Calzone: Grilled versus Baked?

Grilled pizza can often have a lot more flavor and texture than oven cooked pizza. One of the secrets to good pizza is cooking at a very high temperature which sometimes can be difficult in a regular oven. Recently I made grilled burritos for a football tailgating party. (I'll have to share this recipe later.). The burritos were a huge hit and it got me thinking why not try grilled calzones.

I was curious whether or not the calzones could be cooked long enough on the grill to make the filling hot and bubbly without burning the dough. Or would the dough be cooked on the outside with the inside luke warm and the dough not all the way cooked leaving a doughy texture?

I was a little timid, and hungry, so I made an oven baked calzone and a grilled calzone. This way if the grilled version didn't turn out I wouldn't be left trying to figure out an alternative for dinner. Also, I was able to taste test to see which method created the most flavorful calzone.

The verdict - both were delicious but the little bit of char on the grilled calzone really added a whole other level of flavor and smokiness.

Calzone: Grilled versus Baked?

Use the same recipe for dough that I used in my 'Friday Night Pizza' post. Divide the dough into 4 balls.

Toppings (This is personal preference so use whatever you like.)

6 grilled hot italian sausages
1 1/3 cups of marinara sauce
2 cups grated provolone
1/2 cup grated parmesean

Roll out each ball of dough. Sprinkle some provolone cheese on each of the rolled out dough. Placing the cheese on the dough before the sauce will act as an extra layer of protection from keeping the calzone from getting soggy. Next, spoon about 1/3 cup of marinara sauce over each being careful to spread it out evenly. Slice the sausages and place evenly over the marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining provolone and parmesean cheese.