I’ve always left the grilling up to Matt. He would head outside and cook the meat, I would be in the kitchen making the side dishes, and all was well.
But one day several weeks ago, I felt like cooking something on the grill for lunch. It just sounded good, you know? But Matt wasn’t home. It was then that I realized that I had no earthly idea how to even turn on the grill. Duh. But it’s true.
Why, yes I do feel ridiculous admitting that to you. And hey, if you want, I could list off all kinds of things I have no clue about. Nah, how about we save that list for another day?
Well anyway, when he got home later that day, I asked my loving husband to teach me the fine arts of turning on a grill, which involved, as most of you probably already know, the push of a button and the turn of a knob. Wow, do I ever feel so much smarter than I did before.
With my newly found knowledge, I have become a little bit addicted to the grill. It is as if a whole new world has opened up to me. And this is why, after mastering burgers, hot dogs, bbq chicken legs, Italian chicken breasts, and several other varieties of meat, I decided to try making pizza on the grill. I had heard it was great, so why not?
The good news: Pizza on the grill tastes incredible and my whole family loves it. The bad news: Pizza on the grill takes more time and effort than a hot dog or even chicken on the grill. Shucks. But hey, it sure beats heating up the house by baking it in the oven. And well, it tastes so good that I think it is worth the effort.
How To Make Pizza on the Grill:
1. Make pizza crust – I used my favorite Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe. Roll it thin, and keep it small. Individual sized pizzas are best for the grill.
2. Freeze the unbaked pizza crusts on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This will make your crusts much easier to work with on the grill.
3. Prepare all pizza toppings. It is important to have this done before you begin cooking your pizzas. Really, really important.
4. Get your grill hot and ready. (If you need my husband to come show you how to turn on your grill, he is very nice and I’m sure he would be happy to walk you through this step.)
5. Place crusts on the grill on low heat, as many as your grill will hold. Close the lid and allow the crusts to cook on one side for about three minutes.
6. Remove the crusts from the grill. Turn them cooked side up and fill with sauce and toppings of your choosing. Go easy on the sauce, unless you want soggy pizza.
7. Place the topped pizzas back on the grill, close the lid, and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Not that I personally experienced any moments of absolute insanity my first time making these, but be aware that you may be forced to deal with a bit of craziness while feeling like everything needs to be done at once and everyone needs to get out of your way and not ask you any questions while you are trying to grill the crust, top the crust, grill the pizza, and not burn anything along the way. Just so you know. (It does get easier after you’ve done it once.)
And that is why it is very important that your pizza toppings are prepared and ready ahead of time. I am so not kidding. ;)
