by I have been on a real pizza kick lately. Today I wanted to use some chicken breasts that I had in the refrigerator, but I didn’t want to just grill them. I also didn’t want to use the oven as it is still hovering around 95 degrees in DC. So I decided to make a grilled bbq chicken pizza. Grilling pizza is simple and it makes the crust taste awesome.
Instead of just mozzarella I also used a smoked fontina cheese to add to the bbq flavor.
Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza
- 1 pizza dough – (Basic Pizza Dough Recipe)
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 cup favorite bbq sauce
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup smoked fontina cheese
The first step is to make the pizza dough and let it rise till it doubles. Here is a simple and easy pizza dough. If you are running short on time, almost all grocery stores have pre-made pizza dough in the deli section and/or freezer section, or you can always stop by a local pizzaria and purchase the pre-made dough.
To get started salt and pepper your chicken breasts and place them on a medium/high grill. Cook for roughly 4 minutes and flip.
After flipping the chicken coat the cooked side with barbecue sauce.
After another 3-4 minutes flip the chicken and coat the other side with sauce. Baste and flip two more times to firmly secure the sauce to the chicken.
Remove from the grill, let cool slightly and then cube the chicken. Place in a bowl and set aside.
Grate the smoke fontina with the largest grater that you have. Place the cheese in a bowl and set aside.
Slice the onion into thin strips, and set aside.
Now that you have all of the ingredients for the pizza ready, place on a tray or sheet pan so that you can take it out to the grill easily. Assembly of the pizza needs to be done near the grill.
Next form the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round circle. Form the dough on a piece of parchment or on a pizza peel. The parchment will allow you to easily flip the dough onto the grill.
Heat the grill to medium/low and make sure that the grates are clean. We don’t want the crust to stick. Using the parchment flip the dough onto the grates. Then remove the parchment from the dough. If using a pizza peel, gently slide the dough onto the grates.
Grill for 2-4 minutes until the bottom of the crust is golden and has nice grill marks.
Flip the pizza using tongs and a pizza pan, or by using the pizza peel. Grill the other side for 30-60 seconds. You just want the dough to start to harden. When the dough is not sticky anymore, remove it from the grill and place on a pizza pan.  Cover the cooked side with your favorite bbq sauce. I didn’t have time to make my own so I opted for Cattlemans. It is a great bbq sauce.
Next cover the pizza with both types of cheese. Leave a little bit to cover the chicken and onions slightly.
Next layer on the onions.
Finally spread the chicken out over the pizza. Next cover the chicken with a few drizzles of the barbecue sauce.
Finally cover with the remaining cheese and then slide the pizza back onto the grill.
Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Make sure to check the crust to make sure that it doesn’t burn. When the cheese is melted and the crust is starting to turn brown, the pizza is done. Remove using tongs and a pizza pan, or using a pizza peel.
Allow the pizza to cool for a couple of minutes and then cut it into wedges.
The tangy barbecue sauce with the grilled chicken and smoked fontina cheese is delightful. Probably the best bbq chicken pizza that I have ever had.
Grilling pizza is quick and simple. Try it next time you grill out.
Man that looks like a great pizza! But three times as I read the post, "smoked fontina" kept going through my head. I smoked several pounds of cheese around Christmas and one of my two favorites was the fontina.
The downside to smoking your own is that you can't really go back to buying store bought, it's a totally different taste.
Do you have a pizza peel? If so, wood or metal and how do you like it?
Chris, I busted my wooden pizza peel a couple months back. I didn't have a tortilla press and used the peel instead. Unfortunately, it was not rated for the pressure that I exerted on it. I need to go and get another one. I like wooden peels as they don't conduct the heat as much. Then you can use it as a cutting board and serving vessel. I have never smoked cheese. Do you have any tips on smoking cheese?
I've used flatbread for the crust, too. Just keep the grill temp very low. Really yummy with some mushrooms and crumbled bacon, too! I can't believe you didn't add the bacon!:)
I know I should have added some bacon. Hopefully I didn't shame the family too much with my error. Great tip on using flat bread. That would be a quick and easy alternative to a standard pizza crust.