How to Grill Pizza on a Big Green Egg

When it comes to grilling pizza, it’s about a great dough and a hot fire. A few other tips are important when it comes to getting that golden crust and perfect flavor for Grilled Pizza on a Big Green Egg.

As official members of Big Green Egg Team Green, we cook on our Egg almost daily. And we have learned a lot of quick tips and tricks for smoking, grilling, and baking on the BGE. And Big Green Egg Pizza is the most common question we get.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Best Tools for Grilling Pizza on a Big Green Egg
• Best Thermometer for Grilled Pizza
• Pizza Dough
• Preparing the Dough
• Video
• How to Grill Pizza
• What temperature should I grill pizza at?
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Mouthwatering Pizza Recipes
• Easy Grilled Pizza Recipe On The Big Green Egg
• Community Feedback

Grilling pizza is so much fun. Whether for a crowd, or just for your Friday pizza night, adding a wood fired flavor is delicious. We find that the best pizzas we have made really came down to have the right tools to make pizza on a grill easy, finding the perfect dough, which is one that is light and fluffy but still gets crispy, and getting the pizza stone to the perfect temperature of 500 degrees F.

This tutorial is about the technique of grilling pizza, rather than focusing on a specific recipe for the best pizza. While we do have a simple (and delicious) recipe at the bottom, you can use this technique to make your favorite combinations of pizza on your Big Green Egg.

Ingredients

• Good Dough – We talk a little more on dough options below.
• Pizza Sauce – Avoid sauces that are overly thin and watery. wet sauces make the dough wet and difficult to get onto the pizza stone. We use our no cook pizza sauce which is thicker and rich in flavor. We also have a great white pizza sauce.
• Cheese – Low moisture mozzarella is ideal. If using fresh mozzarella then be sure it has been drained of liquid.
• Toppings – We can’t stress enough to go light on the toppings. If the pizza is too heavy it won’t come off the peel.

Best Tools for Grilling Pizza on a Big Green Egg

Having a few key tools is important. For a full list check out our essential pizza tools guide.

• Pizza Stone – Having a good quality pizza stone is important to allow the heat of the grill to focus its energy on the stone. We use the XL version of the Big Green Egg stone because it is great for large or small pizzas. We choose not to use a pizza steel because on a grill it gets so hot that it tends to burn the pizza crust before the entire pizza is cooked through.
• ConvEGGtor – Also known as the “plate setter.” Having the plate in place, with the legs facing up is important to deflect the high heat of the charcoal. When running just the ConvEGGtor or just a stone over the charcoal, the chances of burning the bottom of the pizza before it’s done is more likely.
• Pizza Peel – A good Pizza Peel is important. It allows an easy transfer to and from the grill, and makes it easy to turn the pizza for even cooking. Spatulas just aren’t as easy to use. You can use wood, or metal.

Best Thermometer for Grilled Pizza

Having an IR Thermometer is a great investment for grilled pizza. It takes immediate temperature of the pizza stone and does so quickly. It is also a great tool for temping cast iron pans and other surfaces. The Thermoworks Industrial IR Gun is an amazing investment. It works fast and is easy to use. This is a must have investment for making pizza on a Big Green Egg.

Pizza Dough

One easy way to get a great pizza dough is to call your favorite pizza shop to ask if they sell pre-made dough, or just pick one up at the grocery store. But for those who love to make their own dough, this pizza dough recipe is easy to make, it just requires time. No matter which option, starting with a great dough is key to grilled pizza.

Another favorite resource for homemade dough is Ken Forkish, Northwest guru of wood fired pizza and owner of Ken’s Artisan Pizza in Portland. Ken’s book, The Elements of Pizza, is an incredible resource for the pizza lover, and has some foolproof dough recipes in it. If you are doing pizzas on the grill a lot, this book is worth every dollar.

Preparing the Dough

• After making the dough, preparing it for the grill is important. Start with a well floured surface.
• Prepare it using the pizza peel as the surface.
• Letting it come closer to room temperature is helpful so you can work it easier. A cold dough tends to pull back on itself when you work it.
• When you reach the right shape, drop a little large grit corn meal or semolina flour to make it easier to slide the dough onto the pizza stone.
• Be careful overdoing the toppings. Every topping weighs down the dough, making it difficult to transfer to the grill. Consider a few toppings versus putting too much on.
• Start small. For pizza on the grill we like to make small (around 10-inch – 12-inch pizzas). This way you can make several and put different toppings on each. Or if you have guests over, everyone can get their own small pizza.

Video

How to Grill Pizza

1. Pre-heat grill: Start your charcoal, then place the ConvEGGtor (legs facing up), then the grill grate. Next, place pizza stone on top of the grill grate. Get the ambient temperature of the Egg between 550 and 600 degrees F on the dome thermometer. The pizza stone needs to be 500 degrees F.
2. Double check the temperature of the stone: Note the importance of stone temperature. Your thermometer will only take the temp of the area immediately surrounding it. So having the IR thermometer helps. If you don’t have the IR thermometer, you can assume the stone is roughly 50 degrees cooler than the ambient grill temp.
3. Grill Pizza: Using your pizza peel, gently slide the prepared pizza off the peel onto the center of the pizza stone. Close the lid and let it grill for 5 – 6 minutes, rotating the pizza 180 degrees after 5 minutes to even out the cooking and close the grill again, and continue cooking another 5 -6 minutes. Because the Egg is acting as a convection oven, it will have some areas hotter than others. So by moving the pizza 180 degrees once you get an even grilled pizza.
4. Check on the Pizza: Check the underside of the pizza to see if you like the look, and then remove the pizza when the cheese is bubbly and the dough is firm on the underside.
5. Slice and Serve: Place the pizza on a cutting board and slice it up. We recommend not cutting the pizza on a wooden peel. You need smooth surface for an easy slide. Every time you cut on a peel, it makes it rough and more difficult to get off the peel.

What temperature should I grill pizza at?

Your Egg should be sitting at 500 – 550 degrees F as read on the dome thermometer. The stone should be 500 degrees Fahrenheit for a standard pizza.

We find at 500 degrees F the stone is the right temperature to crisp up the dough, cook the pizza through and not burn it.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Mouthwatering Pizza Recipes

Explore all of our pizza recipes or explore some of our favorites.

• Smoked Brisket Pizza
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• BBQ Chicken Pizza
• Skirt Steak Grilled Flatbread Pizza (as found in our cookbook, Fire + Wine)

You can also check out our Big Green Egg resource page for other great ideas and tips for cooking and maintaining your Big Green Egg or Kamado Grill.

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Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.

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