Incredible Tips for Making Mind-Blowing Pizza

Creating the perfect pizza on your KettlePizza is easy!  I have found a few tips over the past several years of showcasing and demonstrating this awesome grill accessory that I want to pass on to the NEBS community.  

1. Make your pizza right on your pizza peel (Wood is better, if not a metal one will be fine) – NOT on the stone or the counter or the cutting board.  That’s right, on the peel.

2. Use semolina generously on the peel.  If you are running at high temps, flour will burn quickly. The dough can only take so much of the Semolina. So more is better with the semolina. You can make your own dough (suggestion: the pizza bible on amazon) or buy the store made dough, but before you put your dough down on the peel, cover the peel heavily with semolina. Your dough should be warm and pliable. leave it out covered in a bowl to let it warm up. Cold dough is like rubber, it doesn't stretch well and will only bounce back to a smaller shape. 

3. Once the dough is on the peel stretch it into your pizza shape – round is the shape I use, but some like more of flatbread – you choose.  Once you have the dough stretched, make sure it moves around the peel easily.  If not, lift the section that is sticking and throw more semolina under it. 

4. Add the sauce of your choice, but, whatever your choice, make sure the sauce is at room temperature.  A little-known fact – if your sauce is cold, it will cause your dough to be soggy because it takes too long to heat up.  To me, that creates a pizza fail. 

5. After you add your sauce, make sure your pizza can still still move easily on the peel.  If not, add more semolina – gently. 

6. Add your toppings – just remember, less toppings are actually more.  The goal is crispy crust and the more toppings you put on the heavier your pizza, the longer it takes to cook….you get the picture.

7. After each topping, make sure your pizza can still move easily on the peel.

8. Once all your toppings are on and you are ready to transfer your pizza to the KettlePizza stone, wiggle it one last time on the peel.  If it doesn’t move, it will never transfer to the stone.  

The bottom line – making pizza on the KettlePizza is a fun way to use your grill to make America’s favorite food and your whole family happy.  You can be as creative or as traditional as you choose to be. As long as you don’t put pineapple on the pizza and wiggle the dough after every step to ensure an easy transfer from peel to stone, you too can make the perfect pizza.

Mic Stanfield competes on the BBQ circuit on Boo Boo Qued and is the president of Hunger Smoked – a 501 (c)3  nonprofit organization made up of a group of BBQ competitors, restaurants, charities, friends and family, that come together to provide a home cooked meal for those who need a little hope.  Not just any home cooked meal, but BBQ.