Grilled pizza, where have you been all my life?  No really…This dish is easier to make than I realized and something that everyone should try.  I’m hooked.

We first had grilled pizza when my cousin filled the table with a decadent variety of pies at a family reunion.  The crust had a great crunch and each pie cooked in 10 minutes or so, all without needing to turn on the hot oven.

So, with a day of house chores ahead of us we bought the ingredients to give grilled pizza a go.   Somehow the day flew by and all of a sudden we were nearing sundown. The hubs was covered in lawn clippings and wanted to head into a shower but I emphatically exclaimed that “we need to finish the pizzas so I can take pictures of them before the natural light is gone for the night!”  May sound crazy to some, but I know you other bloggers out there catch my drift. Raise your hand if you’ve ever adjusted your meal schedule to account for pictures. I mean, look at this dish. Clearly worthy of a photoshoot.

Anyways, the process was very straightforward.  Since it was our first time we decided to buy a dough from the store.  First you must take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes. You also want to preheat the grill for about 10 minutes on high heat.  Kenji, who I will never argue with, notes that that using a coal grill produces a better pizza, I can’t argue with that, but we only have gas so that’s what we went with and it still worked well.

While the grill warms, use your hands to gently spread the dough out to a 12 inch oval. Next time I would even go further to 14 as I love a crispy crust. Then, spread it with some olive oil and salt.  Before heading out to the grill you want to pre-cut everything and bring all of your tools. At first I heard this and thought ‘yeah yeah all chefs talk about mise en place but I prefer to run around the kitchen and prep what I need as I go’ but… with pizza I’ll agree that having everything pre-cut was actually helpful and meant that I didn’t run in and out of the house endlessly. Plus, our grill is in our yard down 2.5 flights of stairs. No need to do that more than is necessary.

Ok, now, you’ve finally made it to the grill and everything is pre-heated, pre-chopped, and you are filled with tools from tongs, to a spatula, to any other fancy pizza flipping and cutting devices you own.  First, you want to dip a paper towl in some oil and rub it onto the grates to prepare them for the dough. Then, once the dough goes down it won’t stick. The dough first cooks for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Then you remove it, flip it, top it, and stick it back into the grill this time using indirect heat. To do this we turned off the two center burners and kept the outer ones on medium.

After about 10 minutes you can remove the pie, add additional cold toppings then cut and serve! Voila!  I’m sure there are other tips and tricks so please send them my way! This was my first time and I can’t wait to try it again.  Also, below is a list of pizza types I love and ones I’m now inspired to try and make for myself. What are your favorite combos?

Linking this recipe to Fiesta Friday which is co hosted this week by Liz at Spades, Spatulas & Spoons!

Grilled Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

• Servings: 2-3
• Time: 10 prep + 20 cook = 30 mins
• Print

Fig and prosciutto grilled pizza is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. Topped with spicy arugula this fresh summer pizza is sure to impress!

Ingredients

• 1 whole wheat pizza dough
• 1/2 pound of mozzarella (about 8 slices)
• 4 Tablespoons of Fig Spread
• 2 oz prosciutto
• Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil
• A small bowl of corn oil

Steps & Notes

1. Pull the dough out of the fridge and let come to room temp for 30 minutes 
2. Preheat the grill to medium high for about 10 minutes
   • Note: many recipes suggest a coal grill but this one is for a gas grill and the pie still turned out alright!
3. Stretch the dough into a 12 inch oval
   • Note: You may need this to be thinner than you think!
4. Pre cut and gather all toppings. Also gather any tools you will need then head out to the grill
5. Lower the heat to medium low, then prepare the grill by brushing it with an oiled paper towel
6. Add the dough, close the top, and grill for 4-5 minutes until it is puffy and has some grill marks on one side
7. Remove to a cutting board or pizza paddle (i dont have one of these yet). Flip it so the grill marks are face up.  Gently sprinkle it with olive oil, salt and pepper.
8. Then, add the toppings. For this pizza I first layered the fig spread, then the mozzarella  cheese.
9. Change it to indirect heat.  We have 4 burners so we turned off the middle two and left the outer two on medium heat. (On – off – off – On)
10. Place the pizza back onto the grill, close and cook for 7- 10 minutes. (Grill size will impact heat – its ok to check occasionally – get to know your grill!)
11. Remove the pizza and top with hand ripped prosciutto and arugula, and another dash of salt, pepper, and olive oil in honor of my Italian grandmother.

 

Possible Modifications

• Sausage and mushroom with a pesto sauce
• Chicken bacon ranch
• Caramelized onion and Hot Italian Sausage