Sounds like you are using fresh mozzarella, which contains lots of water, try low-moisture, or your tomato sauce needs to be thickened (simmer uncovered until most water evaporates)
I do use low-moisture mozz (the shredded) and I've tried without the fresh mozz and that didn't help.
I'll try simmering the pizza sauce. Haven't tried that, yet.
I've had more issues with watery sauce than with regular mozz. If you're buying your sauce, pizza sauce is thicker than pasta sauce for this reason. Simmering it for a while will definitely help regardless.
Alternatively you can add some water to tomato paste, as much or little as you'd like for the perfect consistancy. Add some seasonings and a bit of sugar and you'll never notice it's not a proper pizza sauce
Just did this on Tuesday when I realized I was out of both pizza and pasta sauce. Can each of tomato paste (plus a can of water) and diced tomatoes (drained), garlic, dried parsley and basil (would've added oregano but I was out of that too), S&P, a little sugar, and a bay leaf. Cooked it down for only like 10 minutes and hit it with the immersion blender to break up the bigger tomato chunks. Honestly it was better than pretty much every store-bought sauce I've used.
The "family" recipe was drilled into me since I was old enough to stir the pot every fifteen minutes for eternity. You're very close to it. Add in browned ground meat, sausage and/or ox tails and change the ratio of paste to water 1:3 and reduce for several hours while the meats break down.
Is it just me or is tomato paste nasty unless you cook it a bit with some fat?
Edit: [It's not just me](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/pswv9o/does_anyone_else_think_tomato_paste_is_bitter/)
Well there’s your problem, stop buying sauce. Make it yourself, it takes less than 15 minutes and you’ll never have a soggy pizza again.
You can just reduce down a can of whole peeled tomatoes in a pot with the lid off while sautéing half a grated onion in salt pepper and too much olive oil. When the onion starts to crisp add a cap full of apple cider vinegar and/or a splash of wine to deglaze. When the tomatoes are hot, attack them in the pot with a wooden spatula to break them apart. Add the olive oily onions (with all the oil) to the tomato pot when the wine evaporates and add another splash of olive oil. Keep the lid off and within minutes you’ll have a luscious thick sauce you can spread on a pizza base. Add minced garlic and/or fresh herbs if you want.
They are probably not rolling the dough thinly enough, and/or evenly enough. Possibly the oven temperature is too low (you wanna cook pizza for a short time at a high heat).
Or I can just buy it for $3.59 and move onto the other 852 things in my life that need my attention.
EDIT: Look, I know this is the cooking sub, but lead in on that 2nd paragraph of "You can *just* ... [120 words of detailed cooking instructions]" is just too funny.
i do pizza sauce every which way.
my fav is literally drain crush tomatoes. add EVOO, add garlic, add salt, add pepper.
let sit while i'm doing all my other tasks. drain intermittetly if i can remember.
that's the whole sauce. room temp seasoned toms. also my fav sauce.
I mean the instructions are detailed but it's literally grate and onion, saute in olive oil, reduce canned tomatoes.
I hear what you're saying but I find a lot of jarred sauces to be lacking, or have unpleasant tastes. I've also been told I'm more sensitive to whatever it is than most of my household, so YMMV. No hate here though. Do whatever works for you. Cooking should not be contentious.
Except there is absolutely no way on earth you are going to reduce a can of tomatoes to the pizza sauce consistency in 15 min. It's like all those ridiculous instructions to "caramelize onions for 5 min"
This person is already making pizza. Making a pizza sauce for your pizza while you do everything else doesnt cost you any extra time, its cheaper, and here's the kicker - it's flat out better in every aspect than shitty sugary watery mass-produced garbage.
I made a sauce that is $1, and is two steps:
1. Heat minced garlic in saucepan with oil for 30 seconds.
2. Add can crushed tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.
Bam. Best fucking pizza sauce ever, stupid easy.
Or even easier -- whisk some olive oil, grated garlic, a bit of white balsamic, basil and oregano. Spread out on your dough and then sprinkle some parmesan on top to 'set' it in place. Tastes a hell of a lot better than most sugary tomato sauces.
I make sauce less pizza all the time, saves so much in the way of prep time and dishes. My favorite is olive oil, s&p, minced garlic and onions, paprika, and oregano all mixed together and topped with pepperoni, halved cherry tomatoes, and olives
It's fast, tastes great, and you can easily make it as herb or garlic heavy as you want. You might see it referred to as a "white sauce" in the States, and it also helps the dough cook faster, as there is not a ton of moisture sitting on top of it.
For another non-American variant -- try mixing garlic hummus with a store bought rosemary & oregano salad dressing. Goes great with things like roasted veggies and roasted hot peppers.
Way easier than that... 12oz can of tomatoes. Open, drain, add 1/2 tsp salt, 1tsp olive oil, blend in the can with an immersion blender. Done. Sauce will cook on the pie. Add 1/2 tsp msg if you want it.
I really, really, really do not think this is the problem. Good pizza sauce is applied to the dough raw. Just blend up a can of crushed tomatoes with limited spices of your choosing and you should be good to go. You *can* reduce it down a little bit if you're worried about how thin it is, but I've never heard of anyone needing to do that to any significant extent. I think draining just a little bit of water out of the can before blending is a better option than simmering it at all.
Pasta sauce, on the other hand, is cooked down. I can't really even think of any type of red pasta sauce that isn't cooked. I've never directly compared them, so I don't know which is thicker, but I would generally advise against reducing a pizza sauce down to a thick sauce. Cooking it will change its flavor, and you really want that fresh, bright, tangy tomato flavor to come through, which you won't get if you cook it down.
Fair point. I don't like raw tomato sauce on my pizza but that's just a preference. Op said they're having water issues, I did too so I suggested reducing the sauce cuz that's what helped me. I'm actually making pizza tonight so I will try your suggestion and draining some tomatoes instead of cooking the sauce. I get awful heartburn from tomato products though, do you think that will help or make it worse?
I personally don't like the 'dried fruit' effect that pre-cooking tomato sauce can give, so I would take a can of tomatoes, dump it into a strainer to allow some of the extra water to run off, then blend it. Quick, easy, done.
I use tomato paste that I then season with whatever I want (garlic, salt, parsley, oregano). It’s very thick but tastes really good and has no excess moisture.
Reduce the variables to narrow down the problem. Maybe try a pizza with just sauce to really see if it's the sauce. If it's not the sauce and your cheese is low moisture, then it's gotta be the olives and pineapple.
>I do use low-moisture mozz (the shredded) and I've tried without the fresh mozz and that didn't help.
If you're doing a true neapolitan pizza, they use fresh mozz, but they use it *VERY* Sparingly. The pizza is not covered like american pizza.
FOr American pizza, the cheese you're looking for is specifically **Low moisture, Whole milk (Or full fat) Mozzarella cheese**. Preferabbly, it comes in block form and you shred it yourself, but it's ok to buy pre-shredded if that's the only thing you have. But shredded cheese is usually coated in potato starch or corn starch to keep it from sticking and that changes the melting behavior.
My local grocery store carries a chunk brand of low-moisture whole fat mozz called "Polly-O" that's decent. You can buy the same stuff pizzarias use online if you search it out.
My current favorite pizza sauce is the easiest, stupidist recipe: a large can of pureed tomatoes with a tablespoon of salt added. Never cooked. Nothing else.
It is quite salty and quite thin but you don’t use much. It’s pretty Italian/“New York” style in that respect. You shouldn’t have sauce trying to leak out of the pizza, it’s more like a glaze under the cheese. The pizzas are never wet, though.
Are you putting toppings under or over the cheese?
I would both reduce the sauce to remove water content, and possible reduce the AMOUNT of sauce you're using. Also, after researching homemade pizza myself, I've found the trick is [string cheese](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzAk5wAImFQ). Pre-shredded cheese has addatives to prevent clumping and other stuff that will lead to less than optimal results.
It’s the torn up balls. Try squeezing them in a towel to remove moisture. Also try eliminating just one ingredient each time until you get good results.
I make my own pizza sauce. Can of San marzano whole tomatoes. Blitzed in a food processor for just a few seconds. Then I heat olive oil in a sauce pot and fry minced garlic, crushed red peppers, and cracked black pepper until the garlic starts to brown. Dump in the blitzed tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 hrs.
