Fire up Your Grill for Pizza

For anyone who loves food, when it's done on the grill, it just tastes better. In my opinion, this goes for pizza as well as anything else. I learned about making pizza on the grill many years ago, and every summer, at least once, I make grilled pizza. It tastes so good.
 

Grilled Pizzas: Potato, Rosemary & Gorgonzola on the left; Margherita on the right.

Two of the pizzas, (photos shown here) that I am most fond of are the traditional Margherita Pizza with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, and one made with potatoes - yes, potatoes - that I first tasted when in Las Vegas one time. From the visuals of that long-ago pizza, it had sliced baked potato, sprinkles of fresh, chopped rosemary, and Gorgonzola cheese crumbled over top. It was absolutely heavenly. I salivate when thinking about either of these variations. I have tried others, but today I am going to feature these two. 

Logistics of Grilling Pizza

Grilled Margherita Pizza

There are logistics to making pizza on the grill. It is not a "pile it on at leisure and then bake" kind of thing. Instead, the crust has to be cooked on one side, and only then are toppings placed on the baked side. This means it is of crucial importance to have every single thing you need right at hand. It takes approximately 2 to 3 minutes over a hot grill to cook one side of the crust. When you flip it over to bake the other side, the clock is ticking. Any toppings have to be put in place quickly and the lid closed so they can cook. Any time spent while adding toppings ultimately counts as part of the the total time for cooking the opposite side of the crust. 

When making any kind of pizza, I like to brush the crust with olive oil and sprinkle with a thin coating of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Then I add the toppings. I do this same thing with the grilled pizza, so it is important to have the oil in a bowl with a pastry brush handy and also have the grated cheese handy. Then come the rest of the toppings. For the potato version, you will need to have a small potato (per pizza) already baked and cooled, then sliced about ¼-inch thick. Have a small container with some freshly chopped rosemary, and a container with Gorgonzola crumbles.

For the Margherita pizza, you'll need to have some tomato slices, preferably from a drier, Roma type tomato (you don't want lots of watery tomato liquid softening that nice, crunchy crust!). Then, a bag of mozzarella shreds and some fresh basil leaves will round out those ingredients.

Have all toppings assembled and ready to hand

As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts, but just arrange everything on a big baking sheet and have it nearby, so as soon as you flip the crusts over, you will be all set to top the pizzas. 

But there is yet another consideration to remember: You have to be able to lift these pizzas off the grill with ease, so that means you will be making little pizzas, about 10-inches in diameter. They are done in no time flat, so time is really not a bit issue. But small size is important. This also means you cannot overload with the toppings. Just imagine trying to slide an overly loaded pizza onto a plate and having all the toppings slip-sliding away. Not a good picture. So keep in mind  that the toppings need to be sparing. Less is more in this instance. But you will be rewarded with the most exquisite pizza experience: biting into that amazingly crispy crust with the added flavors of grilling, added to the particular topping flavors and oh-my-goodness. . .it's heavenly.

Just to recap:

1. Have pizza dough made and ready.
2. Roll pizza dough to small, 9 or 10-inch rounds, maximum. No need for them to be perfectly round - shape is irrelevant.
3. Heat the grill to hot.
4. Have all topping ingredients assembled, ready and close at hand. 
5. Place a 10-inch piece of dough onto the hot grill. Up to three at a time is manageable. Close the lid and cook 2 to 3 minutes. 
6. With tongs or spatula, flip the pizza crust(s) over. They should be nicely baked, crisped and with prominent grill marks.
7. Onto this baked side, quickly add the toppings, then close the lid and cook for an extra total time since flipped of another 2 to 3 minutes. Timing will depend on how hot the grill is.

The pizzas are done when the bottom crust is nice and crispy, and the cheese on top is melted. Gorgonzola cheese does not melt like mozzarella, so keep this in mind.

Many pizza restaurants will sell pizza dough. Or you can make your own. I make mine with a recipe I had played with for some time. I've tried others, and while delicious, sometimes they are too fussy in the process. For my pizza dough, I use the recipe found here, along with a Buffalo Chicken Pizza recipe. This pizza dough recipe will likely make at least three or possibly 4 small pizza crusts. I haven't ever used all of one recipe to make my grilled pizzas. My husband wants his toppings piled high and baked, so we divide the dough accordingly. 😏 If you need more than three or possibly 4 small pizzas, double the dough recipe accordingly.

Grilled Pizza (Margherita or Potato, Rosemary and Gorgonzola)

For one 9 to 10-inch pizza (multiply for added pizzas)

Pizza dough (see recipe here)

Grilled Potato, Rosemary & Gorgonzola Pizza

MARGHERITA:
Pastry brush
Olive oil for brushing
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 or more as needed, Roma tomatoes, sliced
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil leaves for strewing

POTATO, ROSEMARY & GORGONZOLA:
Pastry brush
Olive oil for brushing
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 small potato, baked, cooled, sliced
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

Start making the pizza dough about 4+ hours ahead, so it will be ready for you when needed.

