Bake Brick-Oven Pizza in Your Own Backyard!

Bake Brick-Oven Pizza in Your Own Backyard!

You need only three items to make a pizza on your grill:
• An outdoor grill with a cover that has vents—a charcoal grill works better than a gas-fired one
• A pizza stone or baker’s tiles—the stone should be thoroughly preheated before you bake on it, so that it produces an intense, dry heat, resulting in a crisp, well-browned crust
• A pizza peel—a long-handled wooden paddle to slide the pizza onto and off of the stone (you can use a rimless baking sheet instead, but a peel makes the job easier)

You may also want a pizza serving pan (a baking sheet will work, too) and a cutting wheel to make clean slices. Once you’ve gathered these tools, it’s time to master the technique!
• Step One: Start the barbecue fire. You want a very hot, intense fire, so use a lot of charcoal.
• Step Two: After the fire has died down, put the pizza stone into the barbecue, on top of the wire grill. Cover and be sure to open the venting holes all the way; this will increase the heat. Allow the stone to heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to overheat, or the bottom of the crust will burn.
• Step Three: Assemble the pizza on top of the well-floured peel or rimless baking sheet.
• Step Four: Slide the pizza off the peel or baking sheet onto the heated stone, cover the grill, and bake for 8 to 20 minutes (assuming that it’s a medium-size, thin-crust pizza). Shorter cooking times produce the best crusts, so experiment until you get the right amount of heat and time.

That’s all there is to it! Have fun trying out traditional favorites or mixing it up with exciting toppings and sauces at your next backyard barbecue, and check out the June edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Monthly by clicking here for more grilling tips and recipe suggestions! You can also purchase via iTunes.