The idea of cooking pizza on the grill seems fraught with peril – it’s easy to envision raw dough slipping through the grates, overly charred edges, and undercooked middles.

On the flip side, wouldn’t it be nice to have one more reason to leave the oven off in the summertime?

Since cookbook author and TV host Bob Blumer has written a book on the subject, Pizza on the Grill (co-authored with Elizabeth Karmel), we figured there was no better person to allay our fears. We were right!

As you’ll see in the video clip below, Bob cooked up a delicious blistered corn, asparagus, and pesto pizza (one of more than 100 recipes in the book, and Bob’s frequent go-to), in no time, and gave us a few pizza-grilling lessons along the way. (And yes, it was indeed raining on the day we choose to shoot this interview!)

Here are a few of Bob’s top suggestions for grilling pizza:

1. Be sure to let the dough come to room temperature before you roll it out. That way, it’ll be easier to work with, and you’ll be able to roll it out into a nice thin crust. If it’s too cold, the dough won’t stretch out as easily.

2. Oil your dough on both sides, and sprinkle both sides with cornmeal/polenta, before placing on the grill. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to the grates.

3. Think roast (direct heat), then bake (indirect heat). Lay the dough over direct heat for the first few minutes of cooking, then after a few minutes flip, add toppings and cheese, and continue to cook over indirect heat until the toppings are heated through and the cheese is melted.

Pizza on the Grill has just been released in an expanded edition, which includes all-new recipes and instructions for gluten-free dough.