When the white pants and shoes come out post-Memorial Day, so do the grills. Instead of firing up the usual fare of dogs and burgers, throw some dough on the barbie and grill up pizzas. For advice on how to produce the perfect pie, we turned to professional pizzaiolos.

Chef / owners Johanne Killeen and George Germon of Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island have been grilling pizzas since 1980 and are credited with introducing the concept in the United States.

Chef Michael Ayoub has two restaurants dedicated to the art of pizza, Fornino Williamsburg and Fornino Park Slope.

Here are their tips:

Dough:

Follow this recipe from chef Ayoub or pick up ready-made dough from your corner pizza place. Dough should be room temperature.

Instead of rolling in flour, use olive oil and flatten the dough with your hands onto the upside-down part of a cookie sheet, until it’s about 1/8-inch thick.

Keep It Spinning:

Set the grill rack 3 to 4 inches above the coals and keep the pie rotating. Flip over, place away from the heat to brush on some olive oil and place the toppings onto the grilled side. Put back over the direct heat until pizza is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Total cooking time should be less than six minutes per side.

Toppings:

Use finely sliced or grated cheeses and add soft cheese. Mozzarella isn’t the best choice, since it has too much liquid. Better options are: Bel Paese, Romano, Parmesan, Asiago, and Fontina.

Grilled pizza is a perfect example of "less is more"- too much sauce or cheese will result in a soggy mess and too many toppings will spell disaster.

If all goes well, your pizza should be both crispy and chewy.

from Johanne Killeen & George Germon

from Michael Ayoub

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