Dough Meets Grill

Small Bites … More Adventures in Downsizing

Jan Kinzel

Want an adventure? How about grilling pizza? Dough meets grill…no pans, just right on to a hot grill. This is great for outdoor, casual entertaining in a small space.

Here are the steps.

Have a hot grill ready and brush a little oil on the grate.
Open pizza dough box lid and brush top of crust lightly with oil.
Place oil side down on grill and cook until bottom is golden.
Meanwhile, brush the raw side of crust lightly with oil.
Flip crust over on grill making the cooked slide facing up.
Immediately begin to place topping ingredients on cooked pizza crust.
Cook until bottom is golden brown and toppings are heated or melted.
Remove pizza to a metal pizza pan or pizza paddle. Cut with a pizza wheel and serve it up!

About the dough

Purchase the dough from a pizzeria. It’s very inexpensive. Have them stretch it and place it in a box. The medium size is perfect for the grill. Other doughs may not be strong enough to hold together on the grill and could drop through the grate slots.

About the toppings

All of the ingredients can be prepped the day before and refrigerated.

Something wet needs to go on the floor of the pizza. The sauce anchors all of the ingredients, dictates the style and flavor of the pizza and offers the cook great choices for creativity. The most common sauce is a red pizza or marinara sauce, but there are many other choices.

The cheese becomes the “glue” to hold things in place. There are many cheeses available. Packages of pre-shredded or grated cheese are very convenient and there is a wide variety. Fresh mozzarella is excellent to use.

All meat products must be cooked before putting on the pizza. Sausage with sage is great for pizza. Bacon, pancetta, pepperoni, chicken and pretty much all meats as well as some seafoods, such as shrimp, crab and lobster are also wonderful.

Cut vegetables and fruit into thin slices. Depending on the recipe, they will be either cooked or left raw. Bring all toppings to room temperature to facilitate quicker cooking.

Here are some of my favorite grilled pizza creations:

Classic Combination Pizza

Extra-virgin olive oil
Marinara or pizza sauce
Cheese shredded (4 cheese blend including mozzarella)
Italian style sausage, browned
Pepperoni slices
Mushrooms, sautéed
Caramelized onions
Black olives, Sliced
Parmesan Cheese, Grated

Brush top side of the pizza dough with oil and place the oiled side down on a hot grill. Cook until the bottom is golden. Brush raw side with oil. Flip so that side is on grill. Spread sauce on the crust. Add the sauce, cheese and rest of the ingredients in order. Cook until the bottom of the crust is golden. Remove from the grill to a pizza pan or pizza paddle. Cut with a pizza wheel and serve.

Curry Chicken Mango Pizza

Peanut Oil
Mango Chutney
Tiny Mozzarella Balls
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, baked and seasoned with yellow curry powder and garam masala spices, then shredded
Golden Raisins soaked in orange juice mixed with red curry paste
Thin sauce made of coconut cream, red curry paste, lemongrass gel, and ginger gel*
Cilantro leaves, finely cut
Green onions, sliced on the diagonal
Fresh mango cut into strips
Toasted cashew nuts, chopped
Toasted coconut

*These gels come in tubes and can be found in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store.

Brush top side of the pizza dough with oil. Place the oiled side down on a hot grill. Cook until the bottom is golden. Brush the raw side with oil. Flip so that side is on the grill. Spread the cooked crust with chutney. Add fresh mozzarella balls over the pizza. Place the chicken pieces next. Distribute the raisins and cilantro leaves. Lightly drizzle with curry sauce. Top with mango pieces, green onions, toasted cashews and coconut.

Allow the pizza to cook until bottom of the crust is golden and has grill marks, and the cheese is melted. Remove onto a metal pizza pan or pizza paddle. Cut with a pizza wheel and serve. Be sure to have your camera ready as this one is a work of art!

Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Pizza

Canola, peanut or walnut oil
Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
Strawberries, thinly sliced
White chocolate chips (as desired)

Brush the top side of pizza dough with oil. Place oiled side on a hot grill. Cook until the bottom is golden. Brush the raw side with oil and flip so that side is on the grill with the cooked side facing up. Immediately spread the Nutella on the cooked dough, and top with sliced strawberries. Sprinkle on a few of the chocolate chips. Cook until the bottom of the crust is golden and the chips begin to melt. Remove from the grill. Cut with a pizza wheel and serve this ooey gooey scrumptious creation!

Tip: Appreciate and use the variety of available ingredients and the creativity with which God has blessed us. Think outside the pizza box!

…You, O, Lord, created all things….Revelations 4:11