Kamado Pizzas - Recipe

Difficulty:  Easy to Medium 
Prep Time:  Varies based on ingredients and personal preferences
Cook Time:  8 minutes 
Smoker Temp:  500-550 F







Ingredients / Tools for Success

• Parchment Paper
• Frozen Loaf of Bread (Thawed) or other favorite pizza crust/dough
• I like using a loaf of frozen bread that you can get in the freezer section at your grocery store and let it thaw at room temperature.  The taste is good and you can get 4-5 good sized pizzas out of 1 loaf.  Let dough sit for 8-10 hours at room temperature and you'll notice it rise and expand.  This will also make the dough easier to work with later.
• Pizza Toppings 
• Pepporoni, Sausage, Green Peppers, Banana Peppers, Bacon, Onion, etc. - whatever you like
• Pizza Sauce 
• I like to use LaRosa's as I have a Cincinnati bias, if not from Cincinnati here is a link to purchase or use your own favorite pizza sauce 
• Mozzarella Cheese

Notes
You'll be using a pizza stone for this cook, and the biggest mistake you can make with the stone is not letting it warm up and cool down with the grill.  Failing to do so could end in the breaking of the pizza stone, so leave it in the grill during warm up and cool down.

SAFETY NOTE:  You'll be cooking at high temperatures, and if cooking multiple pizzas you will be opening and closing the lid on your grill a lot in a very short time frame.  Remember to "burp" your grill by slowly cracking the lid for a few seconds to avoid any flashbacks.  See Helpful Tips for more info if you are unaware of kamado flashbacks.

Premake your pizzas in the kitchen and on parchment paper.  By premaking the pizzas on the parchment paper, you'll make transferring the pizzas from inside to your grill much easier as you slide the paper onto an oven pan or similar.  This will prevent the dough from sticking to your countertops and your pizza stone on the grill. 


Whatever dough you use, don't be afraid to spread some melted butter on the dough and sprinkle some oregano and/or parmesan cheese on the dough.


Grill Setup
Indirect with heat deflector installed
Pizza Stone on riser rack in grill
Pizzas premade on parchment paper

To Make Pizzas
1. Cut a piece of parchment paper to roughly the size of your stone.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but the closer you are the better.  This will prevent you from making a pizza too big for the stone and then you'll have a much bigger issue when you go to put the pizza on the grill.
2.  Roll out the dough fairly thin on the parchment paper, too thick and you'll be left with a burnt doughy pizza.  When rolling out the dough, if going for the "perfect" circle, don't worry about the shape while rolling.  Use a rolling pin and roll the dough as best you can, then take a pizza slicer and cut the edges into a nicely formed circle.  You can then put the cut pieces in the middle and re roll that area to flatten it out, or set it aside with the other dough for the next pizza.  (Think like making sugar cookies)
3.  With your dough formed on the parchment paper, begin topping your pizza however you so choose fit.


Grilling Directions
1.  Bring grill to temp of 500
2.  Slide pizza still on the parchment paper onto the pizza stone and set a timer for 8 minutes.
3.  After 8 minutes, if you're tall enough and have a damper you can see down into your grill, shine a flashlight in there and see if the cheese is melted and check your progress. Or you can always lift the hood and check the progress but remember to burp the grill.
4.  If done, use a spatula and slide the pizza with the parchment paper back onto the oven pan you brought the pizza outside on. No need for a Pizza Peel.