Grilled Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza
The weather is so weird! Last weekend it was in the 60’s in the South Bay and the past couple days it’s been in the low to mid-90’s. I guess with no warning we’re officially into summer. And if there’s one thing I love about summer it means more cooking outside. And by cooking, I of course mean grilling.
I’ve talked about it before, but I love my grill. I love the flavors and the versatility, but most of all I love being outside. Cooking under the stars or even under the sun, it’s one of my favorite places to be. I love it so much in fact, I’d grill every night of the year. There’s just one problem: I don’t like to be cold or wet, so I limit my grilling to summer and fall when the temperatures warm up. But once that sun starts to hang in the sky, I start grilling chicken, beef, even vegetables.
I’ve cooked a lot of things on my grill, but one thing I’ve never cooked is pizza. Well, that all changed when I met Jamie Purviance, the barbecue genius who has written not one, not two, but 17 cookbooks with that famous grilling corporation, Weber. I met him at Melissa’s while he was doing touring his new book, Weber’s Ulitmate Grilling. If you like your grill, or even if you’ve only thought about grilling, you need this book! Sure, it has plenty of recipes for steak, chicken and even dessert, but what makes this book really special are all the steps on when, where and how to grill a perfect meal.
I’ve already learned a lot from this book and I’ve barely even cracked it. Did you know you don’t need to season or marinate the steak before you grill it? Instead you can mix up a delectable sauce right on the cutting board and then lay the freshly grilled meat on top. Have you ever overcooked your protein because you didn’t have a thermometer? Now all you need is an app, and you can see everything on your phone. What about pie? Ever made one the grill? Now you can! All you need is a cast iron skillet or pizza stone. And that same pizza stone can be made to make your own wood (or coal) fired pizza. It’s what I used and was thrilled with the outcome.
Unlike the pizza that comes out of the delivery box, a pizza made at home can be whatever kind of pizza you want. Like yours plain with fresh mozzarella? Have at it. Prefer it covered with meat? Pile on the sausage, pepperoni and ham. More of a vegetarian fan? Grab a few handfuls of broccoli and arrugula. There’s only one rule of thumb: no matter what ingredients you use, make sure they’re fresh! The fresher the ingredients, the better your pizza will be. Add to that the smokey flavor from the grill and a nice charred crust and you’ll have a winner every time. It’ll almost seem like your pizza was delivered straight from Italy.
I’d never thought of grilling a pizza before, mainly because it’s so easy to pick up the phone. But grilling the pizza was sooo easy. I can’t wait to do it again. And if grilling everything else in Ultimate Grilling is this simple and flavorful, I can’t wait to try the steak, shrimp or pie. As I said, I love my grill. Now I have just one more reason to use it.
Notes
Adapted from Weber's Ultimate Grilling
Ingredients
Pizza dough
- 1-1/2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon active yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
- 1/2 cup pizza or marinara sauce
- 4 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 4 tablespoons romano cheese
- 10-12 slices or pepperoni
- 1 sausage, sliced
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Add the yeast, sugar and oil and whisk gently. Let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Then using your hands, work them together until a stiff dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead by hand until the dough is soft. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl lightly coated with oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Place the balls on a floured surface and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about an hour.
Make the pizza
- Prepare the grill for indirect cooking over high heat. Place the pizza stone on the grate, close the lid and preheat the stone while you make the pizza.
- Lightly flour your hands and work surface. Place one of the balls of dough on the work surface and use your fingers to gently press and stretch the ball into an 8 or 9-inch round.
- Pick up the round at one edge with both hands and let the dough droop to the work surface, quickly rotating the dough like a wheel until it's nice and thin.
- Place the thin dough round on a floured pizza peel (spatula) or cookie sheet. Using a spoon, spread the sauce onto the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border uncovered.
- Top with the mozzarella. Don't place too much sauce or cheese on the dough, otherwise it won't slide off onto the pizza stone. Don't worry, the cheese will spread as it melts. Add the pepperoni and sausage. Sprinkle with the romano cheese.
- Quickly slide the pizza off the sheet onto the prepared pizza stone. Grill over indirect heat with the grill lid closed.
- Cook until the pizza bottom is crisp and has a scattering of dark brown spots and the topping is bubbling and browned, about 10 minutes. If the underside of the pizza is browning too quickly, rotate the pizza on the stone 180 degrees.
- Using the peel and tongs, trasfer the pizza to a cutting board. Using a pizza wheel, cut the pizza into wedges and serve.
