Besides barbecue, we have a profound love for pizza. Luckily, you don’t have to choose between the two. Your kettle grill is surprisingly well-suited for baking pizza with a crispy crust, bubbly cheese, and the whole deal.
Most people think of ceramic kamado grills when they imagine outdoor pizza making. But don’t worry if you’ve only got a kettle grill. With a lid, a pizza stone, and a few bricks, you’re already set.
Why Most Grill Pizzas Fail (And How to Avoid That)
Every barbecue brand loves to claim that a pizza stone is all you need for great pizza. But if you’ve ever ended up with a burnt bottom and unmelted cheese, you know it’s not that simple.
Here’s the issue:
Pizza stones often get too hot. The primary function of a pizza stone isn’t just to bake the crust, but to quickly pull moisture out. That’s why they’re porous and hot. However, to do this, they need to be used correctly. And that’s the part many overlook.
The heat in an authentic pizza oven doesn’t come from the bottom. It comes from above.
That top-down radiant heat is what heats the stone between the pizza’s and melts and grills the toppings when the pizza is in the oven.
In a grill with the primary heat source at the bottom, the stone provides steady bottom heat, but without heat from the top, your cheese stays pale, and your toppings remain unappetizing.
Recreating Top Heat in a Kettle Grill
If you can mimic that top-down heat inside your kettle grill, you’ll get much better pizza. Think: crispy, dry base, golden edges, and beautifully melted cheese. To achieve this,s it’s easier than it sounds.
To get there, you want heat to move freely around the stone and reflect off the lid. That means your setup shouldn’t block the airflow with the pizza stone itself.
Here’s how we set it up:
Create a central divider in your grill using charcoal baskets or fire bricks.
Arrange hot coals around that divider. Add another layer of cold charcoal on top to maintain heat longer.
Use decent-sized lump charcoal so air can flow through easily. Choose high-quality hardwood lump charcoal over supermarket briquettes because it burns longer and hotter.
A solid batch of charcoal should provide nearly an hour of good heat, more than enough time for at least four pizzas.
Setting Up Your Pizza Stone the Right Way
Once the grate is in place, stack two bricks on top of it and lay the pizza stone on the bricks. This does two things:
- It keeps the stone from getting too hot by creating space between the coal and the stone.
- It raises the pizza closer to the lid, where the radiant heat can properly melt and grill the toppings.
Wait until you see small flames rising through the charcoal. That’s your sign that things are hot enough. Close the lid with all vents open, and you’re ready to go.
How to Top Your Pizza (Less Is More)
Whether you’re using store-bought dough or making it yourself, the trick is not to overload it. A proper Neapolitan-style pizza has a thin base and light toppings. Too much weight and moisture will cause the dough to steam instead of baking.
The lid’s radiant heat needs to reach the top of the dough, so be kind with the toppings.
Go for a few great ingredients instead of dumping the whole fridge on it. You’ll end up with a crispier crust and better flavour.
The Best Tomato Sauce for Pizza
You could overthink this, but honestly? The best pizza sauce is the simplest. We use a can of San Marzano tomato pulp and add a pinch of salt, pepper, and maybe a little garlic.
That’s it. San Marzano tomatoes are naturally sweeter and have that perfect balance for pizza sauce. No need to cook the sauce. Just spoon it straight onto your dough
The Right Mozzarella
We use low-moisture mozzarella, and preferably not the shredded kind. Look for blocks that you can cut yourself. Some supermarkets carry it pre-diced, but your cheesemonger or wholesaler will likely have the good stuff.
Don’t use fresh buffalo mozzarella that’s sold in a bag. This mozzarella is best served cold and doesn’t melt well on a grill.
Low-moisture mozzarella melts better, browns nicely, and yields those cheesy, Instagram-worthy strands when you take a bite.
Our Not-So-Secret Weapon: Parmesan
A sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan just before baking adds a sharp, nutty edge to your pizza, making it taste extra Italian. It’s our secret weapon, and we don’t skip it.
Everything Else? That’s Up to You
You can put anything on your pizza. Even pickles or pineapple, we won’t judge as long as you don’t overdo it. Stick to the golden rule: less is more. A few good ingredients beat a mountain of average ones. Too much and you’ll end up with a soggy, undercooked crust.
We’ve become quite skilled at sliding a fully topped pizza onto a peel and onto the stone. But if you’re starting, it’s easier to build the pizza directly on the peel.
Make sure the bottom of your dough is just dry enough (with flour) so it won’t stick to the peel. We always test by giving it a quick shake to see if it moves freely on the peel. If it sticks, sprinkle a bit more flour under the trouble spot.
Don’t go overboard with flour, though. You’ll end up with a dry, dusty bite after baking.
What Is Semola or Semolina?
We often receive the tip to use semola flour (also known as semolina). It’s a coarser flour that helps the pizza roll off the peel more easily, kind of like tiny ball bearings under the dough.
We usually stuck to the same flour we used to make the dough. However, nowadays, we use semola a lot more. What works for you, go for it.
Baking the Pizza on Your Grill
Slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone and close the lid. Depending on the amount of heat building in the dome, the pizza should take 5 to 10 minutes to bake.
Don’t expect it to cook in 90 seconds, like in a professional pizza oven. Your grill just won’t reach those temperatures.
If you want to increase the temperature slightly, you can try leaving the lid slightly open to draw in more oxygen. However, if the opening is too large, you’ll lose more heat than you gain.
How to Tell When It’s Done
Peek through the top vent periodically to check the progress. Your pizza is done when the cheese is melted and has a few browned, grilled spots, the crust is golden, maybe with a few charred bubbles.
Once both parts have occurred, you can check the bottom by lifting the pizza with a peel and inspecting the base. If it’s got that dry, slightly charred leopard look, you nailed it.
Keep the Pizzas Coming
You can keep baking pizzas as long as your grill maintains a steady temperature. A temperature around 250 °C (482°F) is ideal. With good-quality lump charcoal, we can usually bake at least four pizzas before needing to refuel.
Has the temp dropped too much? Shake the ash out of your burning coals and toss some fresh charcoal on top. Wait a few minutes and you’re back in business.
