first time griller: simple recipe to get me started?

[CDNpielover]

hi,

we are going to grill our first pizza tonight.  we have a char broil gas grill.  can anyone recommend a simple method/guide/recipe to get us started?

thanks

[CDNpielover]

well, of the 49 people who read this, i guess no one has any idea.

oh well, thanks anyways.

[Pete-zza]

CDNpielover,

I am not a pizza griller, so what I would do to learn more about that method is to use the Advanced search feature of the forum, which can be accessed by clicking the icon next to the search box that appears on every page. I recalled that the Germon/Killeen husband and wife team at Al Forno in Providence (RI) were early specialists in grilled pizza so I did such a search and came up with the following threads: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,556.msg5063.html#msg5063 and http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5462.msg46126.html#msg46126. If you broaden the search keywords, I am sure you will find a lot more threads. I think that you will find that there is no dough formulation that is unique to the grilling method. In other words, a dough that will work in a standard home oven should also work in a grill environment.

Peter

[Essen1]

CDN,

I haven't grilled any pizzas but I found this link here that might get you started, or at least can steer you in the right direction:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/c/a/cam240/My%20Webs/Grilled%20Pizza/pizzahome.htm

Hope that helps a little.

[petef]

I've just begun my first attempts at Grilling pizza on a gas grill using unglazed quarry tiles.
My first attempts failed due to the tiles getting too hot (over 900 Deg F) which resulted
in a blackened bottom crust.

I finally got a pretty good result (see pic below). A gas grill like mine can get plenty hot
enough to cook a pizza but to get the bottom NOT to burn it requires variable heat and
2 thermometers; 1.) Woodstove thermometer and 2.) Standard oven thermometer.
I used a multi-step process as follows.

1.) Place the 2 thermometer as shown in the pic below.
Wood stove thermometer monitors tile temp.
Oven thermometer monitors heat at top level of pizza.

2.) Heat the grill with lid closed until the oven thermometer reaches about 450 deg F.
The tiles will likely reach 800 to 900 Deg F at this point.

3.) With the lid closed, shut off the heat and allow the temperature of the
tiles (wood stove thermometer) to decrease to about 600 deg F.

4.) Turn the heat to HIGH, open the lid, and quickly place your pizza onto the tiles and close the lid.

5.) Cook the pizza about 5 minutes and then monitor closely to ensure the tiles don't
get over 800 Deg F., otherwise you will get a burnt bottom.

Note: You ideal heat conditions and exact temperature may vary from mine, but as I'm
cooking the pizza I'm monitoring both thermometers (Glass window on my Grill top) and
trying to keep the tiles (Wood stove thermometer) from going over 800 Deg while the
heat at the top level of the pizza (oven thermometer) reaches about 450 deg F.
Under these conditions, you will see the cheese bubbling nicely as it cooks.  If the
top of your pizza is not cooking well enough by time the bottom is well done, then
adjust the procedure by alllowing the tiles to get a bit cooler before you jack up
the heat and load the pizza to the tiles.

Edit: One additional thought. While cooking the pizza lift it to see if it's beginning to
burn before the top is cooked enough. If you see the bottom is well done, you can
probably save it from burning by transfering the pizza to a pizza pan and continue
cooking until the top is done.

---pete---

[CDNpielover]

thanks for all the help everyone!  we went ahead and tried before we had all your help, but what we did was heat only one side of the grill to full temperature, and then cook the pies over the unheated half.  A thermocouple measurement of air temp near grill surface gave 600 degrees....  it continued to get even hotter (looking at the crappy built-in thermometer on the grill), but unfortunately I didn't take any thermocouple measurements again, so i'll have to do that next time.

the pies turned out good, we only wish that there was some way to get the tops of the pies more crispy

will have to go to Rona and get some tiles!

[petef]

thanks for all the help everyone!  we went ahead and tried before we had all your help, but what we did was heat only one side of the grill to full temperature, and then cook the pies over the unheated half.  A thermocouple measurement of air temp near grill surface gave 600 degrees....

Ok, no tiiles and using indirect heat is an interesting approach. I'll have to try indirect heat
to see if I can obtain my target temperatures. Yeah, I'd say that adding tiles will give you
more control over temperature. The trick seems to be in monitoring and selecting the tile
temperature at the moment you put the pizza in.

If you desire a crispier top, then try starting at a lower tile temperature and crank up the
heat to full.  For example, crank up the heat to max while monitoring the tile temperature.
When the tiles hit 500 deg F., place the pizza on the tiles and close the lid. If you want
crispier tops, then load the pizza when the tiles hit 400 deg F.

Another idea is to add some kind of metal heat shield to the lid that would keep the heat
down lower to the top level of the pizza. This way, when you cranked up the heat there
would be much less volume of air to heat and the air at top level of the pizza would come
up to temperature much quicker. Makes sense? 

---pete---