When it comes to the outdoor grill, think out of the box. The grill imparts incredibly complex flavor into foods.

Whether grilling turkey, pizza, veggies or fruits, anything goes. And the result is often a sweeter, more flavorful dish. Grilling food intensifies flavors and gives a juicy, smoky, delicious result.

Consider cooking a whole chicken or turkey on the grill. Simply brush the bird with oil or melted butter, rub in sea salt or other seasonings and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to grill, place it in a roasting pan with an inch or two of broth or water and place the pan on the grill. Cover the legs with foil to prevent over-browning. If desired, add cut lemons and/or oranges to the cavity. Then cover and let cook until a thermometer reaches 165 degrees. It’s that easy. A 12-pound turkey takes two to three hours of grill time.

When grilling pizza, there are essentially two easy ways to cook it — either on a baking stone or directly on the grate. If you’re using a baking stone, simply preheat the grill with the stone directly on the grate, then carefully lay your crust onto the stone. To grill the crust directly on the grate, start with all your ingredients (sauce and pre-cooked toppings) nearby. Brush one side of the crust with olive oil and lay gently on the grill. Brush the other side of the crust with olive oil, close the lid and let the crust cook for a couple of minutes.

Open the lid, flip the crust, add your toppings, then close the lid and let the pizza finish cooking. It’s important any meat such as raw sausage is cooked before adding to the pizza. Even raw onions and raw green peppers turn out better if they’ve been sautéed in advance.

Of course not all your toppings have to go on the pizza before grilling. Use grilled pizza dough as a flatbread under a summer salad or serve it alongside dips like hummus or tzatziki.

Here are a few more tips for making pizza on the grill:

Make sure your grill is hot and clean. This goes for grilling anything, but especially pizza. You’ll want it on medium heat, which is hot enough that the dough starts cooking immediately on contact, but not so hot that it burns on the outside before cooking on the
inside. To test the heat of your grill, hold your palm about four inches above the
grill grate and count how many times you can say “Mississippi” before you need to pull your hand away. If you can count five “Mississippis,” you’re good to go.

Work with smaller rounds of dough instead of one giant pizza. They’re not only easier to stretch out, but are also easier to transfer and flip. Plus, you can serve a bigger variety of
topping combinations that way.

When stretching out dough, make sure you get it as even as possible to avoid burning some spots while others remain uncooked. Sometimes using a rolling pin is really the best way to ensure an even thickness.

Prepare all your ingredients ahead of time and have them by your side at the grill. Once that dough hits the grill, you won’t have time to run back to the kitchen.

When choosing toppings, remember that they’ll be on the grill for only two to three minutes with most of the heat coming directly from below, so it’s best if your toppings are pre-cooked or don’t really need to cook at all.

For toppings, consider cheeses like mozzarella, Cheddar or Monterey Jack as well as chicken, bacon, artichokes, roasted red peppers, thin slices of pepperoni, prosciutto, any grilled veggies and chopped tomatoes.

Try a breakfast pizza on the grill with a Hollandaise sauce as the base with sausage, scrambled eggs, onions and green peppers and sharp Cheddar cheese. If you’re more in the mood for brunch, add roasted asparagus, shredded chicken, skin-on fingerling potatoes and fresh chevre (goat cheese). For a barbecue pizza, combine barbecued boneless skinless chicken thigh meat with gruyere cheese, thinly sliced peppers and fresh cilantro.

Included is a recipe to try on your grill.

Smoky Corn and Black Bean Pizza

Serves 6

 All you need

•1 plum tomato, diced

•1 cup canned black beans, rinsed

•1 cup fresh corn kernels, (about 2 ears)

•2 tbsp cornmeal

•1 pound prepared whole-wheat pizza dough

•1/3 cup barbecue sauce

•1 cup Hy-Vee shredded mozzarella, preferably smoked mozzarella

 All you do

1. Preheat grill to medium.

2. Combine tomato, beans and corn in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a large baking sheet. Stretch the dough into about a 12-inch circle and lay it on top of the cornmeal, coating the entire underside of the dough.

3. Transfer the crust from the baking sheet to the grill. Close the lid and cook until the crust is puffed and lightly browned on the bottom, four to five minutes.

4. Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread barbecue sauce on it and quickly sprinkle with the tomato mixture and cheese. Close the lid; grill until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is browned, four to five minutes.

Source: adapted from EatingWell Inc.

The information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.