Everyone loves pizza.
Even though our tastes change over time and our favorite pizza changes, we still love pizza. It's tasty, it's easy to make, and the whole family loves it, so by my calculations, you can't go wrong with pizza. 😎
What is a good pizza?
There's no accounting for taste, but I've never been too extravagant when it comes to pizza. For me, pizza is limited to the essentials: dough, cheese, and sauce; I don't need anything more.
When I was younger, I really liked pepperoni cheese, but now, I go more "traditional". The Margherita pizza has become my favorite. I spread my homemade tomato sauce (a puree made from stuffed Italian tomatoes with Argentina BBQ Québec dry marinade that have cooked on the BBQ Québec Vegetable Rack ) on my dough, then I add cheese and basil leaves. Simple and effective.
But here, let's agree, you can't go wrong with a pizza with cheese and some "funky" meats too, like "smoked meat". 😏 (The only thing that, in my opinion, really has no business being on a pizza is pineapple. I'm sorry, but that should be banned. 🙅)
In short, there are plenty of ingredients that can be found on a pizza. You just have to make it according to your tastes. 😌
The essentials
Now that that's been said, to prepare a good pizza, you need ingredients, and, obviously, something to MAKE the pizza, from A to Z.
So, in terms of equipment, I would say there are 3 things to have:
- A pizza spatula (I love the one from BBQ Québec ). Every self-respecting pizza maker should have one. (You take it in your hands and TADA! You feel like you're working in a pizzeria! 😉)
- A pizza stone covered in enameled porcelain (I recommend the one from BBQ Québec ). A stone like this is a game changer because there's nothing that sticks to it and it's super easy to clean. No more intense scrubbing!
- A pizza cutter made long (like the one from BBQ Québec ). To get nice pizza cuts, this is ideal, especially if you like your crusts crispier. (It really does a great job.)
Of course, you also need something to COOK your pizza in! And, if you don't have several hundred dollars to spend on a real pizza oven, there are some much cheaper options that will give you a really similar and solid result, on the BBQ.
If you have a kettle-type charcoal BBQ, the All-in-1 allows you to transform your grill into a pizza oven, a smoker, a rotisserie… Really lots of hot stuff that will allow you to maximize the use of your device. (And by the way, the All-in-1 comes in 22” AND 26” sizes. 😉)
Otherwise, whatever kind of BBQ you have (gas, charcoal or pellets), you can install the BBQ Pizza Box BBQ Québec Accessory on it. You will feel like you are working with an oven and will get a really interesting result (your cheese will even be perfectly gratinated 👌).
And finally, if you want to get a BBQ that makes phenomenal pizza AND is portable, the OvenPlus Capt'n Cook is the one for you. It has 2 levels, so you can even make 2 pizzas at once, while camping or at the cottage! It's really sick. (The only thing I will say is that, unfortunately, the pizza stone in the Capt'n Cook is not porcelain enamel, but our pizza stone fits in it just fine if you want, so you're not in a bad situation.)
(If you ever want more information on these 2 accessories and this BBQ, I invite you to read my article which compares them, right here . 😉)
The dough
Once you're all set up, all that's left to do is design the pizza, and... the base of a pizza is the dough, so you want it to be successful. Clearly, there's no problem working with store-bought dough (I do it myself), but it's sure that the "best" is to make it yourself because you can choose the flavors and add the spices of your choice. It's even better if you make it and use ingredients like 00 flour, etc. THEN, you'll have a quality dough. (By the way, if you're looking for pizza dough recipes, I invite you to go to our site , we have a few. 😉)
The best spices
Speaking of spices, there is no shortage of choice. Depending on the type of pizza you want to make, I would say that the best dry rubs for a "regular" pizza are definitely California and Argentina from BBQ Québec. For a dessert pizza, however, it is without a doubt the Gâteau BBQ Québec seasoning that wins.
