How to Grill Pizza

The whole point of our House Party was to try something new - grilled pizza. I have heard of grilled pizza, but had never tried it. I must say, it was quite an adventure. It wasn't that hard, but it was different and we weren't quite sure what to think!

It was actually quite simple, but we had one key issue taken care of for us already - the crust was already baked. We didn't have to worry about it getting baked through or sticking. I know it's possible to really bake a pizza from scratch on a grill, but we're not that daring yet.

We started with the grill. We used our gas grill, but you could also use charcoal, whatever you have or feel like using. The grate had been cleaned really well and, after we let it heat up for a while, we turned off two of the three burners and just left the one on the far side on. This is important because it doesn't risk catching your pizza on fire or having a very blackened bottom to it! We gave a little spray to the grate with cooking spray (no pans or foil here!) and put two crusts on. You grill each side for about three to four minutes, just enough to get it warm and just a little crispy on the outside. Then, after it's warmed on both sides, pull it off and dress up your pizza. (You can see some coming recipes for suggestions on how to do this!)

After the pizzas are all dressed just the way you like them, pop them back on the grill until the cheese gets all nice and melty. The crust is pre-cooked, so that's not an issue and the toppings that need to be cooked are already done, so it's really just warming everything up and melting the cheese. The directions we had said 8-10 minutes, but it took us a little longer, probably about 12-15 (but again, we were doing two at a time, it would probably go quicker if you only had one)

Once it's all melty, pull it off, slice it up, and enjoy!

For me the best part of the grilled pizza was the combination of the soft and crispy crust. Even the thin crust wasn't like eating cardboard, but it wasn't too "bready" either. It was still pretty soft and chewy like you expect good bread to be, but it did have a nice crunch on the bottom from the grill. I guess if you put your pizza straight on the rack in the oven it would have a similar result, but the grill was actually a really easy way of doing it and didn't heat up the whole house!

Fire up the grill and give it a shot! Then let me know what you think!