I’m not a chef, but I love good food.
And I don’t profess to be an expert at grilling, though I do occasionally test my grill skills.
But let me just share with you that I’ve found an easy, fast and delicious way to enjoy pizza. I smoke it on my electric Ninja Woodfired Grill. It’s the most simple method I’ve found to get a unique tasting pizza, fast. In fact, cooking this pizza only takes about six to eight minutes of grill time. But you’ll need some prep time to get things ready, though a few practical shortcuts can speed that along, too.
After downsizing last summer, we no longer had the right kind of space for a traditional grill or smoker. So when I read about the Ninja Woodfired Grill, it seemed like a perfect answer. We purchased one, and have been pleased with every grilled, air-fried, and smoked item we’ve prepared on this outdoor unit.
Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
Since it arrived, I’ve wanted to try a smoked pizza. I know, to some of you that sounds as crazy as putting pineapple on pizza. But to me, the idea of a crispy crust and traditional pizza toppings tinged with a tasty smoky flavor made me salivate like one of Pavlov’s dogs after the bell rang.
Inspired by a YouTube video we found, we decided to give it a try. We made a quick shopping trip to grab the required ingredients. And to make things more interesting, we invited our grandson over to help since he’s developed an interest in cooking.
(You’ll notice here that I switched from the first-person “I” to the first person plural, “We.” That’s for two reasons. One, my wife Glenda was essential to every step of this process, including purchasing the Ninja Grill from my birthday last year. And second, we all know that no married man can accomplish anything good without the advice, guidance, and help of his wife. So, let’s give credit where it’s due. From here on out, it’s WE, and that means MOSTLY Glenda.)
For our first attempt, we did everything from scratch and with fresh ingredients. From making dough in our countertop mixer, rolling out crusts forms on our countertop, to hand cutting fresh vegetables, nothing was premade. My wife and elementary-aged grandson, Mason, handled prep. I was responsible for the Ninja grill moves.
Glenda’s Neat Trick
Glenda devised a neat trick to get the dough dimensions right for the Ninja Grill. She traced the grill size on to parchment paper. That made it easy for Mason to help with rolling the dough. Plus, the parchment paper made it easy to move the pizza on to the grill, and greatly simplified clean-up, too.
By the time we were done with our lunchtime experiment, we made five pizzas, ranging from cheese and pepperoni to a fully-loaded “house special.” Quick adjustments along the way resulted in better cooked and crispier crusts, and a range of smokiness as well.
We learned that, if pressed for time, premade, store-bought dough is your friend. So are precut vegetables. Using those will save a significant amount of time, and you’ll give up virtually nothing in taste — though you may have to sacrifice your chef credentials. Those two changes mean you can have two, fresh-baked, unique flavored pizzas from your Ninja Woodfired Grill in about 30 minutes.
If you need step-by-step instructions, check out this YouTube video from Peter Hudson of Cooking With Peter. His tips gave us a great starting point, which we modified with our own experience.
