Pizza on the Grill--Fresh or Frozen

First of all, I'm terribly sorry, but this is one of the few recipes of mine that requires two cards. Just glue them back to back and pretend it's only one, okay?

Before I start talking about this recipe though, I'm going to show you the fast, easy way to do pizza on the grill.

It's this. Frozen pizza. Did you know that you can cook frozen pizza on the grill? Yep, you can. And if you're anything like me, you try to do all your cooking on the grill during the summer.

Unless you live in Texas. Maybe then you don't want to be outside. Heck, you could probably cook outside in Texas without a grill. Toss your food on some concrete and cook it right up. Yum.

Anyway, here's my Wolfgang Puck frozen pizza. The only trick, really, to cooking pizza on the grill is to cook it on low and keep the lid on. And if you have a higher shelf on your grill, even better.

And if you don't have a gas grill and you're using charcoal, may the force be with you because you have no control.

Almost ready.

I can't wait.

I overcooked this one a tinsy little bit, but then I like my crust crispy.

Now that I've shown you the easy way to do pizza on the grill, I'm going to show you my all-time favorite recipe for pizza on the grill. It's a recipe that I got from Bon Appetit many, many years ago, and it is by far our favorite summer dinner.

I posted the recipe last summer, but I'm posting it again and I've updated it a little. But, I mostly want to give you some tips for doing the crust, so that's really why I'm reposting it. 

Before rolling out the crusts, get a cookie sheet ready with a layer of wax paper covered with flour. I do this so Peanut Head doesn't freak out about the crusts sticking together when he's trying to get them on the grill.

He's easily discombobulated.

Now, I use this fancy little Pampered Chef Baker's Roller and Pastry Mat. It just makes clean-up a little easier, and I like to use the measuring lines as encouragement for a more round shape. I've never actually made a perfectly round pizza crust, but it's a goal and someday I will have a round crust.

Or not.

Here's my dough, infused with fresh Rosemary sprigs from Peanut Head's herb garden. Love that man. Anyway, as you can see, I punched the dough down so that's why it looks so deflated. 

Then I fluffed it up a bit by kneading it with a little flour. Next I formed it into a circle-like shape and cut it into eight wedges. Each of these wedges will be a pizza round.

See what I mean about the wanna be perfect circle?

Now remember, I'm trying to keep Peanut Head from having an embolism, so between every two crusts, I put another sheet of wax paper with a generous amount of flour.

When all your dough is rolled out, place two to four dough rounds on the grill at a time, depending on how big your grill is. To start, cook them on medium heat for about three minutes, until the top of the dough puffs and the underside is crisp and golden brown. Then, and pay attention here, grill the other side for only 30 seconds to one minute, just until it's no longer soft. This side will be going back on the grill once you put the toppings on, so you don't want to overdo it.

See, golden brown. As you take the crusts off the grill, put them on the baking sheet with the well-grilled side up. When you start putting the toppings on, they'll go on the well-grilled side.

Now, from this point on, you can really put anything you want on your pizza, but I highly recommend you give my suggested toppings a try, and especially the vinaigrette. I know, I know, it sounds weird, but trust me, it is so delicious that your eyes will roll back in your head and angels will sing when you take the first bite. I promise.

Here's my pizza on the grill. You let everyone build their own because some people are dang picky. Dang picky. But the basic idea with this recipe is to start with mozzarella because it's the glue that's going to hold your toppings on.

There is no tomato sauce on this pizza. That's for sissies. This pizza deserves something better, and that's where the vinaigrette comes in, but not until the end.

After the mozzarella you can put whatever else you want on, but I implore you, finish the pizza off with goat cheese and then the vinaigrette. Don't be hatin' the goat cheese. It's a tad bit salty, and some of y'all picky eaters out there like to give it the hairy eyeball, but I'm telling you, it gets all melty and there is nothing like it on the planet. Trust me.

I know I keep saying trust me and you might think that sounds a little suspicious, but would I lead you astray when it comes to food? Would I? No, I would not.

Now, don't be shy about using the vinaigrette either. Once you get all the toppings on, pretend your pizza is on fire and you have to douse it with the vinaigrette. Trust me.

Now turn the grill down to low and put the pizza back on and close the lid. Let the dough cook through and the cheese get all melty. It'll take around 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the temperature your toppings start out at. Don't be afraid to take a peek now and then.

Ta-Da! And something else, you don't need to serve anything else with this pizza because it is very filling. You'll even have to undo the top button on your shorts. Trust me.