Pizza Tips...What i learned at Grimali’s

CheeseheadinAZ · November 2018

After not making pizzas for a long while I’ve now created a demand for pizza at the compound after the success of the last 6 pies. Major difference... I paid attention to the cooks last time I was at Grimaldi’s.

Tip #1 I found out we can purchase their dough! $4 for 18”. Just go to the bar and ask for it.

Tip #2 If you do buy the dough from G and had stored the dough in your fridge prior to making, let it sit out for at least an hour. Then apply a little flour to the dough and put it on a board. Using your fingers work the dough to get all of the air out. Then toss/stretch to size.

Tip #3 I purchased a baking screen from amazon to put the dough on. Works great!

Tip #4 Grimaldi’s drops mozzarella chunks on first. I bought a block at Costco then sliced as thin as I could.

Tip #5 Grimaldi’s then kind of splashes some sauce sparingly on the pie with a spoon. A lot less sauce then I typically used!!

Then add your toppings and finish with some shredded cheese of your choice. Until I dialed in the pizza, I just made cheese pizzas and focused on the and time for the crust.

I have an xl egg. Setup was simple. Platesetter legs down, grill then stone.

Tip#6 before you create the pizza get the egg fired up and stabilize temp. So far I found 500 degrees works well for repeated pies without burning the crust. Lower vent and screen wide open, smokeware cap on once the temp was reached and open all the way. Cooked for about 10 minutes.

Tip#7. If the top is done and crust still needing more time I used the peel and placed pie directly on the stone (removing the baking screen). But be careful not to leave on too long. I found that you want the pizza to be able to bend a bit when checking under the pie.

I made six of these this weekend and kept tweeking as I went. I gave up on pizza for a while during the learning curve originally a year or two ago. I’m happy I tried again using Grimaldi’s dough. Now the household is saying why would we ever go out for pizza!

If you gave up like I did, hope this gives you a little hope and you’ll try again. It’s worth it. And if you have some tips to share please do!

Now time to enjoy the pizza and the game!

The Cen-Tex Smoker · November 2018

nice. it's always fun to learn something and get thumbs up from the harshest critics (the fam)

bluebird66 · November 2018

Great looking pizza!

Hotch · November 2018

Nicely done sir!

geronimo · December 2018

Very nice!!

Botch · December 2018

Excellent tips, thank you @CheeseheadinAZ !

Now, regarding the last photo, you either have a fire pit in your living room, or the nicest patio I've seen. Care to share a couple wider pics?

CheeseheadinAZ · January 2019

@Botch per request here’s a pic of the back patio...

thetrim · January 2019

Love it.

Thanks for all the advice.

I totally hosed up pizza, until I started placing it on a thin pan onto the pizza stone, and then removed the stone once the toppings were 90% done. I let it finish cooking directly on the stone. Haven't hosed one up, since making that slight change.

Teefus · January 2019

CheeseheadinAZ said:

@Botch per request here’s a pic of the back patio...

Nice. My bride and I love the Southwest. Outdoor living is pretty tough much of the year in our neck of the woods. When it's not too cold there are often too many bugs.

kindaquick14 · January 2019

Looks great! I just bought some of those screens based on your post here. Will have to give them a try. I wonder if they would work well with parchment paper between the dough and screen. Don't see why they wouldn't I guess.

SonVolt · January 2019

I've yet to give pizza a try on the BGE. My regular old gas oven will cook a 14" pie in 90 seconds so it's hard for me to get motivated. Yours does look great though, even if it did still take 10 minutes

GoooDawgs · January 2019

Tip#6 before you create the pizza get the egg fired up and stabilize temp. So far I found 500 degrees works well for repeated pies without burning the crust. Lower vent and screen wide open, smokeware cap on once the temp was reached and open all the way. Cooked for about 10 minutes.

Pies look great! I have to give a word of caution to point #6 though - please don't have the vent and screen wide open. The screen is there for a reason and opening it up does practically nothing to help with temps.

Carolina Q · January 2019

Those pies look great!! Especially the last pic.

I bought a screen years ago. Used it once, never again. Much prefer the crust result when it bakes directly on the stone (or better yet, steel). Been using a wooden peel with a dusting of flour for years. Haven't lost one yet, though I did turn one into a calzone once, long ago.

Sauce tip is the best of the bunch... Less is more for sure when it comes to saucing a pizza.

Not sure how you have top and bottom vents wide open and only reach 500°. I'd be at 900° or more. I would agree with @GoooDawgs about the screen except it appears your egg isn't near any flammable materials. Also, I've never checked, but I'll bet the screen makes more difference than you might think temp-wise.

My 500° pies take about 5 minutes.

ckreisl1 · January 2019

Looks great! Enjoyed the tips. I might have to consider a baking screen. I've had trouble sliding the dough on the stone with all the toppings. My solution has been to put the dough on naked (w/a little olive oil) for 90 seconds to pre-bake the crust a little. Then I take it off, add the toppings, and let it bake until finished. Kind of a PITA, but it seems to produce good results.

GoooDawgs · January 2019

@ckreisl1 just build the pie on parchment paper and transfer them both to the hot stone. After 2 minutes grab a spatula, lift a section of the pie up and grab the parchment - it should slide right out. There are some purist who look down on this method, but it works great. Especially helpful when doing multiple pizzas. Have fun!

ckreisl1 · January 2019

@GoooDawgs thanks! I'll try that next time.

Pizza Tips...What i learned at Grimali’s

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