Grilled Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza

Due to an unavoidable encounter between an oral surgeon and her wisdom teeth, the Menu Mama will be out for a few days.  Not to worry though!  I (The Menu Papa?) will be posting recipes for the next few days.  To preface our first recipe many of you may have noticed that my contributions thus far to the blog have been in either A) coming up with some kind of funky pizza or B) cooking something on the grill.  Today we will combine two of my culinary passions: pizza and grilling.  Excited yet?  Here's what we're going for today:

Grilled Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza

Serves 4

1 lb pizza dough

1 C Mozzarella cheese

1 C Cheddar cheese

3 T Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz Pepperoni

1/2 C Pizza sauce (We use Hunt's Basil, Garlic and Oregano tomato sauce)

1/4 Red Onion, sliced into rings then cut in half

Before you start cooking preheat your grill to high.  (Charcoal would taste better but makes it much harder to control the temps.)  Next, roll out some foil onto a cooking sheet.  Spray the foil down with non-stick cooking spray and roll your pizza dough out.  Allow the dough to warm up to room temperature.  (We want all of our ingredients to be as warm as possible so they cook quickly on the grill).

While the dough warms up grate about a cup of mozzarella, a cup of cheddar and a few tablespoons of Parmesan.  Mix together in a bowl and set aside.

 








Slice the onion and arrange your pepperoni on a plate.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  This will help it crisp up on the grill.












 


Take every thing out to the grill and arrange so it's convenient.  Part of pulling this pizza off is getting the toppings on, and the whole shebang back onto the grill as quickly as possible.


  





 
Once everything is arranged and ready, reduce the grill heat to medium low and slide the foil with the dough onto the grill.  Close the lid and let cook 3 - 5 minutes, turning if your grill (like mine) has hot spots to prevent any burnt areas.
 

While the dough is cooking spray down the baking sheet with cooking spray.  Once the dough is done use a spatula (or two) to flip the dough, cooked side up onto the baking sheet.













 


Close the grill and spread the tomato sauce, followed by the onions onto the cooked side of the dough.

Add cheese and pepperoni.  I like to put down a nice layer of cheese, then the pepperoni and sprinkle a little cheese on top of it all.







 



Gently slide the pizza back onto the grill.  It's not going to want to move once it's down so make sure that you get in the right spot the first time.  Otherwise things may get ugly! 

Close the grill and let cook another 3 - 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on those hot spots!  If you are concerned about the pizza burning on the bottom you can pull it off after 3 minutes and finish in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Once the pizza is done cut into slices and serve hot.