, a dropped pizza (that one almost ended in tears), and a few that still tasted good but I knew could be better. So don’t despair, it’s worth the persistence, well worth it!
Because the pizza cooks so fast, and the heat can be very very hot, we’ve found you get more consistent results with a thin base and thin toppings. Feel free to experiment.
Using a gas grill: Make sure your burners are in tip top shape, and not producing any hotspots Using a charcoal bbq: Keep your coals even across the span of the pizza stone.
There are two schools of thought with grilling pizzas. One is to cook your pizza straight on the grid with an indirect heat source. The other is to use a pizza stone. Using a pizza stone tended to even out the heat a lot better, reduced the risk of burning the pizza, and of course you can compile the pizza in the kitchen rather than on the grill itself.
This recipe is great on the grill. It makes 2-3 pizzas depending on the size of your pizza and how much pizza dough is stolen. I tend to split the pizza dough in thirds, use one, and wrap the other two separately with lots of plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 envelope instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water; at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
22 ounces bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1. Sprinkle yeast onto the warm water for about 5 minutes. Then add the room temperature water and olive oil.
2. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse the food processor while adding the liquid ingredients from step 1. Process until dough comes together, and is smooth and stretchy.
3. Dump out onto a floured work surface. Kneed briefly to form a ball.
4. Put the dough into a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place, 1/2 to 2 hours.
This sauce is exceptionally simple, and works best with fresh tomatoes, but you could use canned.
1 lb tomatoes
1 Tbsp Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1/4 cup good bbq sauce, such as Grumpy’s Goodnight Lovin’
1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add the Olive oil and garlic for 30 seconds, being careful not to burn it.
2. Add in the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes melt down and thicken, about 20 minutes
4 oz Mozzarella, shreaded or cut half inch thick
8 oz Pepperoni, peeled and thinly sliced
That’s it. You could do whatever you want for a topping and sauce, but remember, be spartan: less is more, especially on the grill.
1. You want an even heat distribution over your grill. If you’re using gas, turn on all burners, if charcoal, spread coals evenly across the bbq. Put the stone in when the grill is still cold, and close the lid for it to preheat (about 20 minutes depending on your grill).
2. Sprinkle semolina or cornmeal onto a pizza peel, then place your pizza dough onto the peel. If you don’t have one, you might need to improvise a little.
3. Add the sauce, and toppings.
4. Take the pizza peel over to the grill and slide the pizza onto the pizza stone.
5. Cooking times vary greatly but you want to take the pizza off when the crust starts browning in spots, about 5-10 minutes. Be sure not to leave it unattended as it can go from delicious looking to a burnt mess in minutes (from experience).
David B. May 2nd, 2012
Posted In: BBQing HowTos, Recipes
Make sure your grill is super clean. Any residue will cause the fish to stick.
Preheat the grill until it is very hot before putting the fish on.
Coat the fish very thinly with oil before cooking.
After you set the fish on the hot grill, leave it there! Don’t move it for at least a couple of minutes. This will give it time to sear and separate from the grill. When you do move it, wiggle it carefully and then roll it over.
David B. March 25th, 2011
Posted In: BBQing HowTos, Meat Poultry & Fish
Using a meat thermometer is the best way to cook the chicken to perfection. Chicken thighs should be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit and chicken breast should be cooked to 160 degrees. Make sure the thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the chicken and not touching any bones.
Brining improves the chicken’s flavor making it juicy and deliciously tender. However, if you’re short on time, skip this step and season the chicken generously with salt and pepper before cooking.
Important Note: Chicken that has been brined browns faster and you’ll need to careful it doesn’t burn.
Simple brine recipe:
Dissolve salt into water in a gallon zip-lock bag. Add chicken, remove air and seal. Refrigerate for about 1.5 hours.
Rubs give plenty of flavor without the burning risk of BBQ sauces. As much as we love BBQ sauce, and we really do… it’s best applied in the last couple of minutes as a general rule.
Apply the rub generously to all the chicken pieces, try to run as much under the skin as you can.
Simple spice rub:
The sugar in BBQ sauce will cause it to burn if it’s applied too early. You want to smother the chicken in the sauce during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Bush the chicken with sauce, cook for about 1 minute, turn over, brush again and cook 1 more minute. Before serving, brush the chicken with more BBQ sauce. I like to have even more sauce at the table for dipping.
You should plan on using about 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce for about 8 thighs (not including any sauce you have at the table).
This creates a delicious browned exterior while keeping the inside from over cooking.
Set up the Grill with one side on High and the other on Med-Low, or bank the coals mainly on one side for a charcoal BBQ.
Starting on the hot side of the grill, sear the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Be very vigilant during this period, you don’t want the chicken to burn, and if you get any flare ups, move the chicken to a different area of the grill.
Move the chicken pieces to the side with lower heat and finish cooking. If you’re cooking chicken breast it works best to close the lid, this helps the interior cook faster, so it is done before the exterior starts to burn.
David B. December 13th, 2010
Posted In: BBQing HowTos
Next time you are going to cook some sausages on the BBQ, why not try hot smoking. It’s really easy to do and can be mastered quickly. There are lots of different ways to do it, and you can really get creative. Â Different woods can impart a lot of different flavors. Hot smoking tend to make sausages look fantastically mouth watering and smell irresistible.
Fresh sausages are known to be tough to cook without either drying them out or under cooking them. The trick is to cook them indirectly and use an instant read thermometer to keep an eye on them.
One of the best things about a Charcoal Kettle-Style BBQ like a Weber BBQ is the ability to throw the lid on it and smoke-out your food. That’s why I typically keep two BBQs on hand (figuratively), a normal gas grill, and a charcoal grill. You can still smoke on a regular gas grill though, so don’t feel limited to what you see here, let your creative juices flow.
Hot smoking is best when you use an indirect heat. You can do this easily with a charcoal BBQ by moving he coals to opposite sides of the  BBQ, or by only turning only one burner on with your gas grill BBQ.
– Soak your wood chips. The amount you need is going to depend how long you intend to smoke and type of wood chips, but roughly – a couple of handfuls. They should soak for a minimum of 30 mins.
– Light the charcoal.
– Once it is hot (about 20-30 mins), split it into two piles at opposite ends of the BBQ.
The charcoal chimney we used here is recommended purely because of the way it heats the charcoal up to an even temperature. You could easily make a pile though if you don’t have one handy.
– Remove the cooking grid, throw the wood chips on top of your charcoal, and replace the cooking grid. I do like to add wood chips occasionally throughout the smoking, but make sure to be generous at first, as the wood chips are most effective before the meat is fully cooked
– Put the sausages onto the middle of the cooking grid. If you put the sausages too close to the sides they will overcook.
– Close the BBQ and resist the urge to peak too often. Open the vent half-way.
– Take the sausages off the BBQ when they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees.
– Enjoy.
David B. October 20th, 2010
Posted In: BBQing HowTos
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