The steps
Now it's time to get down to business! My favorite way to make pizza is really simple, quick, and "safe" (in the sense of "foolproof" 😜). Seriously, you can't go wrong with following my instructions. Here's how to make your pizza a success:
First, you want to heat your pizza stone in bulk, so you place it directly on the grill grates of your BBQ and preheat your grill to the highest temperature possible (between 400 and 600 °F). (Warning! If you want to make a gluten-free pizza, there is a difference in the dough. [It doesn't really stretch so you have to stretch it quite a bit when making it.] In this case, preheat your BBQ to a lower temperature; 400 °F.)
Then, once you're done working your dough, you put flour on your pizza spatula (make sure there's plenty of it so the dough doesn't stick to the spatula). You transfer the pizza dough to the spatula, then slide it onto the hot pizza stone and let the dough seize.
After about 2 minutes, when the dough has started to rise a little, the bottom is nice and it comes off the stone easily, flour your spatula again, "flip" the pizza on the other side and take it off the BBQ, cooked side up. (You can also sear it on both sides before taking it out if you prefer. If you are using gluten-free dough [because it takes longer to cook], want your kids to have fun assembling their pizzas right after, or you are thinking of freezing your pizza dough, you are better off doing it this way. 😉)
You then spread your sauce on top of the dough and place the other ingredients on your pizza (this is a bit of a game changer, because since the dough is already "crusted" on that side, the liquid from the sauce will be more "absorbed" and will not penetrate the dough as much [in other words, the sauce will stay on top of the pizza and not go into it]), then you send it back onto the pizza stone. Once the pizza is in place, you then lower the intensity of the burner under the stone and increase the heat level at the back of the BBQ, and let the pizza cook.
Once the cheese starts to melt on one side of the pizza and not the other, after approximately 1 to 3 minutes, turn the pizza 180° (horizontally, not vertically, my little rascals 😜) and let it cook until it is perfect.
To get a nicely gratinated cheese, you can even add a handful of pellets (I recommend those made from maple or apple wood because they give off a lot of heat) to your charcoal BBQ, behind the stone, at the end of cooking so that the "blast" of heat rubs on the top of the lid and melts the top of the cheese. 👌
The pizza stone
Here, I'll take the opportunity to take a little break, because I've been talking about pizza stones for a while now, but maybe you're wondering if it's really necessary... (because, let's be honest, you can also, clearly, just put your pizza on the grills of your BBQ).
Actually, you don't have to use one, but if you're not using a real pizza oven, I highly recommend it. A pizza stone stores more heat and helps distribute it evenly across your pizza.
By placing your pizza dough on a pizza stone, the sear is even from edge to edge and the dough heats up more. The crust will then rise better and be much more even than if the dough cooked on the grills.
What's also interesting is that contrary to what you might think, it is not necessary to pour oil or place parchment paper on the stone before placing the pizza. Well... that's if your stone is coated with enameled porcelain, like the BBQ Quebec Pizza Stone. 😉
The cut
If we come back to our pizza, hot off the BBQ, the final step is to cut it into slices to eat it. Earlier, I told you that you needed a pizza cutter to cut it; I didn't mention a pizza wheel. Why? Because a pizza cutter is much better. It makes nice tight cuts and it's quick to use. You put pressure on it and SCHLACK!, the pizza is cut. With a wheel, if you don't put enough pressure on it, it's bad, it gets stuck in the pizza and cuts crooked; it doesn't do a great job.
So we cut our beautiful pizza with a pizza cutter and savor it fully. 🥰
Interesting variants
We've been talking about pizza for a while now. If, like me, you now feel like making one and are tempted to try something new, here are a few little twists you can do to "pimp" your "pizza game":
- Make a calzone pizza (a kind of “pocket pizza”).
- Use a different sauce and/or cheese than usual.
- Incorporate herbs into the pizza crust.
- Vary the thickness of the dough/crust from one pizza to another.
- Add candied onions (you can cut the top of the onions, make a cavity in each vegetable, fill it with maple syrup and cook them on the BBQ Québec Vegetable Rack; mmmm! 👌) and prosciutto on the pizza.
That's the fun thing about pizza, is that the possibilities are pretty much endless and it always turns out something good. It's really a wonderful world to explore.
With that, I hope I have taught you something and inspired you to create new kinds of pizzas!
Happy BBQ to all! 🔥