Heat the grill to quite hot. Roll out portions of the pizza dough to 9 or 10-inches wide, not too thick. They may shrink back on themselves; just let them rest a few minutes to relax the gluten and re-roll.

Assemble all the topping ingredients and utensils on a large tray and place them somewhere very near to hand. Lift a rolled-out pizza crust and quickly set onto the hot grill grate. If you are making multiples, very quickly set the remaining crusts on the grill grate, then close the lid. Time for two minutes, then open the lid and check to see if the under-side of the crust is crisp. If not, close the lid for an extra minute. Once crisped, use a spatula or tings to turn the crusts.

Now, working as quickly as possible, brush the crusts with olive oil, and sprinkle with a thin layer of Parmesan cheese. Add on the toppings for either kind of pizza, as desired:

MARGHERITA: Place tomato slices onto the Parmesan, sprinkle on some fresh basil and mozzarella.

POTATO, ROSEMARY & GORGONZOLA: Set potato slices atop the Parmesan layer, then sprinkle with some fresh rosemary and strew Gorgonzola crumbles over top.

Once toppings are in place, taking into account the time since the crusts were flipped over, close the lid and time for another 2 minutes. Check the pizzas; if done to your liking, using a spatula, slide the pizzas onto plates or large baking sheets. Cut the pizzas into quarters and revel in the sound of the knife crunching through the crust!


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Pizza for Any Night

I am rarely in the mood for pizza. Un-American, one might think. When I am in the mood for pizza, I usually go for a veggie type. One of my favorites is spinach pizza, though I have made many styles and combinations. All that aside, lately it seems I have gone off the deep end. Ever since I made the little English muffin pizzas for the Winefest event in late March, I had some of the mixture (pizza sauce, minced pepperoni and Parmesan, with just a bit of green pepper) in the refrigerator. The bottle was filled to the tippy-top, and my assumption is that because there was really no air space, it lasted far longer than it might have. So a couple of weeks ago I made some pizza using that mixture, plus a few more pepperoni strewn over top and then cheese. And then I made it again. And yesterday, while the pizza mixture was long gone, I was still in the mood, still had some pepperoni in the fridge and a fresh batch of grated cheeses. 

Hamburger Pizza with Green Pepper and Mushrooms

My husband loves pizza. Hardly a week goes by that he doesn't come home with a box and have it for snacking on. While he does not generally go for pepperoni pizza, it is okay to have some on it. His favorite is a meat-lovers type, of course. When we make pizza here at home, he usually chooses a combination of hamburger meat, green pepper and mushrooms. While I like this mixture on pizza, as I said, I usually make one with things I prefer. No crossover. 

Yesterday however, I had the hamburger out and mixed up a sauce, made the pizza dough and we had pizzas. This time I made them both the same. And they were delicious. For us, this is a nice pizza for any night. Nothing fancy. Nothing prim and proper. Nothing outlandish.

Last October I'd gotten in the mood to try a Buffalo Chicken Pizza, which, as something different, was really tasty. At that time I had created a recipe for pizza dough for one large pizza. Lately, I have been doubling that recipe and using it to make our separate styles of pizza. I will say, the weather has been exceedingly dry up here, and I have found this makes a huge difference in the flour to water ratio in my bread recipes. Even from October to now, it has been so dry that I had to add a half cup more water to the dough to get it to hydrate at all!  As a refresher, this is the recipe:

Pizza Dough

making pizza dough

For two large (15 - 16-inch) pizzas

(start at least 4+ hours before serving)

SPONGE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons instant yeast
1½ cups lukewarm water, 80 - 90 degrees
2 tablespoons olive oil

DOUGH:
2 to 2½ cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
¼ to ½ cups water, if needed
the Sponge (above)

SPONGE: In a heavy duty mixer bowl, or in another large bowl, combine the flour and yeast and mix together. Add the lukewarm water and oil and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (80 degrees) for 1½ hours, until bubbly. (When in a cooler climate, setting the bowl in the oven with just the oven light on creates a nice warm environment. Some oven lights are too hot and will begin to cook the dough. In this case, leave the oven door ajar so some of the heat escapes.)

