How To Smoke A Pizza On A Grill

Pizza is a very versatile meal wherein you can put any ingredients on it. You can also cook it wherever you want so here, we will teach you how to smoke a pizza on a grill.

Grilling pizza might not be that unusual but smoking one is a bit unorthodox. However, it does have its benefits especially on the flavor that the fuel puts into the pizza.

Note that only grills using wood, charcoal, or pellets will be able to smoke a pizza or any food for that matter. Gas grills do not produce smoke to put that smoky flavor into the food.

Pizza is a very fun recipe to cook as you can alter the ingredients any way you want. If you make one at home, you are going to be able to put all your favorite toppings together.

Grills are also as versatile as pizzas. They can cook almost anything so cooking pizza in them is not only possible but sometimes, the finish is better than cooking pizzas in a regular oven.

They produce enough heat to create the perfect environment for pizzas. The bottom of the crust is charred to perfection and the toppings are evenly cooked when you grill a pizza.

Smoking pizzas is not always a good way to cook pizza or it depends on your personal preference. Some may like the flavor but sometimes it can ruin the pizza for others.

The technique in order to make the pizza good with smoke is to know the ingredients that blend well with that flavor. Meat toppings are popular for smoked pizza so we recommend those.

Vegetables are also great but sometimes they dry out when cooked in grills. You can put anything that you want in it so do not worry and read on as we guide you through the process.

 

How Long Do You Smoke Pizza On A Grill?

This question is very easy to answer but the fact is it is not that simple. Smoking pizza involves the pre-cooking of meat toppings before actually putting the pizza in the grill.

That process usually takes hours for the meat to seep in the smoky flavor that the grill produces. For the pizza dough and the toppings, cooking time will be a lot faster.

The time also depends on the temperature that you are using. If your grill can get up to high temperatures, then obviously, the cooking time will be shorter and vice versa.

But since you are going to smoke a pizza, the temperature that you will be using is low. This will cook the pizza evenly and the toppings will be able to get more of that smoky flavor.

With that said, you need a proper way of cooking the pizza and the right tools in order to make the crust crispy even if you cook it at a low temperature so let us begin.

 

Preheat the Grill

Get your pellet or wood-fired grill ready and load it with enough fuel for at least two hours of cooking. Fire it up and get the meat toppings ready for smoking first.

The meat toppings should be cooked first because they take longer to cook than vegetables and dough. So preheat the grill at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for the meat to be smoked in.

Place the meat inside the grill and then put the lid down. This will enhance the smoke inside the grill and so the meat will be able to gather more of that smoky flavor from the wood.

Measure the temperatures of the meat with an instant-read thermometer or a meat probe after an hour. The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Get the meat out of the grill and let them rest on a paper towel. While they are resting, turn up the heat in the grill to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and then prepare the other ingredients.

If you have a baking pan or a pizza stone, preheat them as well in the grill. This will create an even cooking surface for the pizza especially on the crust.

 

Prepare The Pizza

Slice the toppings thinly and then put the pizza sauce on the dough. Place the pizza toppings evenly on the pizza and then get to the meat that you have just smoked.

If you are using sausages, you can get them out of their wrapper and then crumble them into smaller pieces before sprinkling them evenly on the pizza.

Cover the toppings with cheese and then wait for the grill to reach the desired temperature. You can also use parchment paper if you do not have a pizza stone or a baking pan.

 

Cook the Pizza

If you use parchment paper, cut up just enough of it for the pizza to be placed on. Place the parchment paper at the bottom of the pizza and then carefully slide the pizza in with a peel.

Put the pizza on the lowest rack of the grill and then close the lid of the grill. The parchment paper will help the pizza stay on the grill grates without falling into the spaces.

After five minutes, open the grill and then remove the parchment paper and turn the pizza. The crust of the pizza would have hardened already so it will no longer fall into the grates.

You can also use parchment paper even if you have a pizza stone. It will prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza stone, so get a parchment paper always ready when smoking pizzas.

 

Let The Pizza Smoke

After removing the parchment paper, the crust would have already hardened. However, that does not mean that it is done cooking as you will still need to get some of the smoky flavors in.

So let the pizza cook further and then close the lid of the grill to keep all the smoke inside. You can also lower the temperature of the grill if the toppings start to cook.

This way, they will not come out burnt or overcooked. Turning the temperature down will slow the cooking process while the meat and the other toppings still get the smoky flavor.

If the crust starts to brown and the cheese has melted, remove the pizza from the grill and then let it rest for five minutes before serving. This will help continue the cooking process.

Cut the pizza and then serve!

 

Cook Low And Slow

The cooking process mentioned above involves a lot of heat. But if you want to cook your pizza at a lower temperature, you can do that too by setting the temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

This will take longer but it will also give the pizza more smoky flavors. This will take around 15 to 20 minutes for the crust to become crispy and the toppings to cook.

If you choose to smoke the pizza this way, make sure to limit the wood or the pellets so that the smoke inside the grill will not overpower the other flavors you put into your pizza.

You can also do this process in a regular gas grill. So long as you have a firebox separate from the grill, you can put wood in the grill and fire them up to produce smoke.

The gas grill will produce the temperature needed to cook the pizza while the wood will just be the smoking factor in the grill so it does not have to be scorching hot.

 

Conclusion

Pizza is a delicate recipe in a way that it cooks fast so you always need to keep an eye on it. However, you can do it in almost any cooking appliance that you have so it is also easy to cook.

Grills are also versatile and you can definitely cook pizzas in them. They produce different temperatures that can let you cook slow and low or sear meat with high temperatures.

Smoking pizza on a grill will require wood. Gas alone will not be able to give off that authentic smoky taste that you want to put into the pizza.

Follow the instructions and tips above and with a few practices, you will be able to cook the perfect smoked pizza in your grill to surprise your guest with a unique flavor.

Make sure to always use the freshest ingredients and alter the recipe to your liking. Keep cooking and do not be discouraged if you failed the first time, it takes practice to perfect this recipe.

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