Category: Grilling

My backyard grill is one of my all time favorite personal possessions. In fact, if I could keep only three items that would be mine and mine alone, they would be;

My bike.

My Swiss Army watch — yeah, I have a Swiss Army Knife too, but my watch is great.

And my grill.

And as long as my family was safe and they had all they needed, I would be extremely content with just owning these three things for myself.

[amazon asin=B000077CPK&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B00CZ5VF84&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B00BC3UVDK&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B0000E2GYL&template=iframe image]

I have a Weber Spirit. It’s a great grill. With the three burners I can do pretty much anything and one of my favorite things to do on the grill is pizza. It’s fun, unique and with the high heat of the grill you can get that brick oven crunch — also we are ex-New Yorkers who now live in Delaware and there is no decent pizza here.

Now the method I use for pizza is based on trial-and-error of a three burner grill like the Weber Spirit. I have tried other grilled pizza techniques and this works really well, but experiment with your particular grill.

HOT TO COOK A PIZZA ON THE GRILL.

Purchase a 1 pound bag of commercial pizza dough or make your own pizza dough. Pizza Bud is the brand I buy and it costs only eighty-eight cents and I can get two pizzas out of one bag of dough.

Cut a 16 oz dough ball in half

With a rolling pin, roll out the dough. Yes, the pizza tossing thing is very cool but you need to be good at that and I am not. So a rolling pin is a great way to get an even crust. Also, roll your dough out long ways instead of the traditional round pie. This allows you to get up to four on your grill and reduces the chance of burning. And don’t worry about making the shape perfect. The more imperfect it is the more authentic it becomes.

On a low heat — now this is based on a three burner grill —- place the dough directly on the grill.

Wait three minutes or so and flip the dough. Wait another three minutes and pull the dough from the grill. This will be your pizza crust.

So here, with the most cooked end up, cover lightly with some olive oil and now build your pizza —- cheese, sauce pepperoni, spices, whatever you want — and place back directly on the grill.

Close the grill and allow to cook. Check every few minutes and look at the bottom of the pizza — this will not only tell you how the pizza is cooking but keep in mind there is a thin line between getting that perfect brick oven crunch and burning the bottom of the pizza. When you’re not sure, pull the pizza early.

Let cool and cut.

Enjoy.

Ten thousand years ago —- I think it was on a Tuesday — our collective ancestors had a great hunt. A huge hunt.

For days, the tribe carried their spears and bows and moved along with a herd of antelope. They would follow the herd and then thin off a few of them — forcing them to run from the group and create a smaller herd. Then they would follow that smaller herd and thin that off making yet another smaller group. And then a few more off from that one.

Eventually, the tribe had a single antelope — a large one — trapped in a cavern. They faced the animal. They surrounded it. And they brought the great beast down.

The tribe was very happy.

They carried the prize back to their camp. They sang songs and butchered the game and began to cook the meat on the fire and as they rejoiced and enjoyed the thrill of the hunt — as they talked and joked and listened to the meat sizzle on the open flame — one of the hunters began to think. He pondered and worried until he eventually spoke.

“You know,” he turned to his friends. “If we ever start living inside,” he paused. “If we ever start wearing clothes and cooking in metal boxes and sleeping in beds. If they ever invent jobs and bills and stress.”

His friends watched as he pointed to the meat sizzling over the flame.

[amazon asin=B00004RALU&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B002Y0KA1S&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B00008DHPA&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B002UKPTRM&template=iframe image]

“If that ever happens,” he stated. “Then I’m going to miss this.”

There was a silence for a moment as they all thought. Then they consoled their friend. They explained that he was simply tired. Exhausted from the hunt and that there was nothing to worry about. This would never happen.

And they cooked and talked and ate.

HOW TO COOK ON A CHARCOAL GRILL

Cooking on a charcoal grill is amazing. Its part cooking, part camping. It not only creates a cooking surface of high and steady heat but it seals in juices and adds that great smoky flavor.

And it’s a great way to tap into that hard wired need we males have for the tribal outside campfire.

Gas grills are great for convenience — and I use ours at least twice a week, year round — but nothing compares to cooking on a charcoal grill — unless it’s cooking over a campfire.

Charcoal grills come in all shapes in sizes. There are inexpensive, portable grills that are great for tailgating and picnics. Then there are the mid sized grills that you roll out when needed — we have a twenty dollar charcoal grill I bought for my mom six years ago that we use every time we go to her house that works great. And then there are the great permanent charcoal grills such as Weber and Char-Griller.

But no matter what grill you use, here are the basics.

Choose good charcoal. For the small amount of money you’ll save, it’s not worth buying a no brand charcoal. I have tried all of them — in grills and in smokers — and I buy name brand every time and just watch for sales — Kingsford charcoal is the brand I like. But experiment and find the one that works for you.

Place your charcoal on one side of the grill. This is important because it will give you a hot side and a cold side of your grill. By placing charcoal on one side you’ll be able to control the heat. You can move what you’re grilling around the grill and monitor it.

Light the charcoal. Many charcoal-purists object to using lighter fluid; preferring a wax charcoal brick or some other device. But the truth is, as long as you allow the charcoal to get to get to heat, any lighter fluid has been burnt off. And I have found that many self lighting charcoals retain that lighter fluid taste.

When the charcoal is white hot, start cooking. But watch the time. Depending on the amount of charcoal you’re cooking, you usually have about forty minutes of prime cooking time before it begins to cool.

A chimney. A charcoal chimney is a great device to get backup charcoal going. If you have to cook for a large group, or need to keep the coals hot for an extended time, get a chimney going on the side. After about thirty minutes or so, you’ll have red hot coals to add to the grill.

Here’s a tip. When you think the coals are hot enough, wait another fifteen minutes. It’s not unusual to struggle with the grill until everything is cooked only to come back and notice that now, the grill is where you want it.

Enjoy.