Turning Mangled into Mangia

The last time we tried to grill pizza it was a disaster. Actually, disaster doesn’t cover it – it was inedible. So last weekend in Nashville when our cousins, Charlie and Abby, told us they were going to grill up some pizzas for dinner one night, I was all ears to learn how turn mangled into mangia for my own pizza night.

They divulged early on that there was a trade secret to getting the crust just right. This secret was exactly the key I’d been missing before – and the thing I used last night to make this beauty. You see, the most difficult part of grilling the pizza is successfully getting a large layer of dough topped with sauce and toppings onto the grill without it all falling to pieces. My disaster pizza wound up partially down in the charcoals and partially a lump of burnt yet uncooked crust (disgusting).

Our cousins had the maneuver down perfectly. First, roll the dough out and transfer to a piece of foil lined parchment. Make the rest of the pizza on the foil lined parchment, which is absolutely brilliant. Place the parchment and pizza directly in a 400° grill for 7 minutes. Then, you can easily pull out the parchment from beneath the pizza and let it crisp up for an additional 3 minutes.

Follow these steps, and your pizza will be amazing. I used a ready-made dough from the grocery store and just rolled it out with flour, topped it with all our favorite things and it was so good.

Have you ever tried pizza on the grill? Do you think you’ll give it a shot now that you know the family secret? We sure had a tasty weekend, but you might be able to have a tasty weekday dinner! Enjoy!