Pizza on the grill

Alright, this will be the last pizza post for a while. But I had to show how I used the second half of my dough and sauce to make two 8" pizzas on the grill.

The first time I tried grilling pizzas, I followed a bad recipe which burned the pizzas. This really stunk because I had company over and was forced to watch them try and choke it down while telling me that it was good. Imagine watching someone take a big bite out of a lemon and then saying with that lemon-ish look on their face, "No, it isn't sour at all!"

There are three important rules of thumb grilling pizza; follow these and your meal will surely be a hit:

1. cook them at low-medium heat,
   
2. add your toppings off the grill, and
   
3. close the top after the toppings are on.

There is no special dough or sauce required, but you cook it just a little differently. Follow these steps to guaranteed success:

Preheat the grill to about 275 degrees (low-medium heat on gas grills).

After your dough (recipe) has risen, cut it into pieces that, when rolled into balls, are about 2-4" in diameter, depending on how big you want your pizzas. I try to make them about the same size as a baseball.

Pound, flatten, roll, toss or otherwise shape the dough balls to thin, flat circles. Place them on a plate that has been sprayed with Pam.

Get all your toppings ready, but don't put them on the pizza yet...

Bring everything outside and toss all the dough on the grill. Grilling dough requires careful attention, so don't go inside and start watching television or anything. The dough will grill for about five minutes until the bottom is golden brown. Lift them every couple of minutes and look at the bottom for hot spots (some grills have spots hotter than others and may burn the dough). Rotate appropriately to ensure even cooking.

The top of the pizzas will start to fatten and bubble up when they're getting ready. Once the bottoms are golden brown and have some nice grill marks, remove the dough and place them back on the plate, cooked side up.

Place your sauce, cheese, and toppings to your liking on the cooked side of the dough, and then place everything back on the grill. Close the lid (or else the cheese will be rubbery).

These will cook for another five minutes or so. Check on them every few minutes, again looking for a golden brown bottom and a melted top. Once the cheese starts to melt, I recommend sprinkling a few pinches of oregano on top.

Once everything is brown/melted, take the pizzas off the grill, enjoy them, and be sure to brag that you just made pizza from scratch on the grill -- you'll be the coolest kid in school before you know it.