How was everyone’s Fourth of July? Did you party it up for the day or extend the festivities for the duration of the week like I did? My family and I escaped to our home-away-from-home in McCall, Idaho.
What was I escaping from, you ask? This:
Sick.
This Seattle girl was not bred for triple digits, folks. I start getting grumpy once we get into the upper 80’s and it just gets worse from there. One of the reasons I love McCall is because it’s always about 15-20 degrees cooler up there in the mountains than it is in the valley where I live. My brother and his family came and met us up there and we had a week full of hiking, swimming, wild flower picking, boating, fireworks-watching, bonfire-making, and junk-food-eating.
And after a week like that, plus our site crash last week, followed by a holiday and some catch up posts- I’m happy to feel like we’re back on track again, starting off Monday with a recipe post!
You all know how much I love grilling pizza on my BBQ, especially during the summer months when I don’t want to turn on my oven to 500 degrees. I also use my crock pot a lot, and one of our favorites is BBQ Pulled Pork. It’s one of my go-to meals when we have people over because it’s so easy, feeds a crowd, and is always a hit with both kids and adults. A few weeks ago I had to run to the store that very morning to grab a pork roast for dinner that night and they only had a TEN pounder. Needless to say, we had a lot leftover, and I had to be creative to find ways to use up the leftovers so my family didn’t get tired of sandwiches. Hence, this pulled pork pizza, which ended up being the favorite!
Whenever you’re grilling pizza it’s important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready. The cooking process happens very quickly and if you have to scramble to find things you can easily end up with burned pizza. And that’s no good. I always place everything on a cutting board or tray.
You’ll need a little BBQ sauce; use whatever you used for your pork. When we went to Texas back in April for TOFW, a sweet friend wanted to make sure I went home with some real, southern BBQ sauce. I used it on my pork and it was indeed, delicious. You’ll also need some thinly sliced red onion, diced pineapple, smoked cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a little parsley or cilantro.
Making your own pizza dough is actually super easy, and pretty quick. I love our recipe so that’s what I use. However if you want a short-cut, you could certainly buy pizza dough and use that. Grilling pizza works best when you make several small pizzas; I keep them just a little bigger than the palm of my hand. You should be able to get 4-6 small pizzas from our dough recipe, so divide it accordingly and place on a floured surface.
Roll and/or stretch it out to a little less than 1/2 inch thick. The dough will really puff up when it’s grilled so keep it thin! You also don’t need to worry about keeping the dough round. Even though the one in my photo happens to be perfect circle, note that once it’s on the grill, it definitely isn’t! Lightly brush the top of the dough with a little oil. Vegetable or olive is fine.
Place the dough oil-side-down on a hot grill. Once I put my dough on, I like to turn down the heat a little to avoid burning the bottom of the pizzas. Close the lid (See? Not a circle.) All grills are different, but it should take just a few minutes to puff up on top and get nice golden grill marks on the bottom. When you read that point, quickly brush the top side of the dough with oil and flip it. At this point you’ll want to put toppings on immediately. Give it a quick brush of BBQ sauce.
And then layer on all of the other toppings. I always put cheese on first, then toppings, then a little more cheese. For this pizza I’m using a combo of smoked cheddar, which adds awesome flavor, and creamy mozzarella (because you can’t have a pizza without mozzarella!) I do about 1 part smoked cheddar to 2 parts mozzarella. Add the toppings fast and then shut the grill lid again. You need it to heat up like a pizza oven so it can cook both the dough and the toppings.
When you can tell it’s puffed and a little charred around the edges, and the toppings are nice and melty, pull that bad boy off the grill.
If you’re timing is ever off and your dough cooks before the toppings do, you can always pop it under a broiler really quickly just to melt the cheese.
At our house we always just put all of the pizzas on a big cutting board in the middle of the table and just slice them into big chunks. Rustic style dining at its best.
We love the sweet and spicy tang from the BBQ sauce, the tenderness of the pork, combined with the sweet juicy bite of pineapple and a little crunch of red onion. The cilantro or parsley adds a really fresh, bright flavor at the end and the combination of smoky cheddar and mellow creaminess of mozzarella is the perfect accompaniment.
Grilled BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza
Description
This is one of my go-to meals because it’s so easy, feeds a crowd, and is always a hit with both kids and adults.