DOUGH: Once bubbly, if the sponge was made in a heavy duty mixer bowl, add in two cups of flour and the salt. Set the dough hook in place and begin kneading on low speed until combined, 2 - 3 minutes. If making by hand, add the flour and salt to the sponge and mix by hand. Once well mixed, determine if more flour is needed. If the climate is very dry, you may have to add water. Start with a little and add more as the kneading progresses Once the flour and salt are mostly incorporated, knead for 4 to 5 minutes more with the dough hook, or 5 to 7 minutes by hand, until the dough is smoothly elastic and not too sticky. In the mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but still puddle a little on the bottom. Grease a bowl and set the dough in, turning once to grease all sides, cover the bowl and set in a warm place to rise for another 1½ hours, or until doubled in size.

The dough can be patted out and placed on a cornmeal coated piece of parchment (to later slide on to a pizza stone) or on a greased 15 inch pizza pan. If the dough wants to spring back too much, allow it to rest for 10 minutes and try again, stretching to desired diameter. Top with your choice of flavorings and bake at 400 degrees (375 on Convection Bake) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Slices of Hamburger Pizza

Once the dough is started, you can begin prepping the ingredients for toppings. I like to make some garlic-steeped olive oil to brush on the bare dough once stretched on the pans: combine about 4 - 6 tablespoons olive oil and 4 - 6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced finely. Set this in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat to steep for at least 15 minutes. It should absolutely not boil. You want a nice garlic flavor: not raw and not browned. Set aside to cool until needed. When ready to make the pizzas, use a pastry brush to brush this mixture over the dough, before any toppings. I mixed up a batch of "pizza sauce"; simple, but good and then began prepping the other ingredients to have everything handy.

These pizzas came out very good. I did not think to use the bottom oven rack for the first pizza, and the crust was more soggy than I liked. Remember to use the bottom rack for a crispier crust. The heating element in ovens is in the bottom, so the closer to the element the pan is, the more browning of the crust.

Pizza Sauce 

For 2 large pizzas
 
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon dried oregano OR 1 - 2 tablespoons fresh, minced
2 tablespoons good Pesto, OR
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
a package of pepperoni slices, if desired

Combine ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Divide between the two pizzas when ready to bake.

Hamburger Pizza Toppings

Just baked and sliced

Enough for two large pizzas

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound hamburger meat
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves OR 2 teaspoons fresh leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves OR 2 teaspoons fresh oregano minced
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 green bell pepper, cubed
2 small (4-ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
16 ounces shredded cheese of choice (mozzarella or combination)
olive oil for pans

In a large heated skillet, add in the olive oil and the chopped onion and cook until the onion is softened and golden. (If you prefer raw onion, eliminate this step and use the onion raw on the pizza - my husband will not accept raw onion on the pizza!) Remove the onion to a plate and set aside. Add more oil if needed and fry the hamburger until it is well browned, adding in the salt, thyme and oregano during cooking. Add the onion to the meat, stir, and set the meat aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To assemble the pizzas, stretch the dough to fit two (oiled) pizza pans as directed above. If the dough will not cooperate, allow it a 10 minute rest and stretch again. If needed, do this again, until the dough will fit the pan. Brush the steeped garlic and olive oil onto each pizza round. Divide the Pizza Sauce between the pizzas and spread out evenly. Sprinkle half the Parmesan over each of the pizzas. Strew on the meat mixture, dividing equally between pizzas. Strew on the green pepper bits and the mushrooms. If using pepperoni, set slices, as many as desired, over top of the meat. Top with half the cheese per pizza. Bake the pizzas one at a time on the bottom rack of the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza is a Hit

Buffalo Wings can conjure up mental images of excruciatingly hot flavors, inspiring a fear of trying them out. Or, such is the way my husband has imagined, to date. In all the many years since these wings have taken over the appetizer menu everywhere, my husband has yet to even taste them.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza, fresh from the oven

Now, I can understand that, up to a point. I mean, if you cannot tolerate almost any heat in a food, then this fear would keep one from trying something out. But really, when I asked him yesterday if he had EVER tried Buffalo Wings, he said no. Absolutely. 

As for myself, I think I only ever once ordered Buffalo Wings as an appetizer somewhere, and I really loved them, flavor-wise. I am not overly keen on messing with bones and eating too much of the skin. Not because of health purposes. Too much of that rubbery skin in my mouth just gives me the willies, a little hang-up of my own. I have, in some distant past, even bought frozen Buffalo Wings when I craved them. I also love the flavors, done up in a sandwich or wrap. In Florida we ate often at Beef O'Brady's, a sports bar with exceptionally good food. I ate their "Buffalo Chicken Wrap" more times than any other thing on their menu. It was delightfully good. I also have made a version of the Buffalo Chicken Dip for parties a couple of times, and which my husband also never tried.
 

