The Best Pizza Is the One You Grill

“Though I’m a big sports fan,” chef and author Alexandra Stafford writes in her cookbook, Pizza Night, “my only memories of the professional games I attended as a child revolve around the concessions.” Stafford waxes poetic about her favorite treats to enjoy, and her enthusiasm is so infectious we’re nearly salivating. “Big, salt-studded soft pretzels, melty breaded mozzarella sticks, and, my favorite,” she writes, “hot Italian sausages in hoagie rolls smothered with sautéed peppers and onions.”

Her summer-ready grilled pizza recipe is an ode to those childhood treats: “Inspired by those game-day hoagies, this pizza calls for grilled sausage, peppers, and onions along with mozzarella.” If you’re feeling ambitious, Stafford also includes her recipes for homemade pizza sauce and homemade pizza dough in the book. They’re labors of love, but once you take a bite, you won’t want to go back to your old store-bought faves.

Stafford has a last piece of valuable advice you can use before getting started: “The toppings are grilled just before making the pizza, but if you want to get a jump on the recipe, you can grill the toppings ahead of time.” Which means the scent of grilled sausage and juicy peppers can make their entrance even sooner — just be careful not to steal too many bites.

Sausage Pizza with Grilled Onions and Peppers Recipe

Makes one 14 × 9-inch oval pizza

Ingredients

• 1 ball Thin-Crust Pizza Dough (jump to dough recipe)
• All-purpose flour, for dusting

Toppings

• 1 medium red onion, cut into ½-inch-thick rounds
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into eighths
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 1 link hot Italian sausage (about 3 ounces)

Assembly

• All-purpose flour or rice flour, for the peel
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup Fresh Tomato Sauce (jump to sauce recipe)
• 4 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, pulled into ½-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• Flaky sea salt

Prepare the dough: Transfer the dough from its storage container to a roomier, lightly floured, covered container (see Dough containers, page 16) and allow it to proof at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours.

Prepare the toppings: Preheat a charcoal or gas grill to high.

1. In a large bowl, toss together the onion and bell pepper with the olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt.
2. Place the onions and peppers on the grill and cook until the undersides are charred with grill marks, roughly 3 minutes for the onions and 5 minutes for the peppers. Using tongs, flip and cook for roughly the same amount of time, or until the undersides are charred with grill marks. As the onions and peppers are done, transfer them to a cutting board.
3. Place the sausage on the grill, cover, and cook until nicely charred all around, 4 to 6 minutes a side.
4. Meanwhile, finely dice the onions and peppers. Season with a pinch of kosher salt right on your board and toss to combine. Taste and add more kosher salt to taste.
5. Use tongs to remove the sausage from the grill. Let cool for 5 minutes, then slice into ¼-inch-thick rounds.
6. Prepare the grill and pizza peel: Turn all the grill burners to high until it reaches 500ºF. This may take 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your grill. (For making pizza on a charcoal grill, see page 55.) Dust a peel with all-purpose flour or rice flour.
7. Roll the dough: Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 14 × 9-inch oval, using flour as need to prevent sticking. Place the dough on the peel and give it a shimmy to ensure it isn’t sticking. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil.
8. Grill the pizza: Shimmy the dough, oiled-side up, onto the grates. Cover the grill and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and use tongs to flip the dough so that the grilled side is facing up, then immediately transfer to the pizza peel. Turn off the middle burner and turn the remaining two burners to medium. (If your grill only has two burners, turn one off and the other to medium.) You need the grill to be around 400ºF.
9. Assemble the pizza: Brush the top surface of the dough with olive oil. Spread the tomato sauce over the dough all the way to the edges. Top with 1 cup of the onion/pepper mixture. (You will likely have leftovers, which you can freeze or store in the fridge for up to 1 week.) Scatter the sausage over the top, followed by the mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt.
10. Shimmy the pizza back onto the grill grates over the turned-off burner and cover the grill. Grill until the cheese is melted and the underside is evenly golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
11. Use tongs to transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Cut and serve.

Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe

Makes 4 to 5 cups

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beefsteak or plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 4 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
• ⅓ to ½ cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine the tomatoes, peppers, water, and salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently until nearly all of the liquid has cooked off and the tomatoes and peppers are sticking to the bottom of the pot, 20 to 25 minutes more, or longer depending on the juiciness of your tomatoes. 
2. Stir in the butter and basil, then transfer to a food processor or blender (see Note) and process until smooth. Taste and adjust with salt (I often add another teaspoon of kosher salt).
3. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

NOTE: If using a blender, be sure to let the mixture cool off a bit first before pureeing. And start pureeing on low, with the steam vent in the blender lid removed and the lid covered lightly with a tea towel. This allows the hot air to escape and prevents an eruption of hot sauce.

Thin-Crust Pizza Dough Recipe

Timeline: 1½ to 3 days
Makes four 245-gram balls

Ingredients

• 385 grams (about 3 cups) tipo “00” flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 165 grams (about 1 cup) semola rimacinata or all-purpose flour
• 15 grams salt (see page 17)
• 2 grams (about ½ teaspoon) instant yeast
• 385 grams (about 1 ⅔ cups) cold (about 60°F) water
• 28 grams (about 2 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Instructions

1. Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the tipo “00” flour, semola, salt, and yeast. Add the water followed by the olive oil and use a spatula to mix until the dough comes together, forming a sticky ball. If the dough is dry, use your hands to gently knead it in the bowl until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water. Dip one hand into the bowl of water, then use the dry hand to stabilize the bowl while you grab an edge of the dough with your wet hand, pull up, and fold the dough toward the center. Repeat this stretching and folding motion 8 to 10 times, turning the bowl 90 degrees after each set. By the end, the dough should transform from shaggy in texture to smooth and cohesive.
3. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the dough and use your hands to rub it all over. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has nearly doubled in volume, 6 to 10 hours. The time will vary depending on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen.
4. Portion the dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 4 equal portions, roughly 245 grams (or slightly less) each. Using flour as needed, form each portion into a ball by grabbing the edges of the dough and pulling them toward the center to create a rough ball. Then flip the ball over, cup your hands around the dough, and drag it toward you, creating tension as you pull. Repeat this cupping and dragging until you have a tight ball.
5. Store the dough: Place the dough balls in individual airtight containers (see Dough containers, page 16) and transfer to the fridge for 1 to 3 days.

Rolling Out the Thin-Crust Pizza Dough

1. On a lightly floured work surface, pinch the outermost edges of the dough, depressing the air as you press.
2. Flip the ball and repeat the process, depressing the air from the edges as you pinch.
3. Using floured hands, lightly pat the center of the dough ball to flatten it.
4. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, begin rolling out the dough.

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From Pizza Night, copyright © 2024 by Alexandra Stafford. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Eva Kolenko. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing.