Today we debut our Summer Outdoor Cooking Series. Every month from May thru September, Joyce from In The Wild Kitchen will be stopping by to share a recipe that you can cook and enjoy outdoors - whether it's at the cabin, at the beach, camping or even in your own backyard. Today she's sharing a pizza that you can make over a campfire!
Have you ever looked forward to something and when the time came you couldn’t do it? That’s how I felt this past long weekend. I was so looking forward to the holiday and cooking a scrumptious skillet pizza over an open fire, but it just wasn’t going to happen.
I had visions of the flames licking the sides of the skillet as the pizza bubbled away, the dough rising and heaving as it cooked, creating a scrumptious base for the toppings. I envisioned a beautiful, crispy skillet crust cooked to perfection.
I hauled all the ingredients to the lake with me to create this marvelous dish. Alas, it was not meant to be. As I pulled up to the campground, it became very clear there would be no fires as a large sign stated “Fire Ban in Effect.” It’s been so dry in our area and with a hot and windy forecast with no sign of precipitation, I’m scared to light a BBQ!
While I hoped I’d be able to at least cook up my pizza on a grill that weekend, the weather still didn’t want to cooperate. High winds and frigid temperatures kept us snuggled up in the camper for most of our time there, except of course the day we were set to head home. Typical prairie weather!
Since I couldn’t cook my skillet pizza at the lake, I packed up my cast iron pan and brought it home. With a beautiful hot day and no wind, I was finally able to whip up this dish. ‘Bout time, am I right?
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup flour
- 1 cup warm water
- ¼ cup Epicure focaccia spices
- 3 ½ to 4 cups flour
- Spray oil
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- 4-inch piece garlic sausage
- 125 g feta cheese
- 2 - 3 large kale leaves
- Combine the first 3 dough ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 1 hour. This is your starter and it should look like this after an hour.
- Next add the focaccia spices to 1 cup warm water. Slowly pour the water mixture into the dough starter, stirring constantly; gradually add the flour until the most of it is mixed in. Drop dough onto a floured surface and knead additional flour in until dough becomes elastic.
- Spray a bowl with oil or grease with butter. Let stand and rise for one hour.
- Spray your cast iron skillet with spray oil or brush oil on bottom and sides of skillet. Once dough has risen, pull a portion of dough out and place in skillet. Spread evenly over bottom of pan and if a large crust is preferred, push dough up the sides. The amount of dough you need depends on the size of skillet you have.
- Next, place sauce on dough and spread evenly. Chop kale over pizza (I simply use a set of kitchen shears to cut it up over top of the pizza). Add sliced garlic sausage and crumbled feta cheese.
- Place skillet pizza over top of a campfire or on a BBQ grill. If you’re using a campfire, make sure to have a great bed of coals instead of high flames. On a BBQ grill, turn all burners on and set your heat on low.
- Cooking times will vary, depending on heat source and size of pizza, but expect about 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time.
- When using a cast iron skillet always use caution and make sure to use a good oven mitt or towel when removing the skillet to avoid burning yourself.
Enjoy the Wild!
The Summer Outdoor Cooking Series is written by Joyce Schmalz. Joyce is an avid hunter, fisherman and home chef. She has two beautiful kids, a wonderful husband and a passion for the outdoors. She embraces her love for the outdoors on her blog, In the Wild Kitchen, where you can find stories and recipes with the food that she harvests, from fish to moose.
You can unsubscribe any time!
Leave a Reply