One beautiful slice of Buffalo Chicken Pizza

So I was thinking of those flavors last week, and trying to think of a way to present them. I had used Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Wing Sauce and Marinade in the past for the dip, and really like the flavor. I haven't used any other brand, since I know that while this one has a little heat, it is not fiery. I thought about trying a version of the Buffalo Chicken Lasagna I am seeing around the internet recently. That was my plan, but the more I thought about it, the more I started leaning toward pizza instead. So yesterday was pizza day.

First off, I wanted to make just one pizza. I know I could freeze the remainder of a recipe for pizza dough, or just keep it refrigerated till needed, but decided to make a small recipe and just make one large pizza. The recipe I created will make one 15 inch pizza with a nicely puffy crust. Doubling the recipe will make (obviously) 2 large pizzas, or three smaller ones. 

Pizza Dough for One Large Pizza

Start about 4+ hours prior to serving

dough still sticking to bottom of bowl

SPONGE:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon instant yeast
¾ cup lukewarm water, 80 - 90 degrees
1 tablespoon olive oil

DOUGH:
1 to 1¼ cup flour
1 to 1½ teaspoons salt
1 - 2 tablespoons water, only if needed
the Sponge (above)

Sponge: In a heavy duty mixer bowl, or in another large bowl, combine the flour and yeast and mix together. Add the lukewarm water and oil and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (80 degrees) for 1 1/2 hours, until bubbly. (When in a cooler climate, setting the bowl in the oven with just the oven light on creates a nice warm environment. Some oven lights are too hot and will begin to cook the dough. In this case, leave the oven door ajar so some of the heat escapes.)

Dough drizzled with Buffalo Wing Sauce

DOUGH: Once bubbly, if the sponge was made in a heavy duty mixer bowl, add in one cup of flour and salt to taste. Set the dough hook in place and begin kneading on low speed until combined, 2 - 3 minutes. If making by hand, add the flour and salt to the sponge and mix by hand. Once well mixed, determine if more flour is needed. If the climate is very dry, you may even have to add a tablespoon of water or two. Once the flour and salt are mostly incorporated, knead for 4 to 5 minutes more with the dough hook, or 5 to 7 minutes by hand, until the dough is smoothly elastic and not too sticky. In the mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom. Grease a bowl and set the dough in, turning once to grease all sides and set in a warm place to rise for another 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.




The dough can be patted out and placed on a cornmeal coated piece of parchment (to later slide on to a pizza stone) or on a greased 15 inch pizza pan. If the dough wants to spring back too much, allow it to rest for 10 minutes and try again, stretching to desired diameter. Top with your choice of flavorings and bake at 475 degrees (450 on Convection Bake) for 13 to 15 minutes.

My husband and I both love blue cheese, so I went ahead and used blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles for my Buffalo Chicken Pizza. If you are not a fan of blue cheese, use Ranch dressing and another cheese crumbled over top, such as Feta or even goat cheese crumbles.

All toppings in place, ready for baking

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Makes one 15-inch pizza

pizza dough (above)
1/3 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce (not plain hot sauce)
2 cups cooked chicken, diced (rotisserie chicken is great)
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 cup Blue cheese dressing
4 ounces Blue cheese crumbles

Drizzle the Buffalo Wing Sauce over the pizza dough. Top with the chicken, celery and green pepper. Dot with the Blue cheese dressing and then the Blue cheese crumbles. Bake in a preheated 475 degree oven (450 degrees on Convection Bake) for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

I am going to be making this again, and soon. My husband LOVED it, though it stretched his spice/heat tolerance to its limits. The flavors were sublime. But.... 

A couple of notes. I coated the pizza dough with olive oil. I used ½ cup of Buffalo Wing Sauce. The center of the finished pizza was a bit soggy. Next time I am not using the olive oil and I am using the ⅓ cup of sauce as listed in the recipe above. My hope is that the sauce can soak into the crust a little bit this way. The center of the pizza was too wet, so the other thought is to use the lowest oven rack to bake the pizza rather then the second level up, in hope it will better brown the bottom. I baked the pizza on a pan, so possibly setting it on a parchment and pizza stone would have yielded better crust-baking results. Despite this, the recipe is well worth making again. 

October 18, 2014 Pizza Repeat with Changes

Calphalon 15-inch Perforated Pizza Pan

To amend the recipe above, I made this pizza a second time and followed my idea, using ⅓ cup of the buffalo wing sauce, over a pizza dough with no olive oil. I did use my large, 15-inch perforated pizza pan. I lined the pan with parchment, though this would not be strictly necessary. I used the bottom oven rack to bake the pizza, for the full 15 minutes. The crust came out perfectly crispy, with a most satisfying crunch, despite the sauce and Blue Cheese Dressings. The flavors were equally great the second time, but the crust came out as it should be. I truly recommend this perforated pizza pan!

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.