Grilled Pizza: Everything You Need to Know

Are you looking for something to cook on the grill over the Memorial Day weekend but want something besides burgers, dogs, or any of the other common dishes? Not that there’s anything wrong with traditional Memorial Day eats… but why not grill some pizza? Yep, you can grill pizza!

Think of it this way – why buy an expensive outdoor pizza oven if you already have a covered grill? You can use charcoal or gas along with some wood chips of your choice.

I’m not knocking outdoor pizza ovens, I think they are cool and make for great pizza. But, if you’re only going to cook a pizza outdoors a couple of times a year… then save some money and fire up the grill and do something different!

No Dough Tossing Skills Needed

Don’t worry. You won’t have to learn to toss dough over your head like those cool guys in high-end pizza eateries.

But I do think that would be fun to learn, or at least give it a try. Here’s how to get your grilled pizza adventure started.

First, you need a covered grill. Then you need some store-bought pizza crusts and your favorite toppings.

I suggest using smaller crusts as opposed to the large size simply because they fit on grill racks better and are easy to handle. Plus, each person can custom make their own pizza.

If you only can find the large crusts then you may need to cut them in half depending on your grill.

If you go with a softer crust such as raw dough, then use a cookie sheet, foil, or a grilling mat to pre-cook it before adding your toppings, sauce, and cheese.

Toppings from BBQ to Traditional

You can use all of the traditional items like Ham, beef, sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, veggies and more. Plus you need some cheese and some sauce.

All of this really boils down to your favorite toppings. I suggest that all of the meat toppings be fully cooked. Then, all you are doing is warming things up and melting cheese!

Add sauce to your crust along with the toppings, place it on the grill with low to medium heat, close the lid until everything is golden and the cheese is melted.

Remember, the crust is done, chances are you used pre-cooked meat toppings so all you have to do is warm everything up and melt the cheese. Your grill determines on if you cook on the top rack or the grill grate surface.

Barbecue sauce is perfect for a pizza made from leftover barbecue while there are a range of other sauces to choose from. Match the sauce to the toppings.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Taco Pizza with Smoky Hickory Flavor

Tex-Mex flavored sauce for a taco-style pizza, Italian sauce for a classic pepperoni pizza, you get the idea. Play around and have fun trying not-so-traditional types of pizza.

If you can, use Hickory wood chips for some extra smoke flavor. It will really give your grilled pizza a nice wood fired taste that really sets it apart from anything you can toss in the oven. Here is a recipe that you can get started with.

If you are going to grill a pizza for Memorial Day weekend you might as well go for some traditional barbecue flavor!

More ….

Indoor BBQ Sauce

 

Barbecue Grilled Pizza

2 pizza crusts store bought
Beef, pork or chicken barbecue –your choice
1 cup barbecue sauce divided
Chopped onion
Chopped green pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese
Crumbled pepper jack cheese

Coat each crust with your favorite sauce and the barbecue. Top with chopped onion and green peppers then cheese. Cook on a covered grill for about 10 minutes or until heated and cheese is melted.