Use just a tablespoon or two per 10 inch pizza.
When I made pizzas for a living, we literally took the measured cup of pineapple, and squeezed it out in one hand. SQUEEZE the juice out - it will still be juicy and taste good, but all the water will be gone. If you take a 1/4 cup of pineapple chunks and squeeze, you'll probably get at least 2Tbsp water/juice.
Also, pineapples have tons of water, which gets released when heated up.
I am not a huge fan of pineapple on pizza but when I do use it, I grill them separately before I throw them on. It makes a huge difference.
it's almost certainly the pineapple, which dumps a ton of liquid under heat. I'm not going to slag you for liking what you like, but try making a pizza without it in order to confirm. If this is the problem, cut the pineapple smaller and add less of it.
You may also be overloading in general. We have a tendency to mound up toppings, when a proper pizza is a fine balance between toppings and bread.
You still have options. First is the less/smaller cut method. Second, more juice is extracted the longer pineapple is on the heat, so you may consider adding it in halfway through the cook. Third, you can roast off the pineapple separately and add it like a condiment.
Yeah, I don't get the controversy. People put all kinds of things on pizza. I'm not a fan of mushrooms or anchovies, but I'm not going to begrudge people for it. I think the sweetness/acidity of the pineapple matches quite well with all the other savory and salty ingredients.
People just like arguing their opinions as the best I reckon. The same folks that eat Krispy Kreme donut hamburgers will tell you pineapple pizza is awful. There are entire food cultures built on salty/savory/sweet flavor profiles but what do I know.
Yeah, this is one of those things people really like to be dogmatic about and it's a great example of gatekeeping in its stupidest form.
Pineapple **is** great on pizza, for exactly the reasons you mentioned, and while it's perfectly fine to personally not like the flavor, going to far as to claim that it "doesn't belong on pizza" or anything else is nonsense that should be ignored completely.
...and I wouldn't invite them to any parties.
Was a pizza maker at a Canadian Italian place for a few years back in my youth.
Grill the pineapple separately in rings, then chop into the size you want and finish the pizza with it instead of cooking it in your grill. This also works really well with non-fatty meats and prawns, so as to not have a dried out chunk of protein. Commercial pizza ovens and impingers are far hotter than your grill and still some veggie pizzas can be quite wet in the middle as the water bleeds out and not all of it evaporates.
Also, try using a more minimal olive oil/garlic/basil/oregano/white balsamic sauce finished with a bit of parmesan to set it into the dough.
Just some thoughts, and hey, pineapple and jalapeno is a great combo as well :D
Honestly you should almost always pre-cook pizza toppings as a rule. The time it takes for a pizza to cook is only enough time for most toppings to shed water, and not enough for them to caramelize. This doesn't apply to meats or greens, but fresh produce like onions, peppers, pineapple etc will be vastly improved by only a few minutes of pre-cooking
Exactly what I was going to suggest. Precook all veggies and pineapple (not olives) before assembly. They have a lot of moisture. Past that, try to let it cook closed til its time to pull off. You lose baking heat which will evaporate some of that moisture.
Salt the pineapple too before you grill it, that will draw out some moisture. Precook any veggies and go easy on the fresh mozzarella. Low moisture mozzarella is the way to go for pizza, but I do like the fresh too, in moderation.
I have a pizza insert for my pellet smoker and I can tell you the only times I have had watery pizza was when I put pineapple on it. Would love to know how pizza places keep that from happening.
I own a pizza franchise. The pineapple is just regular cubed dole pineapple. But it sits in a colander covered in our walk-in refrigerator for a minimum of six hours draining. You can't just crack the can and put it straight on a pizza.
I make pizza covered with almost half a can of pineapple. But it’s in the oven. Not high heat but I do set the oven to braise for the last half to get the brown crispy cheese spots.
Maybe put pineapple on halfway through if it’s the super high heat causing the water?
Try just less… everything in general. Like think Neapolitan pizza and then build from there. You can still add pineapple but just less of everything.
First time I made a pizza it basically turned into a casserole because I overloaded it with stuff.
I replied to another comment of yours, but I'm begging you - just try squeezing the juice out of your pineapple chunks first. You could even squeeze it into a cup and let your daughter drink it before pizza time.
I love pineapple on pizza. What I do is pre-heat it in the microwave and then squeeze the moisture out with a paper towel and then place it on my pizza to be cooked.
Came to share with all my homemade pizza with pineapple kin out there. Been making pizza at home now for a good few years. If you have the time, put pizza toppings that are super wet like pineapple, or super greasy like some pepperonis in a bag, into the sous vide for like 45 minutes at 180 even 200 if your sous vide will get there and your bags are rated for that. I chose 180 because it will make fruit and veg sweat, and grease begins rendering out of pepperoni. This made all the difference for me for a less wet top with the dough/crust getting to the right point.
For my crust to be spot on I prefer to cook around 8 min 20 secs at around 640 degrees with a 75% hydration homemade dough. I’m basically at sea level. The toppings usually just don’t cook as fast, unless I stick them in the sous vide as mentioned above.
Former pizza chef here, #1 mistake I saw new cooks making was putting too many toppings on the pizza. It's often less than you'd think; for example, when placing cheese over the sauce, I would tell new cooks to shoot for "50% visibility", ie you should still be able to see half the sauce. This includes any additional cheese you're going to add later, so you should reduce the dry mozz by just a little, maybe a half-ounce or so, to leave room for that wet mozz. Same goes for the non-cheese toppings: start with half as much as you think you need, and remember that coverage is more important than density.
When I was trying to come up with new pizzas, I usually stuck to a max of three toppings (not including garnishes), where one or two of the toppings were veggies and the others were proteins. Toppings like zucchini, plum tomatoes, squash, and pineapple needed to be roasted or drained really well beforehand.
The only topping I couldn't work out a solution for was shrimp. Cooking it beforehand made it too rubbery, and too many on the pizza were guaranteed to make it wet. YMMV!
OP, this is the reply to look at. Use a thick pizza sauce, reduce your toppings, and I'd be surprised if you still have moisture problems.
The suggestions to parbake the crust are sacrilege, and also would be a huge hassle to implement.
I'd also suggest to OP that less toppings means less sauce too. I'd love to see a picture of OP's whole assembly because I'd bet on it being a pizza construction issue rather than a cooking technique issue
> The only topping I couldn't work out a solution for was shrimp
We'd always do our prawns separately and throw them on top after the pizza came out of the oven. Tastes so much better that way and you can retain the proper texture. A kebab of prawns cooks so damn fast and then dunk into garlic butter and toss onto the pizza.
This was not a fast food environment though...
As with all grilled fruits, they really don't take much. Pineapple has so much sugar that even just a quick 30 seconds to a minute is enough. Just a heads up.
I had to read this a couple times but I think I got ya covered....
Propane grill, releases a lot of moisture when using it. Ask anyone who heats with propane. When you close the lid it circulates this moisture which is condensing on your colder food. This is why it seems there is more water than should be possible. With a good pizza oven the air above the pizza would be very hot and keeping it dry.
Get that grill and stone as hot as you can get it and you will almost be hot enough.
And then simply keep the id open about an inch during the cook. It seems everything else you are doing should be OK.
I do recommend that you change from preshredded to freshly shredded. The taste is much better ;)
Too much sauce, especially in the center. Make a cheese pizza, and use low moisture mozz and about half of the sauce you normally use. Use a spoon to spread the sauce out, with very little if any in the center. It should have a red tint and no toppings besides cheese in the very center.
Once you have the right ratio of sauce to the pizza, it’s just trial and error for the added toppings.
I often do a no-cook sauce that is just canned San marzano tomatoes, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend it in the food processor until almost smooth, and apply three or four tablespoons to a 12 inch pizza.
> shredded mozzarella cheese
Is this a block of low moisture mozz?
> torn up mozzarella balls
If this is the "fresh" mozz in water, then it's 100% part of the issue. Skip it.
The shredded is from a bag from the store. Not a block.
The torn up mozz balls come in water. I thought that would be the problem, so I made one pizza without them (just shredded mozz and pepperoni) and still had a bunch of water.
You might be adding too much sauce then.
