Expert Tips for Better Grilled Pizza

Is there a greater grilled food than pizza? Yes, we know that the grill is ideal for everything from shrimp to chicken wings to zucchini, but pizza might be the grill’s greatest secret. And with our Hybrid Pizza Steel, you can make a New York-style pizza without much prep.

Though HexClad’s Hybrid Pizza Steel is designed for the ambient heat of an oven, you can use it on the grill with a little know-how. We turned to recipe developer Sarah Carey for her tips on getting the best pizza from the oven.

“The key to making a great pizza on the grill,” Carey said, “is figuring out how to balance the heat." Unlike an oven, which heats the pizza from all sides, a grill only provides heat from below. This means that when the grill is opened, most of the heat dissipates. To get the classic oven spring that makes your favorite slice so delicious, you’ll cook the pizza in two phases: first, with high heat that sets the dough, then with medium heat to cook everything through.

The result? A beautiful, burnished crust with just the right amount of char—a hallmark of New York pizzas. The crust is sturdier than a Neapolitan pizza, Carey said, which means you can cut the pizza and pick it up.

Carey’s dough tip: “If you do buy store bought dough, buy it as close to frozen as possible, because you never really know how old the dough is once it’s defrosted and sitting there in the store. For these recipes to work well, it’s best if you have a pretty lively dough that will respond to heat and time.”

SARAH CAREY'S TIPS FOR USING THE PIZZA STEEL ON A GAS GRILL

1. Start by lightly dusting the steel with flour. You could use olive oil, says Carey, but flour is her go-to to get that classic New York-style crust.
2. Next, shape your dough and place it on the steel. This gives it some time to start rising again once it’s in a round. (You won’t necessarily do this when you’re cooking in the oven, but it’s useful to have the dough be pliable, relaxed, and starting to puff up again.)
3. Heat the grill on high so it gets as hot as possible for 15 to 20 minutes to about 600ºF. This is really hot on a gas grill, Carey cautions. If you are cooking any toppings on the grill, do those first and then shut the lid so the heat inside the grill can reach 600ºF. 
4. While the grill heats, top the pie with your toppings. Put the pizza steel on the grill and close it as quickly as you can to maintain the heat as much as possible. Let it sit there for about five minutes. This step is where you’ll get the oven spring.
5. Open the grill and rotate the pizza on the steel so that it cooks evenly. Close again and reduce the heat to medium. This should help with the fact that you’re getting all the heat from below. This step allows you to cook the pizza thoroughly. Cook for another 2 to 4 minutes.

BATCH-COOKING TIPS

The dough yields enough for 2 pizzas. Either cook 2 or freeze one ball for a future pie. If you want to make more pies, remove the pizza, leaving the steel on the grill, then use a pizza peel to slide the pie onto the steel, which allows you to keep the built-up heat. It’ll cook slightly faster, so check at 3 minutes.

4 GRILLED PIZZA RECIPES TO MAKE ON YOUR PIZZA STEEL

GRILLED PEPPERONI PIZZA

Carey’s recipe for grilled pepperoni pizza is a classic. Follow her super-simple 15-minute marinara or use your favorite store-bought one. “If you count marinara as one ingredient, this is basically a three-ingredient pizza.” Sliced pepperoni from the store works great, she said. You can even mix two different kinds if you want to mix the little cup pepperoni and the big slices. Carey’s tip for chasing that New York slice taste? Shake a combination of dried oregano, parmesan, hot pepper flakes, and garlic powder over top.

P.S. Save Carey’s recipe for marinara in your back pocket. It yields 2 cups, so use it to toss it with your favorite pasta for a quick weeknight dinner, add meatballs directly into this sauce and cook them in there. If you want to make a shrimp fra diavolo, sauté some shrimp with red pepper flakes and add this sauce and cook until they’re cooked through.

Get the recipe for Grilled Pepperoni Pizza.

GRILLED WHITE CLAM PIZZA

Carey’s pizza riffs on the now-shuttered Franny’s restaurant in Brooklyn, which begins by steaming clams so they’re just cooked and tender so they don’t get tough. Then, you’ll take that broth and reduce it before adding a little cream to make glaze that tastes like the ocean, in the best way possible. (Don’t forget to strain it to remove any sand before reducing it.) Carey suggests chopping half the clams and leaving a few whole so you can see they’re there. The pizza is finished off with cilantro for a fresh twist that’s a little more interesting than parsley. But parsley’s great if you’re allergic to cilantro.

Get the recipe for Grilled White Clam Pizza.

GRILLED CORN, TOMATO, & ITALIAN SAUSAGE PIZZA

This is a grill lover’s height-of-summer pizza, said Carey, which maximizes the smoky, charred flavor by first grilling the sausage and corn before topping the dough. These nestle in alongside halved cherry tomatoes that are tossed with a little oil, which starts drawing the juices out. While grilling, the tomatoes don’t completely break down, but instead retain a fresh, bright juiciness when they’re done. You have a couple of options to riff on this pizza, said Carey. Use sweet or spicy Italian sausage to vary the heat level and customize the depth of flavor by choosing fontina or mozzarella (or go with a mix of both). Carey includes her recipe for homemade pesto—"a great preservation method for basil, if you have some on hand"—but insists that store-bought is also totally fine.

Get the recipe for Grilled Corn, Tomato, & Italian Sausage Pizza.

GRILLED BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA

Revisit the '90s, but do them one better, with this nostalgic take on BBQ Chicken Pizza. After grilling barbecue sauce-glazed chicken, you’ll layer it onto the dough with more barbecue sauce (natch), grated mozzarella, and red onion. After grilling, drizzle a homemade jalapeño ranch sauce overtop. Pro tip: Double the ranch for dipping leftover crusts.

Get the recipe for Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza.