Today after lunch with a former student in town and a little grocery shopping, I got down to business with pizza on the grill. I actually started the process hours before by making a small batch of pizza dough at 10:00 a.m. and putting it in the refrigerator for a long, slow rise. This method yields better flavor and texture in the dough. I discovered this life-changing insight by accident once when the only time I had to make dough was early in the day, but it’s been confirmed by Christopher Kimball of America's Test Kitchen. Do not believe the snobs who say it has to rest in the fridge for two days---who has time for that?
I had read many accounts of how to successfully create pizza on the grill, but I decided to start with using a pizza stone on the grate, because that was closest to the method I used in the oven at home. Here’s a portion of what I found on the Bon Appetit website:
On a Gas Grill
We like using a gas grill for this (I know, right? We never say that!) The even heat eliminates a huge variable. Place a pizza stone on the grates and set the burners beneath to medium-high. Allow the grill to heat, covered, with the stone inside. When the grill is super hot—a thermometer should register around 500°, about 10 minutes—remove the lid, place an 8-oz. ball of dough stretched to a 12"–14" oval on the stone, add your toppings, and brush the crust with a little olive oil. Replace the cover with vents open and cook until underside of crust is browned and cheese is bubbling, 7–9 minutes. Using a couple of large metal spatulas, transfer the pizza to a platter or board. Let cool for a few minutes, slice, and watch everyone freak out.
I had read many accounts of how to successfully create pizza on the grill, but I decided to start with using a pizza stone on the grate, because that was closest to the method I used in the oven at home. Here’s a portion of what I found on the Bon Appetit website:
On a Gas Grill
We like using a gas grill for this (I know, right? We never say that!) The even heat eliminates a huge variable. Place a pizza stone on the grates and set the burners beneath to medium-high. Allow the grill to heat, covered, with the stone inside. When the grill is super hot—a thermometer should register around 500°, about 10 minutes—remove the lid, place an 8-oz. ball of dough stretched to a 12"–14" oval on the stone, add your toppings, and brush the crust with a little olive oil. Replace the cover with vents open and cook until underside of crust is browned and cheese is bubbling, 7–9 minutes. Using a couple of large metal spatulas, transfer the pizza to a platter or board. Let cool for a few minutes, slice, and watch everyone freak out.
As I have acknowledged many times, I am not very good at following recipes too precisely. In this case, however, having very little experience of grilling pizzas, I decided that slavish obedience to directions was a necessary virtue. I placed an Emile Henri pizza stone on the grill and heated it on medium high as directed. I made a 12” Four Cheese Tomato Top pizza with 8 oz. of dough, put it on the preheated stone on the grill, and after only five minutes, this is what it looked like.
And this is what it looked like on the underside.
“Watch everyone freak out” indeed. My reaction aloud was anything but polite and will require sacramental confession, absolution and penance upon my return to the abbey. Another website, The Kitchn, had this to say:
Every grill is different! You know your grill and it cooks differently than mine. Your pizza may take longer or shorter depending on how hot the grill gets and where your areas of direct and indirect heat are. Consider your first pizza a sacrifice to learning just how to control your grill temperature.
Well, a sacrifice in the book of Deuteronomy is a burnt offering, so I guess I managed that much.
Okay, so a reduction in heat, another crust carefully weighed and topped lightly with sauce, precooked sausage, and a mixture of Italian cheeses. After only four minutes on the pizza stone, again with the lid closed, the bottom was perfect but the top was underdone---I was unable to produce a photo that adequately demonstrated this and was forced to consume the evidence of another failure.
And but me no buts about “It’s not a failure, you’re just learning, I’m sure it tasted fine, blah, blah, blah.” A failure it was and thanks be to God. We have a saying on the stage crew at St. Bede Academy: “Fail often to succeed sooner.” Although I have scant patience for it in many other situations, in the context of the test kitchen at least, I like failure---it’s the only way to learn anything worthwhile, because it means you’re attempting something slightly beyond your abilities. Before this week, I could count on one hand the number of times I have cooked anything on a grill. The fact that I don’t have third degree burns and a smoking hole where the cabin used to stand is itself an achievement.