Ingredients
- Pizza Dough, either homemade or store-bought
- vegetable or olive oil
- Leftover BBQ Pulled Pork (Click Here for Recipe)
- BBQ Sauce (Use the same one you used to cook your pork)
- 1 part smoked cheddar
- 2 parts Mozzarella cheese
- thinly sliced red onion
- diced pineapple, fresh or canned
- chopped parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare your pizza dough. When it has just 5-10 minutes of rising left, preheat outdoor bbq grill to medium-high heat. Place all other prepped ingredients on a tray so they’re ready to go and easily accessible.
- Divide dough into 4-6 pieces. Roll out each piece on a floured surface to about 1/3 of an inch thick. Lightly brush with oil.
- Make sure grill grates are clean, and lightly grease them. (Tip: An easy way to grease grill grates is to dip a few folded paper towels in vegetable oil and use a pair of tongs to hold them and lightly rub them along grill grates.) Place dough oil-side down on grill. Lower heat just a bit and close the lid. Cook for a few minutes, checking for the dough to look puffed, and golden brown on the bottom. Lightly brush top side of dough and flip.
- Immediately drizzle top of pizzas with bbq sauce and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with cheeses, pork, red onion, and pineapple. Close BBQ lid and cook for a few more minutes until crust is cooked and toppings are melted and bubbly and then sprinkle on cilantro or parsley. If bottom crust is getting too done, place on top rack, or turn off heat directly under pizza to let center of dough and toppings continue to cook. If needed, you can always pop pizzas under the broiler to brown tops.
Notes
Notes
- As pizza is an easily adaptable dish that can be customized to the creators liking, exact measurements are not given here. Eyeball it for the specific size pizza you are making.
Hopefully the thought of grilled pizza gets your week off to a good start. Another thing that will help is that we have a giveaway on The Scoop tomorrow. We’re actually going to have a bunch of giveaways this month, so keep an eye on The Scoop!
Questions & Reviews
Hey there! I sure hope I’m not wasting your time with a question that’s already been answered! For the dough recipe, when you’re making pizza crust instead of breadsticks, do you shape your pizza dough into the individual pizzas you’re going to make and then allow the 30 minute rise like you do after you shape the breadsticks, or do you just do the 45 min initial rise?
Also, would you make any changes to this recipe if you were going to use whole white wheat flour?
Nope, second rise is just for breadsticks (and no question is ever wasting our time!)
Hello Ladies!
I’m wondering what size crock-pot would be best for my little family? (We are a family of 5) The kind that the lid clamps shut on or not? There are so many to choose from, it’s a little overwhelming.
I made this last night. Wonderful! My husband LOVED it!
HaHa! To think I am smoking a whole turkey and a pork butt roast on my smoker today! I usually save the leftovers in foodsaver bags and freeze for meals later. This is a great idea!!!
Recipe looks yummy – love grilled pizzas. And your destination looks wonderful. I live in the mountains in Idyllwild, CA – it’s located above Palm Springs. One of the highways, from the desert, is called the “Palms to Pines” highway – and that is literally what it is. Sometimes, there can be a 40 degree difference. We get the four seasons here, including lots of snow. When I worked in the desert, people would claim that they didn’t understand why I lived where I do, because there are mornings that I have to dig my car out of the snow and wait for the snow plows to plow the roads. But in the summertime……when it’s 115 in the desert…..then they understand. Don’t get me wrong, it gets hot up here as well. We are currently in a small heat wave up here, no air conditioning for “most” cabins here in the mountains, but way better than being down in the valley dealing with the heat, that’s for sure.
Tomorrow……..I think I will be making pizza on the grill!!!!! (Even in the winter time, I’ve been known to dig a small path from the back door to the grill just so I can grill steaks or whatever else I want. I love grilling!!!!)
I love McCall! I have spent so many summers there visiting my grandparents who have lived there forever. I even lived there for 2 summers when i was in college, cooking at the restaurant in the Yacht Club. Now it is a favorite destination to take my kids.
Any who… I also love grilled pizza! thanks for the recipe!
I served my mission in Boise. In fact, McCall was in my zone for awhile. Anyway, the pizza looks good! I will have to try it.
