Smoked Pizza

Summer time is great for cooking outdoors and taking advantage of the warmer weather.  Our kitchens can be extended onto our back patios, decks and grassy areas for entertaining. This past summer, my husband bought a smoker grill from Camp Chef.  He was thrilled to the moon and back with his purchase! 

We have enjoyed cooking all kinds of foods on the “smoker” including chicken, ribs, pork roasts, hamburgers, hotdogs and especially pizza! Pizza has been one of our favorite dinners on the smoker. We love how the hickory flavor steams into our food from the pellets below, giving us the rich, smoky, bacon like flavor.

There are all kinds of choices for pellets, including Alder pellets, with a more mild, natural flavor with a hint of sweetness, Apple pellets with a smoky, mild and sweet flavor, Cherry pellets with a slightly sweet but also tart flavor, and Maple pellets containing a mild, hint of sweetness (best for pork or turkey).

From the Food Nanny Cookbook #2 I find my favorite pizza recipes or use your favorite pizza dough recipe

We use the “Basic Pizza Dough” on page 137.

1 TB active dry yeast

1 Cup warm water 105-115 degrees

2 TB Olive oil

1 TB honey

¼ tsp salt

3-4 cups flour

(I usually double this recipe to feed my family)

                     Makes one 16 in. medium crust pizza or two 12 inch thin-crust pizzas

(Place any topping choices you’d like including pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, salami, ham, green onions, cheese, spinach---the list is endless!)

1. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl. Cover and let stand until foamy 5 min.
2. Mix the oil, honey, salt and yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl, if using a food processor add 1 cup flour at a time, up to 3 cups, mixing well after each addition.  You may have to stir in the third cup of flour by hand, depending on your machine. Or mix in all 2 cups of flour by hand with a wooden spoon. If the dough seems too wet, mix in more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is soft.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is moderately stiff and somewhat firm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Cover. Rest 5 min.
3. Lightly grease a pan or cookie sheet with oil or use parchment paper.  If you are making two or more thin-crust pizzas, divide the dough.  With a rolling pin, roll out he dough on a floured surface.  Gently stretch the dough to fill the pans.
4. Let the dough rise (it will not rise very much)
5. Bake a 16 in. medium pizza crust at 450-500 degrees for 10-15 min.

Or you may take it out to your smoker grill and turn up the heat to 400 and grill for 15 min. or depending on your style of smoker. 

Get outside and enjoy some smoked pizza tonight with your family!  If you don’t have a smoker grill—find a neighbor who does!