So what went wrong? First off, I think this “new ceramic technology” from Emile Henry isn’t as great as the manufacturer thinks it is. Does the black surface with “micro-crazed” glazing retain too much heat? Should I have waited longer to make the second pizza, allowing the stone to cool more? Should I have used a traditional unglazed stoneware round (I have two at the cabin, although one is actually too large to fit on the grill). I’m not willing to give up on Emile just yet, but more experimentation is required—it’s a bad workman who blames the tool in his hand. The directions in the booklet say: “Let stone heat up to 500 - 700° F. depending on your recipe.” At 700° I suspect the pizza would have spontaneously combusted when I closed the lid to the grill.
Secondly, are the burners on this particular grill too close to the stone? As a heat source they are closer than in some ovens, but in a wood fired oven the heat is even closer, so not sure what to think here. I do know that the lid of this particular grill has vents in the back over one has no control, so it’s possible I’m losing too much heat out the back to cook the tops adequately. Again, I have to experiment more with this grill to get some answers.
Lastly, should I use someone else’s pizza dough recipe? The one I made was pretty close to the one provided by the pizza stone manufacturer, although I tossed in a little sourdough starter to give it some extra flavor. I can’t imagine that particular variable made a huge difference, and I’ve probably made ten different doughs to use in as many different kitchens---and in wood fired ovens---and never had a problem.
I’m determined to solve this problem, perhaps to make another attempt tomorrow, but for now I’m out of dough and toppings, so I think I’ll watch a movie and enjoy some popcorn---if I can get the microwave to work.
Every grill is different! You know your grill and it cooks differently than mine. Your pizza may take longer or shorter depending on how hot the grill gets and where your areas of direct and indirect heat are. Consider your first pizza a sacrifice to learning just how to control your grill temperature.
Well, a sacrifice in the book of Deuteronomy is a burnt offering, so I guess I managed that much.
Okay, so a reduction in heat, another crust carefully weighed and topped lightly with sauce, precooked sausage, and a mixture of Italian cheeses. After only four minutes on the pizza stone, again with the lid closed, the bottom was perfect but the top was underdone---I was unable to produce a photo that adequately demonstrated this and was forced to consume the evidence of another failure.
And but me no buts about “It’s not a failure, you’re just learning, I’m sure it tasted fine, blah, blah, blah.” A failure it was and thanks be to God. We have a saying on the stage crew at St. Bede Academy: “Fail often to succeed sooner.” Although I have scant patience for it in many other situations, in the context of the test kitchen at least, I like failure---it’s the only way to learn anything worthwhile, because it means you’re attempting something slightly beyond your abilities. Before this week, I could count on one hand the number of times I have cooked anything on a grill. The fact that I don’t have third degree burns and a smoking hole where the cabin used to stand is itself an achievement.
So what went wrong? First off, I think this “new ceramic technology” from Emile Henry isn’t as great as the manufacturer thinks it is. Does the black surface with “micro-crazed” glazing retain too much heat? Should I have waited longer to make the second pizza, allowing the stone to cool more? Should I have used a traditional unglazed stoneware round (I have two at the cabin, although one is actually too large to fit on the grill). I’m not willing to give up on Emile just yet, but more experimentation is required—it’s a bad workman who blames the tool in his hand. The directions in the booklet say: “Let stone heat up to 500 - 700° F. depending on your recipe.” At 700° I suspect the pizza would have spontaneously combusted when I closed the lid to the grill.
Secondly, are the burners on this particular grill too close to the stone? As a heat source they are closer than in some ovens, but in a wood fired oven the heat is even closer, so not sure what to think here. I do know that the lid of this particular grill has vents in the back over one has no control, so it’s possible I’m losing too much heat out the back to cook the tops adequately. Again, I have to experiment more with this grill to get some answers.
Lastly, should I use someone else’s pizza dough recipe? The one I made was pretty close to the one provided by the pizza stone manufacturer, although I tossed in a little sourdough starter to give it some extra flavor. I can’t imagine that particular variable made a huge difference, and I’ve probably made ten different doughs to use in as many different kitchens---and in wood fired ovens---and never had a problem.
I’m determined to solve this problem, perhaps to make another attempt tomorrow, but for now I’m out of dough and toppings, so I think I’ll watch a movie and enjoy some popcorn---if I can get the microwave to work.
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