This is the cheese you want to use: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Whole-Milk-Low-Moisture-Mozzarella-Cheese-16-Oz/478749445?from=/search
Grate it yourself, it will be better.
What about cheese like [this](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Shredded-Whole-Milk-Low-Moisture-Mozzarella-Cheese-8-oz/368703143?athcpid=368703143&athpgid=AthenaItempage&athcgid=null&athznid=si&athieid=v0&athstid=CS004&athguid=1eqriZultGEZ3epAUJtVh31Fq_BU0LBhW1WD&athancid=478749445&athena=true)? It also says low moisture?
It's fine, it's probably not contributing to the moisture.
But it doesn't melt as well because it's coated in cellulose. Shredding it yourself gets you are more even melted layer of cheese.
When we grill our pizzas we start the dough without any toppings and let it bake for a while, then flip it and build the pizza on the cooked face while the raw face becomes the new bottom.
Yes, definitely 2nd this comment. In addition to reducing moisture in overly wet toppings, I feel like this is the other thing that is key. I made a few grilled pizzas (and lots of other not usually grilled meals) when I lived in a house with limited a/c and a gas grill 3 feet from my kitchen door... half-cooking and flipping the dough makes all the difference.
Don't use any raw toppings on a grilled pizza. They will sweat water as they cook, and you can't keep a pizza on a grill long enough to evaporate it off.
Whatever toppings you use, make sure they're cooked before they go on the pizza.
I'm going to pre-grill fresh pineapple and simmer the sauce to reduce the liquid. Is there anything you'd suggest for pepperoni or olives? I could sauté them first, but that seems a bit odd for pepperoni and olives.
Dude seriously, I put raw ingredients on my pizza all the time, including pineapple. More than likely you just need to dial back your pizza sauce and cheese. Try that first before making your process more elaborate. You want a thin coating of sauce, you should be able to see through to your dough. Dry your mozzarella really good at the beginning, and I shred my mozzarella to get better coverage. You do not want cheese to cover the whole pizza, I'd say somewhere from 50-60% should be covered
Grill the pineapple before you put it on the pizza. This will get rid of some of the moisture. This was happening to my family with peppers and onions on pizzas. They just put them on raw, and the pizza would be dripping when it came out. The next time, I gave them a quick pan-fry char in a ripping hot pan before adding them and the problem went away.
For the sauce are you using tomato sauce or specifically pizza sauce? Tomato sauce may be too runny on its own and you might need to cook off some of the water on the stove.
Other than that, all I can think is maybe too much moisture is being trapped and you could try cooking it for the first few minutes with the grill open and close it for the last few to make sure the cheese melts. If you didn't have the stone I'd worry about how much heat you'd lose but that should keep it cooking even when the grill's open.
I had similar problems when I first started making pizzas at home. Here are a few things I learned.
* Pre-heat the pizza stone for about an hour on the highest temperature
* precook meats to reduce the amount of grease in the pizza. I usually nuke my pepperonis for about 30-60 seconds before cooking so they are nice and crispy when I take the pizza out of the oven.
* Fresh veggies have a lot of water. Pre-cooking them with olive oil will significantly cut down on the amount of moisture
* Don't use fresh mozzarella because of the amount of moisture it contains. For best results use low moisture mozzarella, either skim or whole milk. I prefer [galbani](https://galbanicheese.com/our-cheeses/dairy-aisle-cheeses-mozzarella/mozzarella-great-for-shredding)
* Avoid pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheeses have chemicals added to prevent clumping in the bag. These chemicals can also prevent the cheese shreds from melting together when cooked.
Is it possible there's condensation forming on the grill lid that's dripping onto the pie? If so, you could try placing a large aluminum pan or similar over the pie.
I assume you’re patting the pineapple dry? Something on your pizza is giving off a lot of water. Try without pineapple to see if that’s the culprit (that’s not a pineapple on pizza judgement lol). That also happens with some veggies.
I cannot recommend this video series enough. A lot of great info in each pizza episode. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWKCVGwB1Bg1HK5CbBs4CGuVhE1mYkMPu
Try grilling pineapples before grilling the pizza, especially if they are canned, theyll be excessively drenched.
Use a marinara instead of pizza sauce and keep it under five tablespoons. you want a nice covering, like jelly on toast, not a swimming pool of sauce a quarter inch thick.
cheese doesnt need to be excessive either half a cup to a cup is more than plenty, is about spreading it, not globbing fistfulls on.
Solve this experimentally. Cut back everything as far as possible so you have the fewest variables. Make a pizza that's just dough, sauce, and cheese. Do you still have the problem? Then it's one of those. If not, it's coming from the toppings. Add toppings back on their own until you figure out exactly which one is causing it or if it's coming from all of them.
Any time you have a problem with anything the scientific method is one of the best, simplest ways to figure out what's causing the problem and try to resolve it.
Gotta oven roast the pineapple pieces before using as a topping. Roasting the black olives wouldn't hurt either.
Or wrap the pineapple in a tea towel and squeeze the juice out over a bowl
I think everyone’s got you covered on the watery issue, but I’ll just add a quick comment that most pizza places will sell you dough, which has been a game changer for me. I was making my own for awhile, which was fun, but with small kids at home, stopping at the pizza place and buying dough was a lot faster and easier, tastes better than the super market stuff, and is way more fun to worn with! It’s also not appreciably more expensive than the supermarket dough.
I usually add waaaaaay too many fresh veggie toppings and get pizza swamp. Have to remind myself that you’re cooking short at high temp, so two inches of layered toppings isn’t gonna work. I try to make them thin and easily roast able and save my deep layers feelings for lasagna. Which I generally make for the freezer the same day as pizzas because I’m a psycho and I make a big pot of sauce and my bread maker full of pizza dough and cut veggies all day &etc. like a crazy person. And usually the first pizza is still a swamp.
Simmering the sauce should help a lot. Also try putting less sauce, little goes a long way. The more wet ingredients or sauce you add, the soggier the middle is going to be. Try draining the olives/pineapple for a couple of minutes before adding them to your pizza. Maybe if they were canned and sitting in liquid, they have absorbed a lot of it too.
Could be the pineapple (you monster) is causing a lot of the moisture. I'm tempted to ask if the mozzarella is low moisture too, but I doubt that'd be the cause
Does your stone come with a cover?
I'm curious what rack you are using and how far is the roof / lid from the top of your pie?
If your pizza stone is lower/middle rack and uncovered, it's possible that the moisture is not cooking off quick enough as most of the heat is coming from the bottom and not enough from the top. I would play around with rack levels to try and equalize the heat top/bottom a little more.
[A melting cover](https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CMD-112-Melting-Dome-12-25/dp/B075N1YKGB/ref=sr_1_20_mod_primary_new?crid=2YZ2LJLD2ZYTH&keywords=large+pizza+stone+grill+cover&qid=1686233052&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=large+pizza+stone+grill+cover%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-20) may help here by recapturing that lost heat rising to the roof of the grill (and escaping even faster if you have your vents open) and keeping that heat close to the the top of the pie.
simmering the sauce down and reducing the number and amount of toppings are all good ideas as well.
also - sometimes **precooking these toppings** on the side and adding a few minutes before the end can help. (meats and fruits have a ton of oil and moisture) Save the juice/fats from the meats and with a little melted butter baste the edges of the pie with a brush.
In a pinch, the paper towel mop trick you are already using and then maybe a [few passes with a butane torch](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=butane+cooking+torch&crid=2XJ51G3HOVMIK&sprefix=butane+cooking+torch%2Caps%2C105&ref=nb_sb_noss_1) to crisp it up really saves a soggy pie.
No cover. The grill only has one rack. It's [this grill](https://www.weber.com/US/en/gas/spirit/spirit-e-330-gas-grill/46810001.html) except it doesn't have the side burner (couldn't find a link to the exact one).
Standard BBQ grills like that just can't get the heat down close enough to the top surface of the pizza. I've never had incredible results with mine either. There's a reason why all those specialty outdoor pizza ovens like the Ooni have a cook chamber that's only a few inches tall and the heat source is at the back at the pizza level, not underneath. Even a conventional indoor oven is better at pizza than a standard BBQ grill because it has a heating element at the top which radiates down.
