Saturday, June 26, 2010

Recipe: Grilled Pizza

GRILLED PIZZA

This is actually going to be less of a recipe than a technique.  What you put on your pizza is up to you, though I'm a fan of chorizo sausage, mushrooms, and olives, as well as aged gouda and asiago cheeses.

1 lb pizza dough (home made or bought)
1/2 cup cup olive oil, divided into 2 parts
1/3 c tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup other toppings

Clean your grill.  Anything on the grill grates will end up on the dough.  Then brush the grates with olive oil.  Finally, turn all burners as high as they will go.  If using charcoal, light it up and let it get hot.  Close the cover.

Slice and cook your toppings, if necessary.  Any raw meats (bacon, sausage, etc.) and most mushrooms or veggies (onions, peppers, asparagus spears, etc.) should be cooked prior to putting them on the pizza, because they won't be on the heat long enough to cook through when the pizza goes on the grill.  Also, this is a thin-crust pizza, so be fairly sparing with your toppings.

In the kitchen, lightly flour a large pizza peel or flip a cookie sheet over and flour the underside.  Stretch the dough as thin as you can get it, and then roll it even thinner.  You want it as thin as you can get.  Brush it with olive oil.  


You want your grill thermometer to read at least 550 -- the higher the better.  

BE WARNED: ONCE YOU START YOU HAVE TO MOVE FAST.  YOU NEED EVERYTHING EASILY ACCESSIBLE.  IT WILL GO FROM YUMMY TO CHARCOAL QUICKLY IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL.

Flip the dough over directly onto the grill, so that the oil side is down.  Quickly brush the other side with oil.  Allow to cook 1-2 minutes, until "blisters" form that you can see on the dough.  Once new blisters  have stopped forming (no longer than 3 minutes), take a pair of tongs or the pizza peel, and take the dough off the grill and flip it over so that the raw side is down.  (If your grill is clean, it will not stick.)  

Work quickly, now.  Put the tomato sauce on the dough, and smear it around.  Sprinkle the toppings onto the pizza, starting with any meat/vegetables and ending with the shredded cheese.   Don't take more than 1 minute to do all of this.  Now, close the grill for another 2-3 minutes.  You want to trap as much heat as you can so that the cheese can melt.  Open the grill lid and remove the pizza.

Allow to rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve.