Yukon Gold Rush Grilled Pizza – Thanksgiving on the Grill

'Tis the season to be thankful, and what better way to show gratitude than by enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast with your nearest and dearest? This year, make things extra special by whipping up a batch of Yukon Gold Rush Grilled Pizza - perfect for an untraditional and fabulous harvest-themed appetizer.

Our Thanksgiving on the Grill Series is back with this sophisticated and lush pizza that combines the heartiness of Yukon Gold potatoes, roasted garlic paste, and Gruyère cheese, making it a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Rosemary and olives top it with a herbal and salty flare to balance the rich flavors.

This recipe is a bit more complex, with specific instructions for grilling with indirect heat, or it becomes much easier with The Oven From Summerset Grills! This pizza serves two as a main dish or four as an appetizer. So fire up the grill and get ready to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal like never before!

Serves 2-4

Yukon Gold Rush Grilled Pizza Ingredients

  • 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, left unpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  • 4 Tbs. olive oil, divided
  • Kosher salt
  • 4 oz. thickly sliced pancetta, diced
  • 1/4 cup uncooked cornmeal
  • 1 ball (8 oz.) prepared pizza dough at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Roasted Garlic Paste
  • 1-1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
  • 1/4 cup Niçoise olives, drained and pitted
  • Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2 tsp. dried rosemary
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Roasted Garlic Paste

  • 3 heads garlic
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • Kosher salt

Yukon Gold Rush Grilled Pizza Directions

Roasted Garlic Paste

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Remove the first layer of papery skin from the garlic and slice off 1/4 inch from the pointy top. Place each head on a sheet of aluminum foil, cut side up. Drizzle with the oil and season with salt. Wrap each head in the foil and roast until the cloves are golden brown and soft, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat and let cool. (You can also do this on the grill, cooking over indirect heat.)
  3. Remove the roasted cloves from their skins. The most efficient way to do this is to squeeze the whole head from the bottom. Using a fork, vigorously mix the garlic and oil together. Add a pinch of salt. (If your recipe calls just for a clove or two of roasted garlic, you can remove it from the skin using a small escargot-style fork.)
  4. This will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Pizza Assembly

  1. Preheat the grill as per the master instructions below
  2. Brush the sliced potatoes with 2 Tbs. of the oil and season with salt. Place them on the cooking grate over indirect heat, grill until well marked and cooked through, about 20 minutes (or bake on a sheet pan in a preheated 350°F oven), turning them once. Reserve for topping.
  3. Meanwhile, heat a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then fry the pancetta, stirring, until crisp. Reserve for topping.\
  4. Sprinkle your work surface with the cornmeal. Place the dough in the middle of the surface. You can either roll out the dough with a rolling pin, stretch it out with your hands, or press it out from the center against the work surface. Ideally, you want a 12-inch, organically shaped piece of dough—round, square, or rectangular—1/2- to 1/4 -inch thick. Just before grilling, drizzle or brush both sides generously with the remaining olive oil.
  5. Grill the first side of the crust following the instructions below. Use tongs to transfer it from the grill to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side. Spread the entire surface with the garlic paste and sprinkle with half the cheese. Cover with the potato slices, placing them edge to edge. Sprinkle with the pancetta and the remaining cheese. Artfully arrange the olives and rosemary over the top. Finish grilling the pizza following the instructions below. Remove the pizza from the grill. Season with salt and pepper. Slice and serve immediately.

Master directions for grilling pizza

  1. Heat the grill by setting all the burners on high. After lighting, close the lid and leave on high for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat of all the burners to medium.
  2. Pick up the oiled dough by the two corners closest to you. In one motion, lay it down flat on the cooking grate from back to front (as you would set a tablecloth down on a table). Close the lid and grill for 3 minutes (no peeking!), then check the crust and, if necessary, continue grilling for a few more minutes until the bottom is well-marked and nicely browned.
  3. Use tongs to transfer the crust from the grill to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Close the lid of the grill. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side. Follow the specific recipe directions for adding sauce, toppings, or cheese.
  4. Switch the grill to indirect heat by turning off the center burner(s) if you have a three- or four-burner grill. For a two-burner grill, turn off one burner.
  5. Set the pizza back on the grate over indirect heat (the unlit section) and grill, with the lid down, until the bottom is well-browned and the cheese is melted, 7 to 10 minutes. For two-burner grills, rotate the pizza halfway through the cooking time.
  6. Remove from the grill, garnish, and season as directed. Slice and serve immediately.

Taken from finecooking.com