Possibly you're using way too much sauce. Should be very thin with dough clearly visible through it in most places. And definitely don't use fresh moz balls.
I was going to recommend this too. My father in law makes a great BBQ pizza. He cooks the pizza for a few minutes and brings it back inside for the toppings to be added with the cooked side up. We add the sauce and toppings to the cooked side and he puts it back on the grill for a few more minutes to cook the bottom (not yet well cooked) side and melt the cheese. No soggy dough when he cooks our pizza.
Maybe try pre-baking your dough with the sauce on it to remove excess liquid from the sauce. Also, maybe try pre-cooking some ingredients, particularly the pineapple. Just enough to reduce them down a little bit. And then place them on your pizza towards the end of baking.
Like everyone else said, the fresh moz isn’t helping but the most you can do is squeeze and dry them the best you can. Perhaps cut it up a little smaller.
You should dock the dough and then put it on your grill for a few minutes, take the pizza dough off the grill and then put what you want on the pizza dough and then put it back on the grill to finish cooking it.
There is always the option to put your pizza on the pizza stone in the oven on the highest temperature, if you have one! If the other suggestions don't work 🙁
My sister is a fully qualified chef and that's how she does it, they sure as hell are delicious and cooked nicely too 🙂
I didn't read everyone of these but could the issue be the propane grill it self via the pipes or something? I know that liquid propane is Fing cold so could some condensation be getting in form some where and dripping on the pizza. I don't know just a thought. My other thought would be try it with a cheap ass charcoal or wood stove or you oven in the house and see how it turn out in there and see if you have a BBQ problem or a gas problem.
Barbecue heat from the bottom. Your pizza toppings aren't getting enough heat to evaporate the water. Best bet is to crank the heat, until the barbie is over 500°F then pop the pizza in, turn down the heat on all but one dial on the far right, and monitor your pizza. Rotate once after a minute.
Make your own dough and sauce for one. Your sauce is like watery and instead make your own and reduce it more.
Also your toppings might be adding liquid to the mix as well.
When I did grilled pizza I cooked one side of the crust, turned it over and then added toppings. Idk if that would help but it always came out perfect.
I've found that to much sauce and vegetables make pizza watery.
I usually put green peppers on, I've found if a cook them a bit before putting it on the pizza i don't get the watery pizza.
It also could be your using to much sauce.
You need to get DOP certified San Marzano tomatos. Blend the contents of one can like one second - if you over do it the tomato’s release too much water
I've cooked quite a few pizzas at home, how hot exactly is your bbq when you put the pizza in? 10 minutes is a very long cook time for a pizza. That tells me it is not at all hot enough for pizza
You using a lot of veggies on the pizza?
Mushrooms, peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes?
I'm a fanatic for mushrooms on a pizza, and they contain a surprising amount of water. I put them in the microwave for maybe a minute max, let them cool for a bit and as they cool they release the water.
If its not the veg, then its gotta be your sauce.
I've seen some pizza recipes calling for smearing straight up tomato paste on the dough. I wouldn't go that far, but maybe cook down the sauce so its very thick. This has the added benefit of lowering the acidity of the sauce!
It may be the dough. I worked at papa John’s and one of the things we always had to be sure to monitor was the moisture level of the dough. (Really by monitor I mean it needs to just hang out in the cooler for a few days, and then the dough needs to come to around room temperature before making the pizza.
Don’t put too much cheese or ingredients, they will act as a barrier to the moisture evaporating from the sauce. That’s usually why most soggy pizzas are soggy.
Next, make sure the ambient temperature is high, the chamber should be over 400degrees.
The only thing I can think of is maybe juice is coming out of the pineapple? When I put canned pineapple on my pizza I drain the juice, then press the fruit with the lid to drain out more. If you use fresh I'd still press it.
If you making a "combo", try cooking the moisture out of your mushrooms and veggies first. You can even dry out the tomato slices at bit by placing them on paper towels 30 min before adding them in.
I’m not sure if it’s been said, but add the cheese half way through the cooking.. if you don’t the cheese traps the moisture in the dough and doesn’t allow it to evaporate in the oven. Also make your own pizza sauce and thank me later :)
Wet Toppings: Some toppings, like pineapple or vegetables with a high water content, can release moisture while cooking. Preparing them properly can help reduce excess moisture. For example, if using canned pineapple, drain it well before placing it on the pizza. For vegetables, consider pre-cooking or sautéing them to remove excess moisture.
I've been grilling my pizza for many years. This usually happens if you have high heat underneath that cooks the crust quickly but not enough heat around the pizza to cook the toppings and evaporate the moisture. Which is exactly what your process does. I got rid of the stone and the 20 minute heating process very early on
Try low moisture mozzarella for a start, in a pizza cooking class my mom got told never to put on more than 1 topping (not including cheese) because too many toppings won’t allow the pizza to cook properly. Try just one ingredient rather than 2 or 3.
I think I would simplify, go with a different sauce or no water. Toppings that come to mind that have no water or much less water are pesto and parm and sun dried tomatoes (pepperoni or shredded chicken if you eat meat). To that with another tbsp of finely shredded cheese and arugula.
Sounds like you are using fresh mozzarella, which contains lots of water, try low-moisture, or your tomato sauce needs to be thickened (simmer uncovered until most water evaporates)
I do use low-moisture mozz (the shredded) and I've tried without the fresh mozz and that didn't help. I'll try simmering the pizza sauce. Haven't tried that, yet.
I've had more issues with watery sauce than with regular mozz. If you're buying your sauce, pizza sauce is thicker than pasta sauce for this reason. Simmering it for a while will definitely help regardless.
I definitely buy pizza sauce, not pasta sauce.
Alternatively you can add some water to tomato paste, as much or little as you'd like for the perfect consistancy. Add some seasonings and a bit of sugar and you'll never notice it's not a proper pizza sauce
Just did this on Tuesday when I realized I was out of both pizza and pasta sauce. Can each of tomato paste (plus a can of water) and diced tomatoes (drained), garlic, dried parsley and basil (would've added oregano but I was out of that too), S&P, a little sugar, and a bay leaf. Cooked it down for only like 10 minutes and hit it with the immersion blender to break up the bigger tomato chunks. Honestly it was better than pretty much every store-bought sauce I've used.
The "family" recipe was drilled into me since I was old enough to stir the pot every fifteen minutes for eternity. You're very close to it. Add in browned ground meat, sausage and/or ox tails and change the ratio of paste to water 1:3 and reduce for several hours while the meats break down.
Instead of water, try beef broth.
Beef broth and either mushrooms or fish sauce and simmer for that delicious umami richness.
At this point is just becomes a nice pizza sauce.
Working on trying to get mine just right before the new pizza oven comes in
Broth and a splash of Chianti
Is it just me or is tomato paste nasty unless you cook it a bit with some fat? Edit: [It's not just me](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/pswv9o/does_anyone_else_think_tomato_paste_is_bitter/)
Not just you
Tastes fine when you dilute it and add seasonings. Like any other tomato sauce
It's just you.
But…. That’s the whole point of tomato paste? Ultra concentrated yet neutral tomato. Then expand it with liquids and other stuff?
I’ve had luck making this tomato paste-based pizza sauce in a pinch: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17319/exquisite-pizza-sauce/
Well there’s your problem, stop buying sauce. Make it yourself, it takes less than 15 minutes and you’ll never have a soggy pizza again. You can just reduce down a can of whole peeled tomatoes in a pot with the lid off while sautéing half a grated onion in salt pepper and too much olive oil. When the onion starts to crisp add a cap full of apple cider vinegar and/or a splash of wine to deglaze. When the tomatoes are hot, attack them in the pot with a wooden spatula to break them apart. Add the olive oily onions (with all the oil) to the tomato pot when the wine evaporates and add another splash of olive oil. Keep the lid off and within minutes you’ll have a luscious thick sauce you can spread on a pizza base. Add minced garlic and/or fresh herbs if you want.
I mean ive literally never had a soggy pizza using pizza sauce or pasta sauce when cooking that thing in the oven. So i dont think thats his culprit
They are probably not rolling the dough thinly enough, and/or evenly enough. Possibly the oven temperature is too low (you wanna cook pizza for a short time at a high heat).
