We use a pizza peel. We found this at a restaurant supply store where it was surprisingly inexpensive. I think it was around $15. It has a long handle, with a metal flat plate riveted to the top, just like the peels used in commercial pizzerias.

We line the grill with flat quarry brick which is also inexpensive, at least it was when we bought it. When it's good and hot, DH moves the pizza from the kitchen onto the grill.

From experience, we have found that the grill cooks the bottom long before the top, so we grill the crust alone. We then put the topping on top of the crust, and finish it under the oven broiler.

Cheryl

A peel is the correct tool. If you don't want to find a restaurant supply house, it's not too hard to make one out of a piece of plywood.

I've done pizza on the grill but didn't approach it as a typical "American" pizza with lots of cheese and sauce. Basically stretch out the dough, very thin. Cook the first side on the grill. Pull it off and "dress" the cooked side I typically use some canned, diced tomatoes, a bit of good quality cheese, and fresh basil. Then put it back on the grill. This kind of pizza is really about the crust.

I knew about pizza peels, but didn't have one, so I improvised with the splatter screen. I 'baked' it exactly as Mike described, about 2-3 minutes on the 1st side, flipped it, dressed it and grilled it for another 4-5 minutes. It turned out decent! Next time it will be margherita pizzas!

Dear Claireboyant, I think that your use of the splatter
screen to be ingenious, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE ingenious.
I'm wondering if they still make 'splatter screens' anymore, (I could use one when Mother throws a plate
of pasgetty at me).

I use a pizza screen, which is similar to what you used, but without the handle. I had not heard about cooking the dough on one side and then turning it over. I have not yet gotten around to grilling a pizza, but when I do, I will use a pizza stone over a wood fire/coals. The advantage to wood is that it can get much hotter than regular ovens. I will wait for some somewhat cooler weather, however!

Lars

Earlier this summer I was going to try grilling pizza, as it was way too hot to bake it indoors. Unfortunately, our gas grill isn't operating well, and I just couldn't get it hot enough. We had no other grill at the time, so I ended up having to turn on the oven after all. I still haven't grilled pizza. DH did finally go out and buy a Weber charcoal grill, so it's time to try again. You've inspired me.

Sally

I recently baked a pizza on the grill. Because it was a large pizza, I started it on the grill on a perforated pizza pan. Just a minute or two to firm the dough and then slid it directly on to the grill.

The screen was a great idea Claire.

lbpod, yes, they still make splatter screens. I bought my "new" one about 2 or 3 years ago at one of the Kitchen gadget stores in an outlet mall. I'll bet Bed, Bath & Beyond sells them too! Good pasgetty protection :-)

I see no reason to buy a peel after this success.

I put the dough straight on the clean grill grates. I usually divide a dough ball into thirds, then roll it out really thin . Brush olive oil on one side of dough and put it on the hot grill grates. Use tongs to check how the dough is cooking, pull the dough off grill, and put olive oil on the other side of the dough. On the cooked side of dough put on sauce, cheeses, peperoni, ect. Put the dough back on the grill and cook the bottom of dough. When the bottom of the dough has cooked, slide the pizza to the cooler side of the grill to melt cheese and cook rest of pizza. I like the crunching sound when I slice the pizza into slices.
Phil
P.S. I use a three burner gas grill, two burner on high and one off. So I slide the pizza over to the off burner to melt the cheese like in a oven, after the crust has cooked. The three smaller dough are easier to handle then one large dough also.

I do pizza on the frill a few different ways. With company I do individual size oil the dough and place oil side down on a medium grill, and flip.

I have several toppings ready to go and let everyone dress their own. I always grill peppers, onion and mushrooms first or they really don't cook on the pizza.

For just us I do as Phil describes.

Tonight I am trying something new. I bought an Emile Henry ceramic pizza dish made for grills. We'll see how that works...if it doesn't work well it will be great for serving appetizers !! LOL

We have always done ours directly on the grill, but I am certainly going to give the splatter screen a try next time. I think that's a very neat idea!

I grilled pizza last week-end on my Big Green Egg, which came with a very large pizza stone. We were able to get the temperature up to almost 700 degrees, and so the pizzas cooked in about eight minutes and were very crispy even though I did not precook the dough. I did use seasoned chopped tomatoes instead of sauce, however, and that worked very well. I also used thinly sliced mushrooms, jalapenos, and red bell pepper. I wonder if it is really grilling if I use a pizza stone.

Lars

Apparently I missed this post last year.

I used to have a metal pizza peel with a wood handle that came from a restaurant, but it was to big and clunky to use in my kitchen. So I got a smaller one made of wood.

Clairebuoyant's discovery, however, has piqued my interest so much that I'll be getting a splatter screen soon.

Sol

Pizza screens are cheap, and so if you don't have one, I suggest that you try one, just for the convenience. I have two 16" diameter, one 15" diameter, and three 9" diameter screens, and I use the large ones all the time. I also have an aluminum pizza peel, and I have not noticed an appreciable difference between cooking a pizza on a screen or on a pizza stone without a screen. Also, with multiple pizza screens, I can make several pizzas at once, which is nice for parties. I plan to get two more large screens before my next party. I bought most of my screens at Surfa's Restaurant Supply, but I also found them at Gelson's Market.

Lars

Great tip AND great looking pizza! Thanks for sharing!