Pay attention, this one is important:  When you’re cooking pizza outside on a barbecue you need a  ceramic cooking stone.  Ok, you don’t really ‘need’ one.  Not like you ‘need’ oxygen or water or red wine.  You can, after all, get a pizza completely cooked on a barbecue without a cooking stone.  BUT, your pizzas will taste way better with the stone than they will without it.

You see, the stone absorbs a terrific amount of heat and transfers it to the pizza without burning it.  The result is a crust that is evenly baked and uniformly crispy. Cooking your pizza on a baking sheet or metal pan does not give you the same results.  Trust us on this one – it’s just a better way to cook pizza.

These ceramic pizza stones are available at most cooking stores and, of course, at the galaxy’s premier barbecue stores. Make sure that your pizza stone is in the barbecue or oven before you turn the heat on.  You cannot put a cold stone in a warm barbecue as it might crack on you.

Sliding fresh, wet pizza dough onto the pizza stone can be difficult and sticky.  Make sure that you try to slide the pizza quickly off of your cookie sheet or pizza paddle in one swift motion.  Coating the bottom of your pizza with cornmeal will reduce sticking and will also reduce your chances of the bottom of your pizza burning.