How to Make Homemade Pizza on the BBQ

Whatever the occasion, pizza is one of the most well-loved dishes in the world. In the United States alone, more than 40 percent of people eat pizza on a weekly basis! So if you want to delight your family and friends, homemade pizza is definitely a dish you can count on.

When we think about how to make homemade pizza, we usually imagine an oven coming into play at some point. But actually, if you have a quality grill like one from our Prestige PRO™ Series, then you can enjoy a new, exciting, and easier way to prepare this timelessly loved homemade meal.

And on top of this new way of making pizza, we’ll be talking about an exciting pizza recipe that is sure to wow your loved ones - the flammekueche or Alsatian pizza. The Alsatian region is nestled on the border of France and Germany. It is a place of rich cultural diversity and is therefore the birthplace of some of the most unique recipes in the world - including the flammekueche.

Though the flammekueche is a special recipe, the steps that we will lay down here will also give you a good idea on how to make virtually any pizza recipe on your grill. So once you have your grill and your appetite ready, let’s get started!

Getting your Dough

Just like with most things in life (pizza included), you want to have a strong start. And in terms of pizza, that means preparing your dough properly.

If you’re buying a pizza base, make sure to get a size that will fit your pizza stone (which are usually 10 to 12 inches). And if you’re buying dough, 1 pound of dough will prepare 4 10-inch pizza bases - so make sure to get the amount that you need.

You can also make your own dough with this simple recipe.

Alright! Now we have our dough or pizza base. If you’re working with dough, whether bought or homemade, remember to abide by these extra tips:

• Before working with your dough, make sure it is at room temperature. This makes the dough easier to work with.

• To make a pizza base out of your dough, stretch it out with your hands - not a rolling pin. Using a rolling pin will push out all the gas which will eventually leave you with a tough-textured pizza, once cooked.

Preparing Your Toppings for Flammekueche

• ½ pounds of bacon cut into slices

• 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 cup fromage blanc or quark

• ½ cup crème fraiche

• 1 pinch of ground nutmeg

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to BBQ Pizza

Now for the exciting part - assembling and cooking your pizza. Whether you’re using a Napoleon Prestige® Series, Rogue® SE Series, or any other Napoleon Grill, you can be sure that your grilled homemade pizza will be cooked beautifully.

But before we get to the steps, you might be wondering if cooking a pizza on your grill without a pizza stone is possible. The answer is yes - but there’s a catch.

Grilling Homemade Pizza Without a Pizza Stone

Whether you opt to cook without it altogether or opt for a substitute (e.g. stainless steel tray, baking tray), you won’t get the same quality of grilled pizza as you would with a pizza stone. Here’s why:

If you place the pizza directly on the grill, the heat would be harsh on the dough and not as even as it would be on a pizza stone, leaving grill marks on both sides. Using this method, the dough will be a bit tougher. Substituting anything else for a pizza stone can have unpredictable results. For example, different kinds of metal can heat up too quickly or not distribute the heat evenly, leading to an undesirable crust texture.

Meanwhile, pizza stones can actually mimic the cooking style of a traditional brick oven - and we all know that the best pizza is cooked this way. While you can certainly substitute the pizza stone for another type of baking surface or forego one altogether, you will get some of the best results if you use a pizza stone.

Grilling Homemade Pizza with a Pizza Stone

Alright! Prepare your pizza stone, your grill, and your ingredients - it’s time to get cooking!

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the nutmeg, egg yolk, crème fraiche, and fromage blanc.

2. Set the pizza stone on your grill then turn the grill on to medium. Use all burners until you reach a temperature of 400°F.

3. While the grill is preheating, divide the dough into 2 - 4 portions and flatten them out so that they are as thin as possible. You’re aiming for about 1/8 or 1/16th of an inch thickness. Whatever shape that you decide to make these, make sure that the dough will fit on the pizza stone.

4. Next, sprinkle your pizza peel with cornmeal and slide the pizza base onto the pizza peel.

5. Once the grill is up to the desired temperature, sprinkle the stones with cornmeal, and slide the pizza base onto the pizza stone. Some Napoleon grills are large enough to hold two pizza stones at a time. So if you are cooking more than one pizza concurrently, make sure to repeat the process of sprinkling cornmeal on the pizza peel and on the other pizza stone.

6. Allow the dough to bake for 4 minutes. If you notice that the dough is puffing up, stab it with a fork a few times before flipping it over on the pizza stone.

7. Once the dough is baked, top it with the cream mixture, onion slices, and bacon.

8. Close the lid and bake the pizza for another 6-8 minutes. You want the dough to have crisp edges and the toppings to be hot.

9. Remove the pizza from the grill using the pizza peel, leaving the stones to cool slowly as the grill does.

10. Slice the pizza and enjoy!

And there you go! That is how you grill homemade flammekueche with onions and bacon.

We have plenty more exciting pizza recipes for you to try such as:

• Meat Lover’s & Vegetarian Pizza

• Sweet Pizza

• Breakfast Pizza

• Duck Pizza

• Five Cheese Pizza

• And many more!

How do you BBQ homemade pizza? Do you have your own awesome tips on how to grill homemade pizza? We’d love to hear from you. Follow Napoleon on our Instagram or Facebook and share your favorite pizza grilling recipes and tips!