Grilled Pizza With Spicy Italian Sausage Recipes

PIZZA ON THE GRILL WITH SAUSAGE AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• For the dough: In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes so it will be easier to roll out. In the meantime, make the pizza topping.
• For the topping: Coat a saute pan with the olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onion and garlic, cook and stir for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in 1/2 bunch torn basil leaves. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper and then take it off the stove.
• Preheat an outdoor gas or charcoal barbecue and get it very hot. Brush the grates with oil to keep the sausages from sticking. Grill the sausages until cooked through, turning with tongs. Set aside. Keep the grill hot to make the pizza.
• Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a rustic, oblong shape, about 1/4-inch thick - do this directly on a lightly floured pizza paddle for ease. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and lay oil-side down onto the hot grill. Once the dough looks set, in about 2 minutes, turn the crust over. Spread the tomato sauce evenly on the crust with a ladle. Rip the mozzarella into pieces with your hands and distribute them on top; crumble the grilled sausage all over the pizza. Close the grill cover and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the pizza from grill and sprinkle with some fresh basil leaves and a good dusting of Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining dough.

GRILLED SAUSAGE AND FIG PIZZA WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Halve dough; roll to 10-inch rounds. Brush tops with some of dressing.
• Grill pizzas, seasoned side down, until golden on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn pizzas over. Top with Fontina, arugula, sausages, figs, and onions. Drizzle with more dressing. Cover; grill until Fontina melts and pizza is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Top with goat cheese. Grill until goat cheese softens, about 1 minute.

GRILLED ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, flipping every few minutes, until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 10 minutes.
• Transfer sausage to a plate, leaving juices behind in the skillet. Add onions and red bell pepper; cook and stir until brown and tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND CARAMELIZED PIZZA

Steps:

• For the dough:
• To a bowl add the warm water, honey and olive oil. Mix until the honey is dissolved.
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl. While drizzling in the water, mix with a fork until the dough comes together. If it is too dry, add a little more water until it holds together to form a ball. You can switch to using your hands.
• Flour your counter and turn out the dough. Knead, sprinkling lightly with flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. Knead for 3-4 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.
• Coat the mixing bowl with a little oil and put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a towel. Place in a warm place. This can be the microwave or oven (both turned off) for 30 minutes to allow the dough to rest after kneading and make it easier to roll and keep the dough tender. Remove from the oven after 30 minutes.
• Position the oven rack on the top ¾ portion of the oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C.
• Place the dough onto a 12-inch (31 cm) round pizza pan or large baking sheet. Use your hands to press into a pizza shape.
• For the toppings:
• Spread the mozzarella all over, top with the cherry tomatoes, crumble the Italian sausage all over and finish with an even layer of caramelized onions.
• Bake for 20 until the crust is golden brown and the sausage is cooked.

GRILLED ITALIAN SAUSAGE SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute peppers and onion in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, sugar, basil, salt and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until heated through. , Meanwhile, grill sausages, covered, over medium heat for 10-16 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°, turning occasionally. Serve on buns with sauce and cheese if desired.

GRILLED RADICCHIO AND SPICY ITALIAN SAUSAGE PIZZA

Steps:

• Remove the stems and quarter the radicchio heads. Mix the balsamic, olive oil, chili flakes and chopped garlic to make a marinade. Submerge the radicchio, cut-side down, in the marinade for 1 hour prior to grilling.
• Crumble the sausage into a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until fully rendered and slightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked sausage to a tray lined with paper towels.
• Remove the radicchio from the marinade, reserving the marinade itself for dressing the finished radicchio. Grill the radicchio over an open flame starting with the cut-side down, and rotating until slightly charred on the outside (we suggest a charcoal grill, but if not using an outdoor grill, a griddle or grill pan would suffice). Once cooked, remove to a tray to cool. When the radicchio is cool, chop into 1-inch squares and toss with the reserved marinade.
• Roll out the pizza dough into three 12-inch circles, 1/4-inch thick.
• Start by grilling 1 pizza over medium-high heat on the grill. Once the bottom has a slight char, flip the pizza and top with some of the grilled radicchio, cooked sausage, chopped rosemary and taleggio slices (about 3 per pizza). Cover with the grill lid to melt the cheese and crisp the bottom, just a few minutes. Remove the pizza from the grill with a wide spatula to a cutting board. Let cool for a few minutes, and then slice into 6 or 8 pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough and ingredients.
• Combine the flour, 3/4 cup water, yeast and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and allow the dough to rest for 1 hour, covered, in a draft-free spot.
• Punch down and shape the dough into two to three 10-ounce balls. Allow to proof on an oiled tray or container covered with a towel or lid until almost doubled in size.

GRILLED PIZZA WITH SPICY ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Combine water and sugar in a food processor. Sprinkle yeast over; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add oil, then 3 cups flour and salt. Process until dough comes together, about 1 minute.
• Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Sprinkle with rosemary. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is sticky, about 5 minutes.Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic, then towel. Let stand in warm draft-free area until dough doubles, about 1 hour. To test that the dough has risen sufficiently, push two fingers into it. The depressions should remain.
• Punch down dough. Knead dough in bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Stretch out each piece on floured surface to 9-inch round. To prevent the dough from sticking as you stretch it, use flour sparingly; too much will result in a tough crust.
• Toppings
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausages
• 2 yellow or red bell peppers, cored, lengthwise
• 1 large red onion, peeled, cut through root end into 1/2-inch thick wedges
• Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Let vinaigrette stand 15 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate up to 2 hours.
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Arrange sausages, peppers and onion on baking sheet. Brush with some of vinaigrette. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill sausages until cooked through and peppers and onion until slightly charred and crisp-tender, turning and basting occasionally, about 12 minutes for sausages and 8 minutes for peppers and onion.
• Transfer sausages and vegetables to cutting board. Cut sausages into 1/2-inch pieces and peppers into thin strips.
• Final preparation
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups crumbled chilled soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet)
• 4 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped green onion tops Add coals to barbecue if necessary. Place 2 dough rounds on grill. Grill over medium heat until top of dough puffs and underside is crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn rounds over. Grill 1 minute. Transfer to baking sheet with well-grilled side up. This side of the dough becomes the surface that will hold the toppings.
• Repeat with the remaining 2 dough rounds. Sprinkle each with 1/4 of mozzarella and Parmesan. Top each with 1/4 of sausage, peppers and onion, then with 1/4 of goat cheese, tomatoes and green onions. Drizzle each with 1 1/2 teaspoons vinaigrette.
• Using large metal spatula, return 2 pizzas to grill. Close grill or cover pizzas loosely with foil. Grill until cheeses melt and dough is cooked through and browned, using tongs to rotate pizzas for Transfer to plates. Repeat grilling for remaining 2 pizzas.