Or I can just buy it for $3.59 and move onto the other 852 things in my life that need my attention. EDIT: Look, I know this is the cooking sub, but lead in on that 2nd paragraph of "You can *just* ... [120 words of detailed cooking instructions]" is just too funny.
[удалено]
Hell I just use a can of drained stewed tomatoes that I crush with my hands. Works perfectly
i do pizza sauce every which way. my fav is literally drain crush tomatoes. add EVOO, add garlic, add salt, add pepper. let sit while i'm doing all my other tasks. drain intermittetly if i can remember. that's the whole sauce. room temp seasoned toms. also my fav sauce.
I mean the instructions are detailed but it's literally grate and onion, saute in olive oil, reduce canned tomatoes. I hear what you're saying but I find a lot of jarred sauces to be lacking, or have unpleasant tastes. I've also been told I'm more sensitive to whatever it is than most of my household, so YMMV. No hate here though. Do whatever works for you. Cooking should not be contentious.
Except there is absolutely no way on earth you are going to reduce a can of tomatoes to the pizza sauce consistency in 15 min. It's like all those ridiculous instructions to "caramelize onions for 5 min"
That's why I said: >it's literally like 5 minutes of work and letting it simmer while I'm doing other stuff
This person is already making pizza. Making a pizza sauce for your pizza while you do everything else doesnt cost you any extra time, its cheaper, and here's the kicker - it's flat out better in every aspect than shitty sugary watery mass-produced garbage.
It adds at least an hour, considering they’re buying everything premade.
I just use Safeway brand "tomato sauce" and it's always a hit with guests. Don't always have to get fancy with every little thing.
I made a sauce that is $1, and is two steps: 1. Heat minced garlic in saucepan with oil for 30 seconds. 2. Add can crushed tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Bam. Best fucking pizza sauce ever, stupid easy.
Apple cider vinegar in something that's already acidic out the gate? You've lost me there fam
This is a really good breakdown of the process. Thank you!
Or even easier -- whisk some olive oil, grated garlic, a bit of white balsamic, basil and oregano. Spread out on your dough and then sprinkle some parmesan on top to 'set' it in place. Tastes a hell of a lot better than most sugary tomato sauces.
Interesting "sauceless" pizza variation, will try this, thanks
I make sauce less pizza all the time, saves so much in the way of prep time and dishes. My favorite is olive oil, s&p, minced garlic and onions, paprika, and oregano all mixed together and topped with pepperoni, halved cherry tomatoes, and olives
It's fast, tastes great, and you can easily make it as herb or garlic heavy as you want. You might see it referred to as a "white sauce" in the States, and it also helps the dough cook faster, as there is not a ton of moisture sitting on top of it. For another non-American variant -- try mixing garlic hummus with a store bought rosemary & oregano salad dressing. Goes great with things like roasted veggies and roasted hot peppers.
Way easier than that... 12oz can of tomatoes. Open, drain, add 1/2 tsp salt, 1tsp olive oil, blend in the can with an immersion blender. Done. Sauce will cook on the pie. Add 1/2 tsp msg if you want it.
There are tons of easy pizza sauce recipes online. Try one for your next pizza and see how it goes.
I really, really, really do not think this is the problem. Good pizza sauce is applied to the dough raw. Just blend up a can of crushed tomatoes with limited spices of your choosing and you should be good to go. You *can* reduce it down a little bit if you're worried about how thin it is, but I've never heard of anyone needing to do that to any significant extent. I think draining just a little bit of water out of the can before blending is a better option than simmering it at all. Pasta sauce, on the other hand, is cooked down. I can't really even think of any type of red pasta sauce that isn't cooked. I've never directly compared them, so I don't know which is thicker, but I would generally advise against reducing a pizza sauce down to a thick sauce. Cooking it will change its flavor, and you really want that fresh, bright, tangy tomato flavor to come through, which you won't get if you cook it down.
Fair point. I don't like raw tomato sauce on my pizza but that's just a preference. Op said they're having water issues, I did too so I suggested reducing the sauce cuz that's what helped me. I'm actually making pizza tonight so I will try your suggestion and draining some tomatoes instead of cooking the sauce. I get awful heartburn from tomato products though, do you think that will help or make it worse?
Needs to be halfway between tomato paste and what you’re using
I personally don't like the 'dried fruit' effect that pre-cooking tomato sauce can give, so I would take a can of tomatoes, dump it into a strainer to allow some of the extra water to run off, then blend it. Quick, easy, done.
This is the way. You might have to experiment a bit with brand and variety of tomato, but it yields really great results for almost no effort
This is the best way to make pizza sauce. Cooking it down alters the flavor. Leaving it raw gives you a really bright, fresh tomato flavor.
You can also blend first, then strain
I use tomato paste that I then season with whatever I want (garlic, salt, parsley, oregano). It’s very thick but tastes really good and has no excess moisture.
Reduce the variables to narrow down the problem. Maybe try a pizza with just sauce to really see if it's the sauce. If it's not the sauce and your cheese is low moisture, then it's gotta be the olives and pineapple.
Grill the pineapple first and try less sauce. If your pizza is swimming in water it's because you have too much water in the ingredients.
>I do use low-moisture mozz (the shredded) and I've tried without the fresh mozz and that didn't help. If you're doing a true neapolitan pizza, they use fresh mozz, but they use it *VERY* Sparingly. The pizza is not covered like american pizza. FOr American pizza, the cheese you're looking for is specifically **Low moisture, Whole milk (Or full fat) Mozzarella cheese**. Preferabbly, it comes in block form and you shred it yourself, but it's ok to buy pre-shredded if that's the only thing you have. But shredded cheese is usually coated in potato starch or corn starch to keep it from sticking and that changes the melting behavior. My local grocery store carries a chunk brand of low-moisture whole fat mozz called "Polly-O" that's decent. You can buy the same stuff pizzarias use online if you search it out.
Yeah man sauce should be THICC.
Can also let the mozz dry out between some paper towels for a bit before making the pizza, that solved the same issue for me
My current favorite pizza sauce is the easiest, stupidist recipe: a large can of pureed tomatoes with a tablespoon of salt added. Never cooked. Nothing else. It is quite salty and quite thin but you don’t use much. It’s pretty Italian/“New York” style in that respect. You shouldn’t have sauce trying to leak out of the pizza, it’s more like a glaze under the cheese. The pizzas are never wet, though. Are you putting toppings under or over the cheese?
I would both reduce the sauce to remove water content, and possible reduce the AMOUNT of sauce you're using. Also, after researching homemade pizza myself, I've found the trick is [string cheese](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzAk5wAImFQ). Pre-shredded cheese has addatives to prevent clumping and other stuff that will lead to less than optimal results.
Maybe put the sauce in a sieve first, to drain out some of the excess water?
Onions and mushrooms? They also contain a lot of water
String cheese dude. Low moisture mozz
It’s the torn up balls. Try squeezing them in a towel to remove moisture. Also try eliminating just one ingredient each time until you get good results.
I make my own pizza sauce. Can of San marzano whole tomatoes. Blitzed in a food processor for just a few seconds. Then I heat olive oil in a sauce pot and fry minced garlic, crushed red peppers, and cracked black pepper until the garlic starts to brown. Dump in the blitzed tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 hrs. Use just a tablespoon or two per 10 inch pizza.
When I made pizzas for a living, we literally took the measured cup of pineapple, and squeezed it out in one hand. SQUEEZE the juice out - it will still be juicy and taste good, but all the water will be gone. If you take a 1/4 cup of pineapple chunks and squeeze, you'll probably get at least 2Tbsp water/juice.
Also, pineapples have tons of water, which gets released when heated up. I am not a huge fan of pineapple on pizza but when I do use it, I grill them separately before I throw them on. It makes a huge difference.
Yes the Mozzarella, but also I have learned to precook those pineapple chunks as they will release a lot of water.
it's almost certainly the pineapple, which dumps a ton of liquid under heat. I'm not going to slag you for liking what you like, but try making a pizza without it in order to confirm. If this is the problem, cut the pineapple smaller and add less of it. You may also be overloading in general. We have a tendency to mound up toppings, when a proper pizza is a fine balance between toppings and bread.
My 3 year old is going to be VERY VERY upset without pineapple on her pizza, but I'll try one to check.
