BBQ Pizza
Pretty popular these days and you may have seen a recipe or two for BBQ pizza already. But I can tell you what ‘not’ to do! Because I did it all with my first try. This is going to be my fallback this weekend because my air is out. Sounds horrible, no air conditioning, with 105 temps. But these old houses (built 1927) are perfectly insulated with walls feet thick. If I avoid creating heat indoors the house remains a comfortable 80. Of course, I must follow my Mother’s wise words to my children when they complained about her house being too hot, be very still. That was impossible for my children and actually for me too today. It’s time to get out the short shorts. Ha! I’ll leave that to my daughter.
Get your favorite toppings and here we go!
Use your favorite pizza dough, or create mine-really easy and fool proof.
With the dough completed here are the secrets:
Make sure your fire is hot. Use briquets or a gas grill. Both work. With briquets allow the fire to die down and look for the grey ash to form. See photo. With a gas grill allow the heat to rise to around 500-600 degrees F. The gas grill will need a lid to get this hot. Not to worry if you don’t have a lid to fit your BBQ. Do without one but have a dome lid for melting the cheese. The dome only needs to cover the pizza not the entire. grill.
Now gather your favorite pizza sauce or just use olive oil with herbs-(optional). Or use my pizza sauce recipe here.
Pick your favorite toppings. Anything that needs cooking like Italian sausage (not cured meats) or meatballs must be precooked. The reason for this … the pizza on a grill is done in minutes, as quickly as 5 minutes. So if you like mushrooms, onion or peppers that are not al dente be sure to precook these a bit.
Make the pizza smaller than larger. Or if you feel you can transfer the dough onto the hot girl without it folding you can make it larger. Roll out the dough to the size of pizza you desire. Brush olive oil on the top. (Bottom will be done later.) Have all ingredients at your fingertips. Place the olive oil side down on the grill. If your briquets are of the correct temperature there will be no flaring but don’t do what I did and leave the dough for more than 2-3 minutes thinking the fire isn’t that hot. Check the dough/crust by using a metal spatula to lift the edge. No large black areas please. When the side closest to the fire is slightly golden and dry looking flip the dough/crust over (Make sure you have olive oiled the side that’s going down on the grill next before you flip.).
With the bottom now closest to the fire add the pizza sauce or just olive oil to the top … then pile on the ingredients that have been precooked unless you like al dente veggies. Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover with a dome lid large enough to cover the whole pizza. *If you have a domed BBQ you are that much ahead. Check the bottom in about two minutes for doneness. A little black here and there is ok. Check for melting of the cheese. This last cooking time is 2-3 minutes usually. Depends on heat intensity and distance to heat.
*If using a gas grill with a fitted lid after the temperature reaches 500-600 and you are ready to begin remove the lid until the cheese melting-then replace just to melt cheese as above.
Enjoy!!