Teardrop Cast Iron Pizza

by: Marilyn McCray

Making personal pizzas is a production, baking one at a time over the camp fire. Slice and serve them one at a time, hot off the fire. This is a great way to serve your friends or participate in a camp cook-off or provide a demonstration of your recipe or Cast Iron cooking technique. Get creative with toppings.

Serves: 4 – 10 or 12-Inch personal pizzas, bring more dough and toppings for bigger appetites or more servings. Additional cast iron skillets will streamline cooking.

Ingredients

· Pizza sauce – use your favorite recipe or select a tasty prepared sauce

· Use your mom’s special pizza dough recipe, a no-knead recipe can save time (slice.seriouseats.com) or use par-baked, commercially prepared crust

· Dry Aged Mozzarella, Parmesan, Provolone, or even Cheddar or Jack cheese

· Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Prosciutto, olives, sliced mushrooms, artichokes

Pesto, Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, or make it Southwest with Jalapeños

Prepare before leaving home

· Create the pizza sauce, pesto, cook Italian sausage or other ingredients as needed

· Make the dough, divide and roll into individual balls, pack in individual plastic bags Refrigerate. · Place in a cooler

· Grate the cheese, slice or dice toppings. Use small plastic left over/deli containers

· Measure dry ingredients and seasonings, place in plastic bags – label

· Assemble all the ingredients and equipment, include a large cutting board

Remove dough from the cooler. Follow recipe for additional steps.

Have all the equipment and ingredients within reach. A small folding table near the fire can simplify the cooking. Assemble the ingredients, mix and match toppings. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, place 1 ball of dough in the pan and turn it to coat both sides of the dough. Flatten the dough on the bottom and work dough up the sides of the skillet or place par-baked crust in the oiled skillet. Aluminum foil or parchment paper can be substituted to avoid sticking. The pizza is constructed in the pan. Add the sauce in a thick layer, cover with toppings and cheese all the way to the edge.

Cooking Methods

On the campfire – Cast Iron Skillet

Prepare the campfire. Baking one pizza at a time over the fire. Place the skillet on 12 – 16

coals. Cook for about 10 – 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Optional: cover with lid to melt cheese. A griddle or other skillet can be used as a lid. Coals can be placed on the lid to melt cheese faster. When done, remove skillet from fire. Use a long-handled metal spatula to loosen the pizza and transfer to cutting board, cut into slices. Oil the skillet and add the next pizza. Repeat the process for additional servings.

Serving Suggestions

Slice, scatter a few basil leaves over the top and serve immediately, one at a time hot off the fire. Buen apetito!

Marilyn McCray is a published author of a cookbook titled Canning, Pickling and Freezing with Irma Harding, the International Harvester’s fictional spokesperson. Marilyn and her partner, Jim Kerkhoff, travel in a beautiful teardrop to promote the book and she has graciously agreed to share some recipes with us in a regular column. Be sure to check out her book at teardroptrail.com/equipment-and-supplies/

Be sure to check out these other camp cooking recipes!

Pork Chop Mac & Cheese