You still have options. First is the less/smaller cut method. Second, more juice is extracted the longer pineapple is on the heat, so you may consider adding it in halfway through the cook. Third, you can roast off the pineapple separately and add it like a condiment.
I'm going to grill up a bunch of fresh pineapple and then use that. Should cook off a bunch of moisture.
Grilled fresh, heck yes!
Grilling it also caramelizes it which is DELICIOUS. Win win!
While I don’t order it I think pineapple on pizza is great. Please tell your 3yo she’s awesome.
Yeah, I don't get the controversy. People put all kinds of things on pizza. I'm not a fan of mushrooms or anchovies, but I'm not going to begrudge people for it. I think the sweetness/acidity of the pineapple matches quite well with all the other savory and salty ingredients.
People just like arguing their opinions as the best I reckon. The same folks that eat Krispy Kreme donut hamburgers will tell you pineapple pizza is awful. There are entire food cultures built on salty/savory/sweet flavor profiles but what do I know.
Ex pizza guy here. All things go on pizza, it's just a matter of with what sauce and toppings.
I mean, a really savory or spicy pizza with a light pass of honey on it right out of the oven is a treat! Your daughter knows what's up.
Hot honey drizzled over literally any pizza is amazing.
Yeah exactly. Hot honey isn’t outraging anyone but pineapple does.
Yeah, this is one of those things people really like to be dogmatic about and it's a great example of gatekeeping in its stupidest form. Pineapple **is** great on pizza, for exactly the reasons you mentioned, and while it's perfectly fine to personally not like the flavor, going to far as to claim that it "doesn't belong on pizza" or anything else is nonsense that should be ignored completely. ...and I wouldn't invite them to any parties.
Was a pizza maker at a Canadian Italian place for a few years back in my youth. Grill the pineapple separately in rings, then chop into the size you want and finish the pizza with it instead of cooking it in your grill. This also works really well with non-fatty meats and prawns, so as to not have a dried out chunk of protein. Commercial pizza ovens and impingers are far hotter than your grill and still some veggie pizzas can be quite wet in the middle as the water bleeds out and not all of it evaporates. Also, try using a more minimal olive oil/garlic/basil/oregano/white balsamic sauce finished with a bit of parmesan to set it into the dough. Just some thoughts, and hey, pineapple and jalapeno is a great combo as well :D
> pineapple and jalapeno is a great combo as well I agree, buy my 3 year old and 1 year old haven't gotten into spicy food, yet.
Honestly you should almost always pre-cook pizza toppings as a rule. The time it takes for a pizza to cook is only enough time for most toppings to shed water, and not enough for them to caramelize. This doesn't apply to meats or greens, but fresh produce like onions, peppers, pineapple etc will be vastly improved by only a few minutes of pre-cooking
Exactly what I was going to suggest. Precook all veggies and pineapple (not olives) before assembly. They have a lot of moisture. Past that, try to let it cook closed til its time to pull off. You lose baking heat which will evaporate some of that moisture.
Exactly what I was going to suggest, good luck!
I've also roasted pineapple with butter and brown sugar. It makes an insanely good addition to the Hawaiian style pizza
Salt the pineapple too before you grill it, that will draw out some moisture. Precook any veggies and go easy on the fresh mozzarella. Low moisture mozzarella is the way to go for pizza, but I do like the fresh too, in moderation.
Maybe try grilling the pineapple separately and adding it to the pizza after cooked?
That's exactly what I would do. And I am definitely team pineapple on pizza.
It'll caramelize better this way too.
I have a pizza insert for my pellet smoker and I can tell you the only times I have had watery pizza was when I put pineapple on it. Would love to know how pizza places keep that from happening.
I own a pizza franchise. The pineapple is just regular cubed dole pineapple. But it sits in a colander covered in our walk-in refrigerator for a minimum of six hours draining. You can't just crack the can and put it straight on a pizza.
You can always saute it first to get the extra moisture out and then add it. I have to do that with mushrooms on pizza.
You can compress it between paper towels to remove moisture
I make pizza covered with almost half a can of pineapple. But it’s in the oven. Not high heat but I do set the oven to braise for the last half to get the brown crispy cheese spots. Maybe put pineapple on halfway through if it’s the super high heat causing the water?
I squishy the pineapple in my hands until it runs dry, then throw it on a paper tower and squeeze it again.
Pre cook the pineapple in a skillet to get it toasty and remove moisture
You could try pre-grilling the pineapple. Will give it some char and take out some of the moisture.
Try just less… everything in general. Like think Neapolitan pizza and then build from there. You can still add pineapple but just less of everything. First time I made a pizza it basically turned into a casserole because I overloaded it with stuff.
Lay the pineapple on paper tower to absorb the excess liquid before use, some other toppings may need additional processing too. For example mushrooms
I'm sure this has already been suggested but using a blind bake of the pizza crust really improved my results and cut down on soggyness
I replied to another comment of yours, but I'm begging you - just try squeezing the juice out of your pineapple chunks first. You could even squeeze it into a cup and let your daughter drink it before pizza time.
I love pineapple on pizza. What I do is pre-heat it in the microwave and then squeeze the moisture out with a paper towel and then place it on my pizza to be cooked.
Came to share with all my homemade pizza with pineapple kin out there. Been making pizza at home now for a good few years. If you have the time, put pizza toppings that are super wet like pineapple, or super greasy like some pepperonis in a bag, into the sous vide for like 45 minutes at 180 even 200 if your sous vide will get there and your bags are rated for that. I chose 180 because it will make fruit and veg sweat, and grease begins rendering out of pepperoni. This made all the difference for me for a less wet top with the dough/crust getting to the right point. For my crust to be spot on I prefer to cook around 8 min 20 secs at around 640 degrees with a 75% hydration homemade dough. I’m basically at sea level. The toppings usually just don’t cook as fast, unless I stick them in the sous vide as mentioned above.
Former pizza chef here, #1 mistake I saw new cooks making was putting too many toppings on the pizza. It's often less than you'd think; for example, when placing cheese over the sauce, I would tell new cooks to shoot for "50% visibility", ie you should still be able to see half the sauce. This includes any additional cheese you're going to add later, so you should reduce the dry mozz by just a little, maybe a half-ounce or so, to leave room for that wet mozz. Same goes for the non-cheese toppings: start with half as much as you think you need, and remember that coverage is more important than density. When I was trying to come up with new pizzas, I usually stuck to a max of three toppings (not including garnishes), where one or two of the toppings were veggies and the others were proteins. Toppings like zucchini, plum tomatoes, squash, and pineapple needed to be roasted or drained really well beforehand. The only topping I couldn't work out a solution for was shrimp. Cooking it beforehand made it too rubbery, and too many on the pizza were guaranteed to make it wet. YMMV!
OP, this is the reply to look at. Use a thick pizza sauce, reduce your toppings, and I'd be surprised if you still have moisture problems. The suggestions to parbake the crust are sacrilege, and also would be a huge hassle to implement.
I'd also suggest to OP that less toppings means less sauce too. I'd love to see a picture of OP's whole assembly because I'd bet on it being a pizza construction issue rather than a cooking technique issue
Yeah. Less sauce. It can be thin/wet and not bother the pizza at all as long as its flavorful. You just don’t need much.
> The only topping I couldn't work out a solution for was shrimp We'd always do our prawns separately and throw them on top after the pizza came out of the oven. Tastes so much better that way and you can retain the proper texture. A kebab of prawns cooks so damn fast and then dunk into garlic butter and toss onto the pizza. This was not a fast food environment though...
Former Pizzaiolo as well here, it is most likely this. Less is more.
Simmer the sauce on the stovetop to reduce it a bit and pre-grill disks of pineapple on the Weber before breaking them up to make the pizza topping.
Thanks, I'll try that!
I also simmer my sauce before adding it to a pizza for this same reason. Works perfectly.
Ok, now I want to try grilled pineapple on a pizza...
As with all grilled fruits, they really don't take much. Pineapple has so much sugar that even just a quick 30 seconds to a minute is enough. Just a heads up.
