Making Grilled Pizza

Had another fantastic weekend out in our backyard.  Enjoyed time with my wife and kids, and even had additional people over here and there.  It’s always a treat for everyone when I send out an extended invitation to friends and family for homemade pizzas on the grill.  My wife and I first started making pizza after pizza in our regular kitchen oven. Not saying they weren’t good, but there’s just something about the flavor and the crispness of pizza cooked over the grill.

My wife and I have four great kids.  We always try to make the things we do, a big event; that includes involving the kids.  Making pizzas has been a family tradition for many years. First we started by buying our own dough, then my wife started making it, then my wife showed my oldest daughter how to make dough.  Over the years, my daughter has mastered a classic pizza dough like no other we’ve tasted. If she is ever looking for a different career choice, she can definitely make some money selling her famous dough.  Our 3 other kids always help with cutting up and preparing the pizza toppings. It’s nice to include everyone; it’s a great time for some awesome conversations with the kids while the pizzas are cooking.

Now, this took much convincing, but we finally got our daughter to agree to share with you, her well-known dough to all of you.  My wife and I have jokingly told my daughter that once she moves out, she will have to come back home to make us a bunch of dough to freeze, just so we have enough to get through a season.  I think this comment is what convinced her to share the recipe…in hopes we can learn how to make it ourselves.The following video is my daughter making the pizza dough and it shows her techniques as to HOW she makes it.  In this post, we are also including her secret recipe.

Katelyn’s Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe:

(In stand mixer)

• Fill 8 quart mixer about halfway with Flour (14-16 cups of flour)
• 2 packets of fast rise yeast
• 3/4 cups olive oil
• 2 ¼ – 2 ½ cups hot tap water (not boiling)

Add 2 packets of yeast to flour, turn on mixer (using dough hook), mix thoroughly.  Turn on hot water tap. Add half oil around the rim of the bowl still mixing. Add the water going around the rim of the bowl, turn up the speed (a notch or two) to the mixer to beat.  Once all the flour is mixed in, add the remaining oil.

The key to making a great grilled pizza is to:

1. USE grilling tiles!  I can’t stress this enough.The grilling tiles allow for an even heat to cook the dough.  The dough also gets that brick oven crispness to it as well. Click on the picture of grill tiles and learn more.  (I currently use 1 and a half of the two packs of tiles we purchased. It seems to be enough for the size of the pizzas I make.)

2.  Rolling out your dough.  We have tried the traditional wooden roller, but after my daughter used a fondant roller, making specialty cakes and cupcakes, I gave it a try.  The fondant roller is my choice of rollers to roll out pizza dough. Easy to use. Easy to maneuver…and easy to clean.

3.  Have all your toppings prepared ahead of time.  Preferably in separate containers. Always cut up more than you think you’ll need.  Even if you don’t use all your toppings, it’s great to have things already cut up for another something you prepare in the next few days.

4.  Make sure to flip the dough once you are able to see the bottom is cooked (the video below will give you more of an idea on how/when to do that).Using grill utensils helps with the flipping process. *Click on the picture to get a set of grilling utensils; not just used to make pizza.

5.  Once the dough is flipped, you have to immediately add the toppings and close the grill lid.  (taking too much time with adding the toppings will cause the dough to overcook.

Throughout the years, we have tried different toppings and different sauces.  Eventually, we just started using sub oil instead of sauce and it has been our favorite by far.  If you want to try sub oil, you can find it at any local grocery store.

What’s for toppings?  Toppings can range from so many different things.  What do you like on your pizza? Well, I can say, that I’ve added more than 8 toppings to one pizza.  Here are a few of my specialty pizzas:

Hot Chicken Pizza

(Chicken must be prepared the day before for better results)

• 2-4 pieces of chicken breast, cooked separate and thoroughly.
• Once it cools, slice it into smaller pieces, put into a container.
• Coat chicken with Frank’s Red Hot sauce and cover the container with a lid.  
• Keep in the refrigerator overnight and plan to use the next day.  The chicken tastes better when it sits overnight.
• In addition to adding new hot sauce, I use the existing hot sauce that the chicken has been sitting in to the top of the dough (the sauce is used in place of regular red sauce and sub oil)
• Add the chicken, cover with shredded mozzarella, and cook.

Delicious!

Beef On Wick Pizza

• 1 Pound of london broil (deli sliced). Cut into smaller slices.
• Horseradish (to taste)
• Caraway Seeds (to taste)
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

When dough is ready, add the sliced london broil, small dollops of horseradish through the pizza, sprinkle with caraway seeds, and top with mozzarella.

Breakfast Pizza

• 1-2 boxes of breakfast sausage, cut into small pieces.
• 2 Peppers; red, yellow, or orange.
• 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Onions
• 1 ½ doz eggs
• ½ cup milk

Cook onions, sausage, and peppers in a oil sprayed pan until onions are transparent.  In a bowl. Mix eggs and milk thoroughly and add to a oil sprayed pan. Cook the eggs, like scrambled, but not all the way through.  Leave the eggs somewhat runny, but not enough to run off the dough. Sprinkle the dough with ½ the cheddar, cover with the eggs, then add the onions, sausage, and peppers to the top of the eggs.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheddar cheese.

Taco Pizza

• 1-2 cans low sodium refried beans
• ½ lb cooked ground beef
• 1-2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1-2 cans of black olives, sliced
• Jalapeno peppers in a jar, sliced (to taste)
• Taco sauce
• Optional: banana peppers/pepper rings in a jar
• Sour cream

Spread refried beans on the dough, add cheese, ground beef, black olives, peppers.  Top with taco sauce. Dip in sour cream.

These are just a few of our family favorites.  If you enjoy ordering or making homemade pizzas, what are your toppings of choice?  Please comment below if you ever have or will try grilling pizzas in the near future.