BLACKBERRY BACON & BASIL GRILLED PIZZA

While pizza might not be as quintessential a summer food as hamburgers or hot dogs, I’m here to tell you that when it’s topped appropriately, pizza deserves a spot on your summer meal rotation. And this blackberry bacon & basil grilled pizza recipe–with its fresh summer ingredients–will leave you wondering why you ever wasted money on that takeout stuff. Even without a fancy backyard pizza oven, you can make artisan quality pizza at home–all you need is a grill.

Blackberry, bacon & basil grilled pizza

The key to artisan pizza crust is a really hot oven. That, my friends, is where your grill comes in. You’re going to crank that baby way up and get things nice and toasty in there.  Once everything is properly fired up, you drop the heat to the lowest setting possible and toss your pizza dough onto the grill and close the lid.

Allow it to crisp up for two-four minutes without opening the lid. Once you’ve got grill marks, pull the crust off the grill, fire the head back up as high as it will go and close the grill lid.

Blackberry, bacon & basil grilled pizza

Working quickly, you’re going to spread the toasted side of your dough with olive oil and then spread your pizza toppings evenly across the top. Once you’ve got it properly dressed, you’re going to drop the heat all the way back down to low again and return your topped pizza to the grill. Close the lid.

Allow grill marks to cook into the bottom of the pizza crust, leaving the lid closed for another three or four minutes. Once grill marks have formed, you can move your pizza to the top rack if your grill is large enough, or off direct heat otherwise and allow it to cook with the lid closed until the cheese bubbles.

https://www.suchthespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/275B7036.jpgFans of blackberries will adore this recipe. Anyone who breathes will appreciate the bacon. And basil is a summer no-brainer, right? Just try to tell me your family doesn’t begin to drool when you tell them you’re having blackberry, bacon & basil grilled pizza for dinner. If you make this once, I promise you’ll thank me. And when you make it again, you better invite me for dinner.

Blackberry, bacon & basil grilled pizza

BLACKBERRY BASIL BACON GRILLED PIZZA

Ingredients

  • One recipe homemade or store-bought uncooked pizza crust dough
  • olive oil for brushing crust
  • 1 cup homemade or store-bought pizza sauce
  • 16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 cup blackberries, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves, sliced thinly
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza crust to desired thickness. I make mine about 3/8 of an inch.
  2. Allow crust to rest, covered with a clean towel in a warm area, while you prepare the pizza toppings.
  3. When all of your toppings are prepared, heat the grill to 500º or as close as you can get it. When grill is properly heated, immediately lower heat to the lowest level and place dough directly on grill and close the lid. Allow dough to cook for two to four minutes without opening lid.
  4. When the bottom of your dough is crisp and has grill marks, remove it from the grill and return grill to high heat.
  5. Working quickly, spread a thin layer of olive oil and the toasted side of the dough. Layer pizza sauce, cheese, bacon, blackberries and basil on top. Top with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Return topped pizza to grill, raw side of the dough down. Lower heat to the lowest possible setting and close the lid. Allow pizza to cook for four to six minutes without opening the lid.
  7. Once grill marks have been achieved on the bottom of your pizza crust, move pizza to upper level or indirect heat and allow it to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

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Blackberry, bacon & basil grilled pizza

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7 comments

  1. Have you found a store-bought dough and/or pizza sauce that you like? We’re currently buying our dough from New York Pizza on Broadway ($3 for enough dough for two large pizzas!). As for the sauce, we like Tomato Basil from Whole Foods’ 365 line.

    1. You guys have been buying your dough from them for quite some time now; it must be really yummy! I haven’t found store-bought dough or sauce that we like but we haven’t looked. I make our pizza sauce in large batches and freeze it in a Mason jar. I also have a wheat pizza dough recipe that I’ve been using and tweaking for years. I make that fresh each time that we have pizza. It’s super easy.

      What toppings does your family favor for pizza? And as far as cheese, do you guys use strictly mozzarella or something else?

    1. In my experience, pizza doesn’t reheat well, so I’d try to eat this immediately after grilling it.

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