I love smoking pizza and if you wonder how to smoke pizza on a Traeger grill then this guide on how to smoke Papa Murphy’s pizza on Traeger is going to help you out.
Usually, burgers and meat is the food that I smoke on the Traeger grill but I do enjoy a nice smoked pizza and it is easy to cook Papa Murphy’s pizza on a Traeger grill.
Pizzas need to be cooked at a very high temperature to get that crispy pizza crust on the bottom and edges, one of the ways to do it is to use a pizza stone.
Although, you can make a pizza without using a pizza stone as well. We will discuss both methods below.
Papa Murphy’s makes pizzas with fresh dough every day and the toppings are hand-chopped. That is why it is great for you to smoke it on a powerful grill like the Traeger grill.
If you want some extra cheese on your pizza you can smoked cheese on the Traeger grill as well.
Since Traeger grills use pellets, you get that authentic smoke that is usually found on advanced smokers.
I have here a method of how to smoke Papa Murphy’s pizza on a Traeger grill and you can use these methods to smoke pizza on the pellet grill. It is not restricted to Papa Murphy’s Pizza.
It is fairly easy to do it on a powerful grill such as Traeger so you do not need a lot of preparation. The same goes with the pizza since it is ready-made for cooking right away.
How to Smoke Papa Murphy’s Pizza On A Traeger grill
This method is the one I used to smoke pizza on Traeger grill and it works like a charm. If you want to quickly smoke your pizza then this is the easiest and quickest way to get there.
There are different ways to cook Papa Murphy’s Pizza on Traeger grill and the one mentioned below is my favorite among all because of the smoky flavor it gives to the pizza.
Prepare The Traeger Grill to cook the Pizza
Load up the Traeger grill with pellets enough for the heat to last for 30 minutes at the highest temperature. The required temperature for cooking the pizza is 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
While most Traeger grills can reach that, some models cannot, so just set the temperature of your pellet grill to the highest temperature that it can reach.
First, set the Traeger grill to the Smoke mode for at least 10 minutes to ignite the pellets and start the smoking process. Switch to 425 degrees Fahrenheit from the smoke mode for 15 minutes.
Prepare Papa Murphy’s Pizza to smoke on Traeger grill
Remove the plastic wrap but leave the tray at the bottom of the pizza. You can then wait for the Traeger grill to reach the set temperature while preparing your utensils for cooking.
Make sure to use a heat shield before putting the pizza on the grill. This is to protect the tray at the bottom of the pizza from flare-ups so place a sheet of aluminum foil under the grill grates.
Smoke Papa Murphy’s Pizza on Traeger grill
Once the Traeger grill reaches set temperature and smoke starts to come out of it, place Papa Murphy’s pizza in the center of the grill and then close the grill lid to let it cook.
Allow the pizza to smoke for 20 to 30 minutes but do not leave it unattended. Turn the pizza a quarter turns every 5 minutes and while you do so, check the bottom of the crust.
I have made this mistake too many times, so always check the bottom of the crust whenever you cook pizza on a grill or smoker. Check frequently but not too frequently, every 5 minutes is ideal until the pizza is done.
The crust should be golden brown as well as the edges of the crust. The cheese should be melted and the toppings are cooked to perfection before you take the pizza out.
Allow it to cool down a little, slice, and then serve while it is still warm!
Cooking Papa Murphy’s Pizza With A Pizza Stone
This second method that I have learned is doing the same process as you have above but this time, you will use a pizza stone to cook Papa Murphy’s pizza on Traeger grill instead of the original tray that comes with the pizza.
You will just need to place the pizza stone inside the cold Traeger grill and preheat it with the pizza stone. Place the pizza directly on the stone once it is preheated and let it cook.
Preheating a pizza stone usually takes a lot of time to preheat the Traeger grill for longer. I usually allow the preheating process to go for at least 30 minutes.
The difference in the process is that I only turn the pizza on the pizza stone every 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes. That way, the heat is more consistent without disturbing it.
After 20 minutes, I remove the pizza along with the pizza stone from the Traeger grill. I do not recommend going over 20 minutes as it might burn the pizza’s edge and crust.
This process does that the heat retained by the pizza stone continues to cook the crust to a crispy finish while it cools down. The toppings are also starting to cool down at this point.
From there, you can check the bottom of the crust. Once you are satisfied with the finish, you can slice the Papa Murphy’s pizza before serving it.
How Long Do You Cook Papa Murphy’s Pizza On The Traeger?
This depends on the temperature that your Traeger grill can reach. Some models have the highest setting at 375 degrees or 400 degrees Fahrenheit, so cooking the pizza takes longer.
According to Papa Murphy’s website, you should cook the pizza for 20 to 30 minutes if you use a smoker or a wood pellet grill. This is fair enough to make the pizza crispy and cooked evenly.
As you know, cooking pizza does not usually take that long if the temperature is higher. It usually takes 5 minutes or less, but you do need to cook the pizza longer with a low temperature.
My personal experience took me two pizzas to see at what time I should remove the pizza. Usually, it does not take 30 minutes to cook as the pizza ends up crispy at the 25-minute mark.
Smoking a pizza on a pellet grill for 25 minutes does not add too much smoky flavor to the pizza, but it gives a hint of flavor and that is what I prefer so I do not extend the cooking time to 30 minutes.
What Temperature Do You Smoke A Papa Murphy’s At?
You need to preheat any wood pellet grill that you have to at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit for the pizza to quickly cook and have a crispy crust.
However, you cannot do that with most grills and if you are using a smoker, smokers do not usually reach that high of a temperature so 425-450 degrees Fahrenheit is good enough.
That is the temperature that Papa Murphy’s recommends. You do need to put Traeger’s Smoke mode on first when you preheat it so that you can get enough of the smoke flavor.
Right when the smoke starts to escape the seams of the grill or the chimney, you can then turn up the heat to the set temperature and let the Traeger grill preheat for at least 15 minutes.
Do You Cook Papa Murphy’s Pizza On The Cardboard?
When you get a Papa Murphy’s pizza, the pizza comes wrapped in plastic wrap and the soft crust is supported by large circular cardboard. You can cook with that but I prefer a pizza stone.
Papa Murphy’s recommends using the cardboard so that the heat from the grill passes easily through it and makes the crust crispy when the pizza is done cooking.
It is effective and I have tried it multiple times. It is easy to control since the surface is not that hot so the crust does not burn easily.
Removing the cardboard and cooking the pizza on a pizza stone is a whole new level. It accentuates the texture and flavor of the fresh pizza dough and makes it crispy as well.
The only challenge you will face is that the pizza stone can get too hot and quickly burn the pizza crust. So I still recommend using the cardboard that comes with the pizza.
How To Make Papa Murphy’s Pizza Crispy?
There is one simple trick that I usually do to make the crust crispy on Papa Murphy’s Pizza. Once the cooking process hits the 10-minute mark, you can remove the cardboard.
Cooking the pizza directly on the grill grates can help remove excess moisture from the crust and make it crispy. This has been effective and I suggest you try it as well.
Using a pizza stone makes it crispy too. I love smoking a pizza on a pellet grill using pizza stone as that way I get the perfect crispy crust.
You can even cook a homemade pizza on your Traeger grill if you use the pizza stone.
The pizza stone retains a very high temperature once you preheat it on the grill and then when you place the pizza on top of the stone, it cooks the base evenly making it super crispy.
This is one of my favorite ways on how to make Papa Murphy’s pizza crispy in a Traeger grill.
You can choose any of Papa murphy’s pizza sizes and the best part about it is that I can customize it just the way I want without any issues.
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