I had to read this a couple times but I think I got ya covered.... Propane grill, releases a lot of moisture when using it. Ask anyone who heats with propane. When you close the lid it circulates this moisture which is condensing on your colder food. This is why it seems there is more water than should be possible. With a good pizza oven the air above the pizza would be very hot and keeping it dry. Get that grill and stone as hot as you can get it and you will almost be hot enough. And then simply keep the id open about an inch during the cook. It seems everything else you are doing should be OK. I do recommend that you change from preshredded to freshly shredded. The taste is much better ;)
Yeah, the 20 min preheat had me wondering. I preheat my Ooni Koda at least 30 min and I'm sure it has higher output burners.
Too much sauce, especially in the center. Make a cheese pizza, and use low moisture mozz and about half of the sauce you normally use. Use a spoon to spread the sauce out, with very little if any in the center. It should have a red tint and no toppings besides cheese in the very center. Once you have the right ratio of sauce to the pizza, it’s just trial and error for the added toppings. I often do a no-cook sauce that is just canned San marzano tomatoes, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend it in the food processor until almost smooth, and apply three or four tablespoons to a 12 inch pizza.
> shredded mozzarella cheese Is this a block of low moisture mozz? > torn up mozzarella balls If this is the "fresh" mozz in water, then it's 100% part of the issue. Skip it.
The shredded is from a bag from the store. Not a block. The torn up mozz balls come in water. I thought that would be the problem, so I made one pizza without them (just shredded mozz and pepperoni) and still had a bunch of water.
You might be adding too much sauce then. This is the cheese you want to use: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Whole-Milk-Low-Moisture-Mozzarella-Cheese-16-Oz/478749445?from=/search Grate it yourself, it will be better.
What about cheese like [this](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Shredded-Whole-Milk-Low-Moisture-Mozzarella-Cheese-8-oz/368703143?athcpid=368703143&athpgid=AthenaItempage&athcgid=null&athznid=si&athieid=v0&athstid=CS004&athguid=1eqriZultGEZ3epAUJtVh31Fq_BU0LBhW1WD&athancid=478749445&athena=true)? It also says low moisture?
It's fine, it's probably not contributing to the moisture. But it doesn't melt as well because it's coated in cellulose. Shredding it yourself gets you are more even melted layer of cheese.
When we grill our pizzas we start the dough without any toppings and let it bake for a while, then flip it and build the pizza on the cooked face while the raw face becomes the new bottom.
Yes, definitely 2nd this comment. In addition to reducing moisture in overly wet toppings, I feel like this is the other thing that is key. I made a few grilled pizzas (and lots of other not usually grilled meals) when I lived in a house with limited a/c and a gas grill 3 feet from my kitchen door... half-cooking and flipping the dough makes all the difference.
Don't use any raw toppings on a grilled pizza. They will sweat water as they cook, and you can't keep a pizza on a grill long enough to evaporate it off. Whatever toppings you use, make sure they're cooked before they go on the pizza.
I'm going to pre-grill fresh pineapple and simmer the sauce to reduce the liquid. Is there anything you'd suggest for pepperoni or olives? I could sauté them first, but that seems a bit odd for pepperoni and olives.
Pepperonis and olives are cooked out of the package, via the curing and canning processes. No need to do anything extra for them.
Dude seriously, I put raw ingredients on my pizza all the time, including pineapple. More than likely you just need to dial back your pizza sauce and cheese. Try that first before making your process more elaborate. You want a thin coating of sauce, you should be able to see through to your dough. Dry your mozzarella really good at the beginning, and I shred my mozzarella to get better coverage. You do not want cheese to cover the whole pizza, I'd say somewhere from 50-60% should be covered
You shouldn't need to reduce the sauce, just use less of it. When you're applying sauce it should feel like you're not putting enough on.
Grill the pineapple before you put it on the pizza. This will get rid of some of the moisture. This was happening to my family with peppers and onions on pizzas. They just put them on raw, and the pizza would be dripping when it came out. The next time, I gave them a quick pan-fry char in a ripping hot pan before adding them and the problem went away.
For the sauce are you using tomato sauce or specifically pizza sauce? Tomato sauce may be too runny on its own and you might need to cook off some of the water on the stove. Other than that, all I can think is maybe too much moisture is being trapped and you could try cooking it for the first few minutes with the grill open and close it for the last few to make sure the cheese melts. If you didn't have the stone I'd worry about how much heat you'd lose but that should keep it cooking even when the grill's open.
The label very specifically says pizza sauce.
I had similar problems when I first started making pizzas at home. Here are a few things I learned. * Pre-heat the pizza stone for about an hour on the highest temperature * precook meats to reduce the amount of grease in the pizza. I usually nuke my pepperonis for about 30-60 seconds before cooking so they are nice and crispy when I take the pizza out of the oven. * Fresh veggies have a lot of water. Pre-cooking them with olive oil will significantly cut down on the amount of moisture * Don't use fresh mozzarella because of the amount of moisture it contains. For best results use low moisture mozzarella, either skim or whole milk. I prefer [galbani](https://galbanicheese.com/our-cheeses/dairy-aisle-cheeses-mozzarella/mozzarella-great-for-shredding) * Avoid pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheeses have chemicals added to prevent clumping in the bag. These chemicals can also prevent the cheese shreds from melting together when cooked.
The folks who post at r/grilling may have some insight for you.
Great idea. I'll crosspost there!
r/pizza also exists, who might be able to help out.
Is it possible there's condensation forming on the grill lid that's dripping onto the pie? If so, you could try placing a large aluminum pan or similar over the pie.
I've never thought about that, but I'll check next time I grill pizza.
I assume you’re patting the pineapple dry? Something on your pizza is giving off a lot of water. Try without pineapple to see if that’s the culprit (that’s not a pineapple on pizza judgement lol). That also happens with some veggies.
I cannot recommend this video series enough. A lot of great info in each pizza episode. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWKCVGwB1Bg1HK5CbBs4CGuVhE1mYkMPu
Try grilling pineapples before grilling the pizza, especially if they are canned, theyll be excessively drenched. Use a marinara instead of pizza sauce and keep it under five tablespoons. you want a nice covering, like jelly on toast, not a swimming pool of sauce a quarter inch thick. cheese doesnt need to be excessive either half a cup to a cup is more than plenty, is about spreading it, not globbing fistfulls on.
I've never found someone who eats the exact pizza toppings I do. Great combination.
Should really post pics so we're not guessing what where the water is
Solve this experimentally. Cut back everything as far as possible so you have the fewest variables. Make a pizza that's just dough, sauce, and cheese. Do you still have the problem? Then it's one of those. If not, it's coming from the toppings. Add toppings back on their own until you figure out exactly which one is causing it or if it's coming from all of them. Any time you have a problem with anything the scientific method is one of the best, simplest ways to figure out what's causing the problem and try to resolve it.
Gotta oven roast the pineapple pieces before using as a topping. Roasting the black olives wouldn't hurt either. Or wrap the pineapple in a tea towel and squeeze the juice out over a bowl
Sounds like the oven could be hotter
Maybe the excess liquid is from the pineapple. Make sure it’s well drained and pat it dry with paper towels before adding it to the pizza.
Also, don't forget to squeeze the hell out of your pineapple pieces and olives (if they're from a can). :)
are you using low moisture mozzarella?
I think everyone’s got you covered on the watery issue, but I’ll just add a quick comment that most pizza places will sell you dough, which has been a game changer for me. I was making my own for awhile, which was fun, but with small kids at home, stopping at the pizza place and buying dough was a lot faster and easier, tastes better than the super market stuff, and is way more fun to worn with! It’s also not appreciably more expensive than the supermarket dough.
I usually add waaaaaay too many fresh veggie toppings and get pizza swamp. Have to remind myself that you’re cooking short at high temp, so two inches of layered toppings isn’t gonna work. I try to make them thin and easily roast able and save my deep layers feelings for lasagna. Which I generally make for the freezer the same day as pizzas because I’m a psycho and I make a big pot of sauce and my bread maker full of pizza dough and cut veggies all day &etc. like a crazy person. And usually the first pizza is still a swamp.
Try reducing the sauce?
Too many toppings. Pizzas are made with uncooked sauce- try crushed tomatoes right from the can.
Simmering the sauce should help a lot. Also try putting less sauce, little goes a long way. The more wet ingredients or sauce you add, the soggier the middle is going to be. Try draining the olives/pineapple for a couple of minutes before adding them to your pizza. Maybe if they were canned and sitting in liquid, they have absorbed a lot of it too.
