There are only a handful of ways to improve on pizza. Some of those include grilling it, adding bacon, and adding whiskey. I did all three with the Grilled Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Don’t be unnerved by the idea of making your own pizza. I had never done it before, and mine turned out perfectly thanks to a crust in a can. Ordering out may be easier, but it’s going to be tough to find one with booze as a topping. This recipe has a healthy dose of rye whiskey in the BBQ sauce, so don’t go giving it to your kids and then complaining to me when child services shows up.
If you’ve ever eaten a BBQ chicken pizza, you can probably guess what most of the ingredients you need will be. The few exceptions are garlic, a chipotle chile, and STilL 630 Rally Point rye whiskey. Those are all used to enhance the BBQ sauce, which in turn is used for grilling the chicken and saucing the pizza. You aren’t going to cook the alcohol off either, so get excited for drunken pizza.
No, there aren’t dueling whiskeys in this pizza. That bottle of Russell’s Reserve Rye was used as my rolling pin, and it’s a fine one at that.
The key to grilling a pizza, as I learned from Twitter, seems to be preparedness. I cooked and chopped the bacon, along with the peppers and onions, while the chicken was grilling. I had all of the toppings ready to go before the pizza dough even touched the grill.
One difference when grilling a pizza as opposed to cooking in an oven is that you’re going to flip the dough. If you just throw a prepared pie on the grill you’re going to burn the bottom long before the other side gets cooked.
It’s also important to make the dough as even as possible before putting it on the grill to ensure it cooks evenly. Raised edges may look cool in the Pizza Hut commercial, but it’s not going to play well here.
One you’ve flipped the dough, it’s time to start building your pizza. You can top it right there on the grill. Now that’s multitasking.
I finished mine with a minute or two under the broiler. There’s nothing worse than un-melted cheese on a pizza, but it’s not worth burning the crust. Another way to accomplish this would be taking the crust off the grill while you assemble your toppings. This prevents it from cooking too quickly. I still prefer the broiler time though.
The Sriracha you see so delicately drizzled atop the pizza is completely optional, as are all things I suppose. It adds a fun kick to random bites though, and I highly recommended it. Rooster Sauce says right on the bottle that it’s good on pretty much anything, and this is no time to disagree.
There you have it. A beautiful Grilled Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza, complete with rye whiskey, is just a half-hour away. While I frequently joke about eating all of what I make for the Guyism Grill before letting anyone else try some, this time that’s the truth. I ate the entire pizza in about 20 minutes. Don’t judge me. It’s delicious.
The recipe is bastardized from the fictional Betty Crocker herself. I upgraded from bourbon to rye because a spicy whiskey worked better in the BBQ sauce, and I grilled it instead of baking on a cookie sheet sheet because I’m a man. The grilling really does make all the difference though, regardless of gender.
Ingredients
- 1 cup SBR Sweet and Spicy barbecue sauce
- 2 tablespoons STilL 630 Rally Point rye whiskey
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from 7-oz can)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
- 2 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
Directions
- In small saucepan, stir together barbecue sauce, bourbon, chipotle chile and garlic. Heat to boil then remove from heat immediately. Reserve 5 tablespoons sauce in small bowl; set aside.
- Cook bacon until crispy. Dry it. Crumble three slices. Eat the 4th.
- Grill chicken over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, frequently brushing with remaining sauce. When fully cooked, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Mix chopped chicken with 2 tablespoons of the reserved barbecue sauce. Discard any remaining sauce used for brushing.
- While chicken is grilling, prepare toppings by cutting the pepper and onions.
- Flatten pizza dough using cylindrical whiskey bottle as rolling pin. No, rectangular bottles won’t work. Stop being difficult.
- Lightly brush one side of dough with olive oil. Place on grill with the oil down. After 2 minutes, check to see that the bottom is browning properly. Rotate if need be to make sure all parts are cooking evenly.
- Brush top side with olive oil and flip. Add chicken, onions, peppers, and bacon. Top with cheese.
- Grill for 5 minutes or until crust is cooked through. Utilize broiler as necessary to ensure melted cheese.
- Drizzle Sriracha and eat with reckless abandon. Sharing is not caring; it’s quitting.