Who has grilled pizza?
I'm working on my menu for 4th of July, and have decided on "make your own grilled pizzas" as the main course. We have about 20 people coming, and I want to have as much ready in advance as possible. I'll buy the dough (I'm making everything else from scratch, have to draw the line somewhere!), and I'll have all the toppings in individual bowls in advance.
The question is - how do I prepare the dough to allow people to top them themselves before grilling? Can I grill it on one side in advance, take them off the grill to be topped by each person, and then return them to the grill later to finish (how far in advance?) How do I make this work for a crowd? Thanks!
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12 Comments:
It might depend on your grill, but with mine, the bottom cooks a lot faster than the top, so the idea of cooking one side, then topping it, wouldn't work for me.
I always just put the whole thing on the grill with the dough uncooked, but all the toppings precooked, and I've had occasions when I've put the pizza under the broiler for a minute to get the cheese brown and bubbly.
Every time I've seen someone grill pizzas on tv, they precook both sides of the dough, and then add the toppings and it's pretty much just a matter of getting the cheese melted and the topping warmed, if they aren't warm when you put them on. That might work best for you, because dealing with floppy raw dough can be a little challenging. And if everything is precooked, you're not worrying about whether the sausage is actually going to cook under the mound of cheese someone has built.
Of course, it depends on how thin you make your pizza. We like ours really thin, which makes it all a bit more difficult.
If you're going to precook the dough, I don't see any reason why you couldn't do that earlier in the day. As far as how to do this for a crowd, I guess it depends on how many people you're having and how many pizzas will fit on the grill at one time. Maybe having one person serve as grillmaster might work. People build their pizzas, then hand them over to be cooked. If it's all willy-nilly at the grill, everyone will be lifting the lid to check or to add a pizza, and the tops will never cook.
dbcurrie at 1:03AM on 06/29/08
I tried it, and it was a disaster. A grill is not a wood-burning oven. The top was black by the time the top was done. I may have to find time to play with this before I get it right.
Brownie at 11:33AM on 06/29/08
@dbcurrie- great tips!
And great timing on this question. I've got grilled pizza on my menu for July 4th weekend, too (though for a much, much smaller crowd). From what I've seen/read, you need to go a bit lighter on the toppings than you would in the oven. I think I'm going to do margherita style, and maybe serve grilled spicy Italian sausage on the side.
Anyone have any other tips for grilling pizza? This will be my first time trying it as well.
StripeyChef at 11:39AM on 06/29/08
There is an entry over at Slice, How to Make Grilled Pizza.
Fine Cooking ( Issue 66, pp. 34-39) has an article titled Grilled Pizza Is Great for a Party. (You may need to be a member of the site to view it.)
America's Test Kitchen has a video but when I looked at it, it appeared to be only 19 sec ? But they have done an episode on it so you might find some recipes and tips if you search the site. (Registration required but its free.) The Fresh Loaf blog has the recipe here.
Based on the few times we've made grilled bread, the most important tip is to use LOTS of flour on the dough when you stack it -- especially if you are going to make it ahead. Otherwise you will be trying to peel sticky dough off of damp parchment. Big mess. Cook all your toppings ahead and use a light hand with fewer toppings.
kjgibson at 1:15PM on 06/29/08
We have been grilling pizza since the early 80's. My dad even makes Chicago style stuffed pizza on the grill. (Yes in the pan) He's a mad man. We only ever use a charcoal grill, as the gas grill can cook unevenly and burn the dough quicker. Now we use a stone in our bee-hive fireplace.
I can tell you that if you want to roll and size the dough early to get more prep work done, we have frozen our dough in the flats. Take it out of the freezer 15 minutes prior to use, top and grill. Turns out great.
bodaciousgirl at 4:08PM on 06/29/08
We did it last weekend for the first time on a gas grill. We followed this:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/c/a/cam240/My%20Webs/Grilled%20Pizza/pizzahome.htm
However, our grill is really hot. We burned the first side, flipped the pizza and added toppings off the grill, and cranked the heat down to medium-low. Second side was a breeze. Tasted great, loved how cool the house stayed. I'd recommend doing a practice round to see - as another person commented - where your grill's hot spots are and how hot you need to keep it.
pookywookyster at 6:21PM on 06/29/08
I became a "grilled pizza" believer after reading the play-by-play in Reinhardt's "American Pie" pizza "bible". The trick is to have your toppings and sauce at the ready, cook the first side, then slide it off the direct heat, top and finish off the direct heat. Relax, you'll probably ruin the first one...make it a practice run and don't become emotionally attached! But once you get that grilled pizza bug...you'll be back!
DeaconVolker at 11:30PM on 06/29/08
The way I do it is pre cook the dough in the oven, then you pile them up, thick and thin crust. Cook the topping like sausage, then use med to low heat, Start bbq early and pile coals to one side, place pizza on the other side of the coals. If your looking for a strong bbq tatse add wood chips. The pizza will cook fast, average is 2-3 minutes for cheese to mely and have that bbq taste.
Luke
www.chou.cn
ddsclub at 5:17AM on 06/30/08
Ok, now I'm scared - I thought this would be a fun and easy way to impress! (and the guest list is up to 25). I think right before people get there, I'll grill the dough on both sides, and when we're ready to eat, and the coals are cooler we'll do toppings. Do you think it would be helpful if when we finished the toppings, that we do them on foil or in a pan, leaving the heat to melt it all without charring the dough any further?
Thanks for all the tips!
nalega at 9:48AM on 06/30/08
Ok Nalega, I have done grilled pizza for 25 before. Here is how you do it. The shape of the dough should be more oblong than round. Make sure that your grill grates are very close together. If not buy a grate to put on top of yours. All of this will prevent the dough from falling through. Make sure the heat is indirect keep the coals on the edge of the bbq. Oil the grate so the dough doesn't stick.
The dough depending on the thickness should cook on one side in 2-3 minutes.
Remove the pie onto a tray, oil it and top it with whatever you want. And place it in your oven at 400 to finish it off until the cheese melts.
Obviuously all your topping should be precooked beforehand. This is a 2 to 3 person job. One on the grill, one on the toppings and the other working the oven.
Sorry for the scattershot, but I am at work. It is very easy as long as you are organized and have your "mis en place" ready.
nelson5757 at 11:21AM on 06/30/08
Hello, Love the blog and the recipe. I just grilled some pizza on the BBQ and thought I would pass it on. Please come by and take a look when you have a chance and let me know what you think.
Thanks!
Joe
http://cookingquest.wordpress.com
joejhorn at 10:14AM on 07/01/08
Thanks folks! Turns out we had 25 people, not 20... but it went beautifully!
I used prepackaged dough this time, and defrosted it that morning. Before company arrived i rolled out the dough into individual oval shaped pies (about 4 ounces per person) and grilled it on both sides just till slightly browned. I set them aside, and when we were ready to serve dinner everyone topped their own pie, and i grilled them on a tin tray, with the grill cover closed (when i tried it without the tin it ended up burning). It did take longer than expected for the cheese to melt, but still fast enough where people werent waiting too long.
They all heated and crisped up perfectly. No one there had ever even heard of grilled pizza before, and were all blown away by it. Completely sucessful! Next time I'll do it only with a smaller group, but it wasn't at all as scary as I thought it would be.
nalega at 3:24PM on 07/06/08