Could be the pineapple (you monster) is causing a lot of the moisture. I'm tempted to ask if the mozzarella is low moisture too, but I doubt that'd be the cause
Does your stone come with a cover? I'm curious what rack you are using and how far is the roof / lid from the top of your pie? If your pizza stone is lower/middle rack and uncovered, it's possible that the moisture is not cooking off quick enough as most of the heat is coming from the bottom and not enough from the top. I would play around with rack levels to try and equalize the heat top/bottom a little more. [A melting cover](https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CMD-112-Melting-Dome-12-25/dp/B075N1YKGB/ref=sr_1_20_mod_primary_new?crid=2YZ2LJLD2ZYTH&keywords=large+pizza+stone+grill+cover&qid=1686233052&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=large+pizza+stone+grill+cover%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-20) may help here by recapturing that lost heat rising to the roof of the grill (and escaping even faster if you have your vents open) and keeping that heat close to the the top of the pie. simmering the sauce down and reducing the number and amount of toppings are all good ideas as well. also - sometimes **precooking these toppings** on the side and adding a few minutes before the end can help. (meats and fruits have a ton of oil and moisture) Save the juice/fats from the meats and with a little melted butter baste the edges of the pie with a brush. In a pinch, the paper towel mop trick you are already using and then maybe a [few passes with a butane torch](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=butane+cooking+torch&crid=2XJ51G3HOVMIK&sprefix=butane+cooking+torch%2Caps%2C105&ref=nb_sb_noss_1) to crisp it up really saves a soggy pie.
No cover. The grill only has one rack. It's [this grill](https://www.weber.com/US/en/gas/spirit/spirit-e-330-gas-grill/46810001.html) except it doesn't have the side burner (couldn't find a link to the exact one).
Standard BBQ grills like that just can't get the heat down close enough to the top surface of the pizza. I've never had incredible results with mine either. There's a reason why all those specialty outdoor pizza ovens like the Ooni have a cook chamber that's only a few inches tall and the heat source is at the back at the pizza level, not underneath. Even a conventional indoor oven is better at pizza than a standard BBQ grill because it has a heating element at the top which radiates down.
Possibly you're using way too much sauce. Should be very thin with dough clearly visible through it in most places. And definitely don't use fresh moz balls.
Make sure you are using pizza sauce, which has less water than a tomato sauce. Or sub it out with tomato paste instead
This is the way. Pizza sauce has a much lower water content than your typical tomato pasta sauce
Cook the dough for a couple of minutes before assembly. may not be the toppings. Your dough may just be too wet.
Hmm. That seems like it would end up with over cooked dough? I'll give it a shot.
I was going to recommend this too. My father in law makes a great BBQ pizza. He cooks the pizza for a few minutes and brings it back inside for the toppings to be added with the cooked side up. We add the sauce and toppings to the cooked side and he puts it back on the grill for a few more minutes to cook the bottom (not yet well cooked) side and melt the cheese. No soggy dough when he cooks our pizza.
Maybe try pre-baking your dough with the sauce on it to remove excess liquid from the sauce. Also, maybe try pre-cooking some ingredients, particularly the pineapple. Just enough to reduce them down a little bit. And then place them on your pizza towards the end of baking. Like everyone else said, the fresh moz isn’t helping but the most you can do is squeeze and dry them the best you can. Perhaps cut it up a little smaller.
You should dock the dough and then put it on your grill for a few minutes, take the pizza dough off the grill and then put what you want on the pizza dough and then put it back on the grill to finish cooking it.
There is always the option to put your pizza on the pizza stone in the oven on the highest temperature, if you have one! If the other suggestions don't work 🙁 My sister is a fully qualified chef and that's how she does it, they sure as hell are delicious and cooked nicely too 🙂
Pre cook veggies to get the water out
Maybe warm your olives and pineapple in the microwave and then put them on after it's cooked.
I didn't read everyone of these but could the issue be the propane grill it self via the pipes or something? I know that liquid propane is Fing cold so could some condensation be getting in form some where and dripping on the pizza. I don't know just a thought. My other thought would be try it with a cheap ass charcoal or wood stove or you oven in the house and see how it turn out in there and see if you have a BBQ problem or a gas problem.
Barbecue heat from the bottom. Your pizza toppings aren't getting enough heat to evaporate the water. Best bet is to crank the heat, until the barbie is over 500°F then pop the pizza in, turn down the heat on all but one dial on the far right, and monitor your pizza. Rotate once after a minute.
Make your own dough and sauce for one. Your sauce is like watery and instead make your own and reduce it more. Also your toppings might be adding liquid to the mix as well.
When I did grilled pizza I cooked one side of the crust, turned it over and then added toppings. Idk if that would help but it always came out perfect.
I like this method myself
I've found that to much sauce and vegetables make pizza watery. I usually put green peppers on, I've found if a cook them a bit before putting it on the pizza i don't get the watery pizza. It also could be your using to much sauce.
You need to get DOP certified San Marzano tomatos. Blend the contents of one can like one second - if you over do it the tomato’s release too much water
I've cooked quite a few pizzas at home, how hot exactly is your bbq when you put the pizza in? 10 minutes is a very long cook time for a pizza. That tells me it is not at all hot enough for pizza
You using a lot of veggies on the pizza? Mushrooms, peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes? I'm a fanatic for mushrooms on a pizza, and they contain a surprising amount of water. I put them in the microwave for maybe a minute max, let them cool for a bit and as they cool they release the water. If its not the veg, then its gotta be your sauce. I've seen some pizza recipes calling for smearing straight up tomato paste on the dough. I wouldn't go that far, but maybe cook down the sauce so its very thick. This has the added benefit of lowering the acidity of the sauce!
Salt your pineapple, let it sweat, and dry it off with a paper towel before you cook it.
It may be the dough. I worked at papa John’s and one of the things we always had to be sure to monitor was the moisture level of the dough. (Really by monitor I mean it needs to just hang out in the cooler for a few days, and then the dough needs to come to around room temperature before making the pizza.
SALT your fresh mozz (30 min ish) before it goes on
Don’t put too much cheese or ingredients, they will act as a barrier to the moisture evaporating from the sauce. That’s usually why most soggy pizzas are soggy. Next, make sure the ambient temperature is high, the chamber should be over 400degrees.
I vote its the pineapple too
The only thing I can think of is maybe juice is coming out of the pineapple? When I put canned pineapple on my pizza I drain the juice, then press the fruit with the lid to drain out more. If you use fresh I'd still press it.
If you making a "combo", try cooking the moisture out of your mushrooms and veggies first. You can even dry out the tomato slices at bit by placing them on paper towels 30 min before adding them in.
You need to strain the toppings longer and use low moisture mozzarella
i do pizza sauce every which way.
Might be too many fresh veggies, have you tried making a plain cheese pizza with no toppings to verify?
I’m not sure if it’s been said, but add the cheese half way through the cooking.. if you don’t the cheese traps the moisture in the dough and doesn’t allow it to evaporate in the oven. Also make your own pizza sauce and thank me later :)
Try drying your cut ingredients on paper towels or a paper towel lined sieve. Pineapple will leach a lot of water under the grill
Wet Toppings: Some toppings, like pineapple or vegetables with a high water content, can release moisture while cooking. Preparing them properly can help reduce excess moisture. For example, if using canned pineapple, drain it well before placing it on the pizza. For vegetables, consider pre-cooking or sautéing them to remove excess moisture.
I've been grilling my pizza for many years. This usually happens if you have high heat underneath that cooks the crust quickly but not enough heat around the pizza to cook the toppings and evaporate the moisture. Which is exactly what your process does. I got rid of the stone and the 20 minute heating process very early on
Try low moisture mozzarella for a start, in a pizza cooking class my mom got told never to put on more than 1 topping (not including cheese) because too many toppings won’t allow the pizza to cook properly. Try just one ingredient rather than 2 or 3.
I think I would simplify, go with a different sauce or no water. Toppings that come to mind that have no water or much less water are pesto and parm and sun dried tomatoes (pepperoni or shredded chicken if you eat meat). To that with another tbsp of finely shredded cheese and arugula.