The window has closed for entry into our BBQ horror story contest and I have to extend a big thank you to everyone who took the time to share his or her disaster stories with me. The response has been so overwhelming that I haven’t even been able to make my way through all of them yet. I have to say that I suspected things were bad out there, but some of the stories were quite laughable. Judging by sheer number of flaming ‘Q’s I read about I am surprised not to see more people walking around lacking eyebrows, or worse, wrapped from head to toe in gauze bandages.

 

Next week at this time I will share a few of my favorite stories and announce the big winner. For those of you who are visitors to my website, www.chefpaulshufelt.com, you will be able to find out one day earlier, as I will post the winner on Tuesday,  June 4^th. If you didn’t win the ultimate BBQ package I’m sorry, but with so many entries it was hard to pick just one. Hopefully you can take solace in knowing that at the very least you learned a few new tricks over the past several weeks, keeping yourself from any future BBQ disasters.

 

Before we put the BBQ tips behind us I do want to share with you one more delicious recipe that you might not expect to find coming off your grill. This week we will prepare a delicious Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza prepared right on your BBQ. It’s just another great option to use your grill for that you might not otherwise think of. It just all comes down to a little temperature control and thinking of your BBQ like an oven, rather than simply a grill.

 

So before we get to that recipe, let’s consider that last statement. If you think about it the modern day BBQ is just like your oven. Both of the units provide the majority of their heat from elements in the bottom, and if you keep the lid closed you can create an oven-like cooking environment, therefore allowing you to prepare anything you make in the oven on your BBQ. If you are choosing to do so I highly recommend ensuring you have a grill that has an accurate thermometer built into the lid, and having an upper shelf doesn’t hurt either. To take it to the extreme and avoid having dishes that are far too charred before your dish is cooked I recommend turning down one side of your BBQ and cooking on that side, while keeping the lid closed and relying on the radiant heat from the other side of the grill to bake or roast your dish. It takes a little practice to keep your temperature dialed in, but once you do you can really have some fun. With that in mind, let’s make some pizza on the ‘Q’!

 

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza

 

The Dough

 

0.5 oz.                        yeast, Fleischman’s

350 ml.          warm water

1 tbsp.            honey

2 tbsp.            sugar

 

• Dissolve the yeast, honey and sugar in warm water, in the bowl of a Kitchenaid, it should be warm, but not hot as it can kill the yeast and stop the proofing, so air on the side of cooler than too warm
• Let stand five minutes, while gathering remaining ingredients

 

700 gr.           all purpose flour

10 gr.             salt

2 tbsp.            extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp.            fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, or your preference!)

 

• Add the remaining ingredients into the yeast mixture and begin to knead, using the dough arm, this should be a small enough batch, but, if necessary, once combined remove from the mixer and knead by hand
• Work the dough until all of the ingredients are combined well and a firm ball is formed, this should take 5-6 minutes to work the dough together
• If the dough is still sticky to the touch add additional flour, bit by bit, until the dough forms a nice ball and is no longer sticky
• Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough ball inside, cover with a clean, damp, kitchen towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap
• Place in a warm area of your kitchen and let proof until double in volume, 30-45 minutes
• Proceed to punch the dough down and cut into 4-5 evenly sized portions
• Roll into balls and place on lightly oiled pan, slightly apart from one another, cover and allow to proof another 15-20 minutes, or refrigerate until your are ready for dinner, these can last 24-48 hours refrigerated
• When ready, roll out the dough into 12 inch rounds, about ¼ inch thick

 

For the toppings:

 

2 pc.               boneless/skinless chicken breast

½ cup                        hot sauce

TT                   S&P

 

• Combine the chicken and hot sauce and let marinade at least one hour
• Heat the grill to high, and grill the chicken breasts until cooked through, but not dry, let rest
• Sliced the chicken into manageable strips for the pizza

 

½ ea.              red onion, julienned

3 tbsp.            brown sugar

½ cup                        red wine

 

• Combine the ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer
• Cook until the onions are soft and caramelized and the liquid is reduced to a syrup

 

2 ea.                green onions, greens only, sliced thin on the biase

100 gr.           blue cheese

¼ cup             ranch

2 tbsp.            extra virgin olive oil

TT                   S&P

 

• When it’s time to assemble, heat the BBQ to 450F
• Ensuring the grill is very clean and your pizza dough is lightly floured, lay the dough down on the grill
• Cook for 60-90 second, you will begin to see the dough bubble and the edges lightly brown, flip over
• Proceed to cook another 60 seconds, remove from the grill
• Top with the sliced chicken, caramelized onions, and blue cheese
• Return to the grill and close the lid, after one minute turn the grill off, keeping the lid closed, this will allow the toppings to heat through and the dough to complete cooking without burning
• Remove the pizza from the grill and onto a large plate
• Drizzle with ranch, olive oil, a little extra hot sauce if you like, and the green onions, and season
• Slice the pizza and serve it up!

 

Congratulations, you just made pizza on the BBQ! You are now officially a master of the grill!

 

Who’s hungry?