So it wasn’t just me? All I wanted for my b-day were coconut turnovers and when I went to find the recipe I couldn’t get on the website. Hmmm, I still need to make those…now’s as good of a time as any I guess. :o)
This pizza looks like my kind of flavor combo, must try!
Awe, sorry to put a kink in your special day! It was such a major headache for us- we’re glad to be up and running again!
I had all the ingredients so I made this tonight and LOVED IT!! So did my husband and his brother. It was sooooo delicious – a great way to use up the pulled pork that I freeze. And it was my first time grilling pizza! I’ve been wanting to try it for a year or two now, but I finally got up the guts and did it. It’ll take some more practice before I get my technique perfected when it comes to grilling pizza, but it’ll be TOTALLY WORTH IT. Thanks for the inspiration!
I’m so glad you finally tried it- it’s my favorite way to cook pizza!
This sounds delicious! I love your pictures and the recipe. I will have to try this, I have never had grilled pizza. I can porkloin to have when I am running short of time and need a “quick” meal and since it is cooked in it’s own broth I just drain it and shred it with a fork and put on my BBQ sauce and cook for a few minutes. I love pizza and this sounds like an excellent use of my leftover pork. Thank you!
I know what you mean about triple digits – I grew up in Minnesota (live in Chicago now) and hot weather is a killer for me…it was well over 100 degrees for us this 4th of July and an added bonus to that – we didn’t have power because a bad storm had knocked it out on the 1st! So needless to say, I would have LOVED to get away 🙂 We make pizza on our grill all the time in the summer – but I have never tried bbq pork! Thanks for the great idea 🙂
oh my gooodness it looks so yummy!! We love McCall too its so cooler up there!
Just drooled on my keyboard. Thanks for the great recipe! I think I’ll try it today.
Looks and sounds delicious… And we’re not big fans of BBQ anything pizza! Only question/comment… I’ve always bought the pre-made dough at the store and we love the taste of it/convenience but the other day I made your pizza dough from scratch. Everything worked fine and it baked up nicely except it just seemed a little bland. Any thoughts?
Maybe try adding a little more salt? You can also add herbs; I love it with Italian seasoning or fresh garlic and rosemary.
This looks and sounds so good. I sure wish I could make grilled pizza on a
George Foreman. That’s the closest I get to grilling anymore.
Those pictures are amazing……makes me want to go to McCall. I have never been to Idaho. Also, you and your boys are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
We LOVE your recipes for grilled pizza, so we’ll definitely give this one a try! I also appreciate getting two meals out of one cut of meat. We do your French Dip sandwiches followed the next night by your Taquitos all the time. This week will be Pulled Pork Sandwiches followed by Grilled Pizza! Thanks for making my menu planning easier! 🙂
YUM!
We love making grilled pizza! We’ve used BBQ chicken before, but I’ll have to remember to use any leftover pulled pork next time we have some. Love McCall! I used to live in Garden Valley and its so beautiful (and cooler 🙂 up in those parts.
Our family reunion is this weekend and I was going to make grilled pizza for dinner on Friday. Might have to make this an option as one of the pizzas. Grilled pizza is the only way to go!
This looks delicious! I love that you come up with creative ways to use leftovers.
Oh hun! You were misinformed! Head Country is most definitely an OKLAHOMA BBQ sauce! Having grown up in Texas and now living in OK, I’ll tell you they are not the same! Head Country is pretty good though.. and a staple in my fridge! 🙂 These pizzas look wonderful!
Well, I should have clarified and said good Southern BBQ sauce, lol. I should know better than to group all of the south together since they take pride in their own!
Head Country sauce is from a restaurant in my husband’s home town of Ponca City, OK. I know several people who would fall out of their chair if they heard that Texans’s were claiming it! (You know we’ve got that whole football rivalry issue and all) Love your blog and your cookbook! Can’t wait for the next one!
Mmm, I love homemade pizza, I definitely need to try it on the bbq! This looks delicious.
Cafe Paesan puts shredded zuccinni on thier applewood pork pizza which sounds weird but is delicious! I love pork on a pizza.
Looks yummy Sara! We often use pitas from Costco for our pizzas – makes it even easier! 🙂
You truly know the way to my heart. Through a pizza.
Looks delicious! I have never tried this on the grill before….I need to get brave and just do it! It is beautiful here in Seattle! Stay cool!