Recipe | Grilled Blackberry, Brie + Arugula Pizzas
I believe I posted about one of my summer bucket list items: How to Grill a Perfect Pizza, right at the beginning of summer, along with promises of a follow up blog post before the summer was over. Oops. Turns out that once I found a pizza dough recipe that I liked I never tried all the others I had planned to try before I blogged about my favorite. And I'm not sure if I've mastered grilling pizza, but it's pretty darn good so I'm going to share my tips and a couple recipes.
There are lots of conflicting instructions on how to grill pizza on the internet. Why? Shouldn't this be very simple?! We have a charcoal grill, so if we put the dough on, along with toppings, the bottom would eventually burn before the top even began to cook. I'm guessing gas grills are different? Not sure, but here's what works for ours..
1. Make your dough (or buy fresh or frozen and let it thaw) I like Trader Joe's fresh dough but it has very short dating and can sometimes be a bit difficult to stretch. I also heard Kroger makes a good frozen crust and some of our local pizzerias will sell their dough too. But making your own is very easy and fun. This recipe has been pretty foolproof. I usually have to add a little extra water because my dough is a bit too dry.
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place your baking stone in oven for 45-50 minutes to get it nice and warm. I use this stone, the handles are super duper convenient!
3. Fire up the grill. The coals should be nice and hot. Place pre-warmed pizza stone on the grill. When dough is ready and rolled/stretched out, place it directing onto the pizza stone. I use a very lightly floured pizza peel for easy sliding onto the stone.
4. Let the bottom of the crust get nice and golden brown, then flip it. I like to brush it with olive oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt at this stage then top with whatever ingredients you like. We are usually pretty traditional with our toppings but opted for something a little different the night I took these pics. And by "we" I mean the adults in the family. The boys stuck with their standard sauce and cheese! ;)
5. Cook till golden on the bottom and cheese melted on the top!
Recipe | Grilled Blackberry, Brie + Arugula Pizza
(adapted from Southern Living)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
- Parchment paper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 12 ounces Brie cheese, trimmed and sliced*
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, halved
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh arugula
- 1/4 cup torn basil leaves
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- Honey to drizzle
- **Recipe for pizza dough or store bought**
- Preheat oven to 500. Warm pizza stone for 45-50 minutes in oven before placing on grill.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and cook, stirring often, 20 minutes or until golden brown. (The original recipe calls for fennel. I love fennel but didn't think it was needed and will leave it out next time I make this pizza.)
- Shape pizza dough into desired size. Place on hot grill, cook till golden on bottom side. Flip dough, brush with 1 Tbsp. oil. Top dough with cheese, next 2 ingredients, and onion mixture. Grill until bottom is golden and cheese has melted.
- Toss together arugula, next 2 ingredients, and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle cooked pizzas with arugula mixture just before serving. Drizzle top with honey.
- (Recipe can also be prepared in the oven, see recipe link above for instructions)