Guide to Grilling Pizza

Pizza is one of those things that most people tend to have pretty strong opinions about – especially when it comes to grilling pizza. Most pizza purists will tell you that the best pizzas ever will be oven-fired, made with homemade dough, and topped with the freshest Italian goodies you can find on the market. Or, they may tell you that pizza's only really available in New York City.

These days, though, a lot of pizza enthusiasts are starting to branch out their pizza cooking styles. The oven is no longer the only way to make pizza get that delicious crispy-chewy dough texture. In fact, many chefs and home cooks alike are starting to turn their attention to a more humble cooking device - the backyard grill.

Grilled pizza can taste incredible, and can give you an crisp, smoky crust that just can't be beat. If you want to learn how to grill pizza like a pro, this guide to grilling pizza will give you all the advice you need.

Before you start heating up the grill, you need to make a good pizza.

Most of us know at least one good pizza recipe - or know where to find at least one recipe pizza aficionados would swear by. Though you might be able to use a short cut like DiGiorno's, we're going to be a bit more involved in this guide to grilling pizza.

First, you're going to need a good recipe for pizza dough. It's important to choose a dough recipe that you feel will be easy to make. This one, which was featured on a Food Network episode with Bobby Flay, is a good choice.

You also may want to get a good recipe for homemade pizza sauce, if you're really going to go the full nine yards. We'd suggest one that calls for fresh tomato, basil, and a little bit of beef for a full punch of flavor. This one will work if you're short on time and energy.

Once you have your ingredients prepped, stretch out the dough, sprinkle it with flour, and get ready to take it to the grill.

For this kind of recipe, you don't want to add the sauce or toppings quite yet. Grilling pizzas that are too heavy or loaded with sauces could lead to the pizza sinking through the grill grates.

Now, let's talk about the pizza grilling process.

This wouldn't be a good guide to grilling pizza without talking about the supplies you might need. You might want to increase the heat of the grill by getting a pizza stone. But, this is not 100 percent necessary - so if you don't have the budget to do so, don't fret.

The first thing that you need to do is stiffen up the pizza dough. You can do this by getting your grill ready for high, direct heat. Before you actually light the grill, give the grates a quick rub with some olive oil. This will help you avoid having the pizza sticking to the grill.

Light up the grill, then place the pizza on high, direct heat. Close the lid and cook the pizza dough for about 2 minutes, or until light char marks appear on the dough's bottom.

This is called "prepping the dough," and it's crucial to getting that delicious, flaky pizza crust.

Now, let's turn the dough into pizza!

Once the dough is prepped, use a pair of tongs to grab the dough, and place it on indirect heat. (This means dragging it away from the charcoal side of your grill, or reducing the heat on a gas grill.)

Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Add the sauce and the toppings that you want to the pizza. It's now almost time to sink your teeth into a slice - so get your plates ready.

After you've added the pizza toppings, it's time to finish cooking. Most of the time, it'll take about 2 minutes on indirect heat. If the cheese hasn't melted after two minutes, wait 2 minutes more, and you should be ready to enjoy it.

Ta da! You have pizza. Just transfer the pizza to a cutting board, and you're ready to chow down.