15 Mistakes To Avoid When Cooking Pizza On The Grill

Summertime is made for relaxing in the beautiful weather, enjoying abundant produce at the farmers market, and — of course — spending time outside cooking on the grill. The combination of sizzling food, smoky aromas, and the social aspect of gathering around the grill creates an atmosphere that is hard to resist. Grilling pizza is an unconventional approach to cooking this well-known dish, but it offers a unique and flavorful twist to traditional versions. It cooks so much more quickly and results in a crisp and smoky crust that's simply irresistible.

Grilling pizza provides a fantastic opportunity to take your cooking outdoors for backyard gatherings or quick-and-easy weeknight dinners that don't heat up the house. Achieving the perfect grilled pizza requires a little practice, but it's easy to avoid disappointing results if you avoid a few common mistakes. You'll master the art of grilling quickly after understanding pitfalls like improper dough preparation or incorrect heat management. Before you know it, you'll be creating restaurant-quality creations from the comfort of your own backyard.

If you find your dough difficult to work with, or if it bubbles excessively as it cooks, you're probably not taking your dough out of the refrigerator early enough. Cold dough is more difficult to work with because it's so stiff. It's resistant to stretching and springs back into a small shape very quickly after being rolled out. The result is uneven thickness or potential tearing or misshaped dough, leading to subpar results.

Allowing the dough to come to room temperature before grilling ensures a pliable, manageable dough that's easier to shape. Tempered dough yields a better final result because the dough is less likely to create large bubbles as well. This does require some planning ahead, as 2½ hours is the ideal timeframe to remove the dough from the fridge. If you happen to forget, don't worry; even pulling the dough 30 minutes before stretching it can be extremely beneficial.

Whether you're using a gas, charcoal, or electric grill, you always want to preheat the grill before making pizza. Preheating is such an important cooking step because it ensures the grill reaches the necessary temperature before optimal cooking. This process is especially important with a charcoal grill, as the coals need time to transform from active flames that might burn the pizza dough to burning embers.

Improper cooking temperatures can lead to the pizza dough sticking to the grates, making it difficult to flip, and increasing the chances that you might tear a hole in the dough. Without preheating, the pizza may take longer to cook, too, leading to a doughy crust and potentially overcooked toppings. Preheating also helps create those coveted grill marks on the crust. Since we eat with our eyes first, this element of visual appeal is crucial! The high heat of a preheated grill sears the dough, enhancing the look and the overall taste by infusing it with a touch of smoke and char.

Many people use a pizza stone on their grills. Most pizza stones are rated for high heat and can be used directly on the grill grates. While there's really nothing wrong with using the stone, we find several advantages to grilling the dough directly on the grates. The grates allow direct heat transfer, so the cooking process is faster and more efficient. They also allow for better heat circulation and airflow around the pizza to ensure even cooking The direct contact also enhances the overall flavor of the pizza, adding a light smoky flavor that permeates every bite — just like a wood-fire oven. As a bonus, this process also creates distinctive grill marks and crisp edges.

The direct grilling method also provides more flexibility when it comes to the size and shape of the pizza. Many pizza stones are round and come in fixed sizes, so you'll be limited in the diameter that fits on the rectangular grill. Even if you have a square stone, grilling directly on the grates allows you to take advantage of the entire cooking area and create a larger, flatbread-style pizza.

We once knew a culinary school instructor who said the key to being prepared is preparation. It sounds simplistic, but it's true. Getting the ingredients ready in advance means you'll be less stressed, and you can sprinkle the toppings onto the pizza with ease instead of scrambling around to chop a last-minute ingredient. We recommend preparing a mise en place — a French culinary term that means "everything in place." You can use the muffin tin trick to seriously simplify your mise en place, putting different ingredients in each cup instead of using a dozen different bowls.

Part of this preparation involves understanding which ingredients can be used raw and which benefit from being cooked before adding them to the pizza. Quick-cooking ingredients like thinly sliced vegetables or fresh herbs can be added to the pizza without advance cooking. The same can be said for any pre-cooked toppings that simply need to be warmed through, like sliced pepperoni or smoked salmon. Hearty vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, or eggplants may benefit from pre-cooking to enhance their texture, and all raw meat toppings (like ground beef, sausage, or chicken) should be cooked thoroughly first to ensure they are safe to consume.

Trying to cook the pizza in one stage — adding all the toppings before grilling the dough first — will lead to disaster. The dough will be undercooked but burnt, and the toppings won't be cooked evenly. The cheese might melt from the high heat, but large chunks of sausage could still be cold in the middle. Instead, it's best to grill pizza in a two-step process: Cooking a disc of oiled dough on the direct heat side before flipping it onto the indirect heat side. Once it reaches the indirect side, you can add all your prepared toppings and close the lid until the pizza is finished cooking. You'll know it's finished when the cheese is melted and the toppings are warmed through.

If it sounds too overwhelming to do both steps in one sitting, or you're preparing several pizzas for a party, we have a solution. You can pre-grill the dough in advance, grilling it lightly on both sides before transferring it to a wire rack to cool. The wire rack will keep the bottom from getting soggy. Then, a few hours later, you can preheat the grill, add the pre-cooked doughs to the indirect heat side, and reheat the crust while you're melting the toppings.

When it comes to choosing cheese for pizza, some options work better than others. Mozzarella is a classic choice because of its excellent melting properties, and it also has the right texture for pizza. It creates a gooey, stretchy texture that's simultaneously creamy and chewy. It also has a delicate flavor that complements a wide variety of toppings. Other cheeses that work well are provolone, fontina, or a blend of Italian cheeses.

Some cheeses melt well but are not the best choice for pizza. Cheddar cheese, for example, is an oily cheese, so it may create an ideal melting pattern but it needs to be paired with the right sauce and toppings to work. Other hard cheeses don't melt well — like Parmesan or Pecorino Romano — and are best used in a blend situation instead of by themselves. Some soft, high-moisture cheeses (like ricotta or feta) are great for adding flavor to pizza, but they don't become stringy when they melt, and these cheeses can contribute to a soggy crust when they release water. It's not that they can't be used, but a proper mixture of cheeses and toppings should be considered before proceeding so they don't negatively impact the pizza's overall texture.

Now that you've created a perfect pizza, you need to be prepared to move it from the grill. Trying to take it off with a small spatula or a pair of tongs can lead to the pizza folding in half, ruining all your hard work. A pizza peel is really best because it slides under the entire surface of the cooked pizza, but it is possible to remove the pizza without one. For this, you'll need a combination of tools, starting with a long-handled grill spatula with a wide, nonflexible head. Place this spatula underneath the pizza, reaching all the way to the far end. Then, position a pair of heat-resistant grill tongs to grasp the opposite end of the pizza. Be careful not to squeeze the pizza or exert too much pressure on the crust.

When you're ready, carefully lift the pizza with the spatula. The tongs will provide support and stability on the other end, helping you move the pizza with dexterity and grace. It may take some practice, so utilize help from someone else if possible. They can hold the pizza peel or cutting board close to the grill so you don't have to move it too far.