Pizza

Have any of you ever barbecued a pizza? With summer coming on I start cooking more and more things outside so I can keep the heat out of the house. Between my Traeger BBQ and my two gas burners I can cook almost anything outside.
I recently acquired a Lodge Outdoor Cooking Table from Clark Hardware which has a 3-sided attachable 12-inch-high windscreen to protect things from the wind. I can also use it when I go camping to put a couple of Dutch Ovens on.
Ok..... back to the pizza!
I first found out that I could put pizza on the grill when I was in the middle of cooking pizza and the electricity went out - so I finished it on a gas grill. The barbecue gave it a really good flavor with a crispy crust.
If you are making pizza from scratch there are two schools of thought as far as how to cook the crust: some cook the pizza dough on one side, flip it when the top of the crust starts to bubble, add the toppings and finish cooking it; the other way is to bake it like you do in the oven - no flipping. I use the second method plus I put a baking stone on the grate as the barbecue is heating up.
A time saver, for the day you are cooking, is to prepare your own frozen pizza ahead of time and cook it like you would a frozen pizza from the grocery store.

Freezer Pizza Crust

Source: Cook’n

Everybody loves pizza. This easy recipe will make crusts for two large pies. You can use the dough right away, or store it for later use. Simply place it in a plastic bag that has been lightly dusted with flour and refrigerate for up to three days. Even refrigerated, the dough will rise somewhat, so be sure to leave space in the bag. When ready to use, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature (about 20 minutes).
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
For AUTOMATIC BREAD MACHINE, place ingredients in container in following order: water, olive oil, flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Select Dough setting and press Start.
For FOOD PROCESSOR, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a measuring cup let stand until bubbly--about 10 minutes. Stir in olive oil and salt. Insert metal blade or plastic dough blade. Place flour in work bowl. With motor running, pour yeast mixture through the feed tube in a steady stream, as fast as the flour absorbs it. When the dough forms a ball, stop the machine. Process continuously for 45 seconds to knead. Shape the dough in a ball, and place in greased bowl turn to grease top. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
By HAND, dissolve yeast in water. Pour into mixing bowl. Stir in olive oil, sugar, and salt. Mix in flour until ball a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto floured or greased surface and knead until dough is soft and pliable. Clean bowl grease. Place dough in bowl and turn to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Continue as directed for Freezer Pizza recipe.

Freezer Pizza

Source: Cook’n

1 Freezer Pizza Crust
12 ounces mozzarella cheese - shredded
1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage - browned, drained
1/4 pound ground beef - browned, drained
1/4 cup onion, chopped - sauteed
2 ounces pepperoni slices
1 1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese - freshly grated
salt - to taste
Spray pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Gently stretch Pizza Crust to fit pan, forming raised edge at lip. Sprinkle crust with grated mozzarella cheese.
Sprinkle on sausage, ground beef, pepperoni, onion. Gently spread pizza sauce to cover cheese and toppings. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and salt to taste.
To freeze, place in freezer, uncovered. Check after 1-2 hours. When frozen, wrap in aluminum foil, label, and return to freezer.
When ready to serve, do not thaw pizza. Heat oven (or barbecue) to 400 F. Bake frozen pizza for 20-25 minutes or until crust is browned, sauce is bubbly, and cheese is melted.
This method of placing the cheese on the bottom and the sauce over the toppings ensures a fresh, crisp crust even after freezing. The cheese seals the crust against the moisture in the sauce. Remember not to thaw before baking.

I have made the following recipe on my barbecue for guests I had at my Bed and Breakfast and I always got comments about how much they liked it.

Breakfast Pizza

2 ounces cream cheese - softened
2 T. half-and-half
1 1/2 t. all-purpose flour
4 eggs - beaten
1/8 t. salt
black pepper - to taste
1 T. butter
Pizza Crust
Olive oil
Pizza Sauce - your choice
Mozzarella Cheese - sliced
Sausage - precooked - I use Van’s IGA bulk sausage
Black Olives
Mushrooms
Combine cream cheese, half and half, flour, eggs, and seasonings.
Melt butter in large skillet. Pour in the egg mixture, cook - stirring until eggs are almost set.
Rub olive oil on pizza crust. Pour pizza sauce on top of crust until amount desired.
Spoon egg mixture on top of sauce.
Place Cheese on top of eggs. (I like to use slices of cheese as it covered the eggs better so they don’t get exposed to the heat as much.)
Top with precooked sausage, black olives and mushrooms.
Bake on preheated pizza stone @ 425 for 8-14 minutes.

Bubble Pizza

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef - (90%)
1 (15 oz.) can pizza sauce
2 (12 oz. each) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 1/2 (6 oz.) cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 (4 oz.) cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in pizza sauce. Cut each biscuit into quarters; place in a greased 9-13 inch baking dish. Top with the beef mixture.
Bake (in oven or barbecue), uncovered, at 400 F. for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Print this post