Preheat your stone for 45 minutes

Yes, you can get a crispy crust on a pellet grill, but it’s all about thermal mass and heat management.

Pellet grills don’t reach the 800–900°F of a true pizza oven. Most top out around 500–550°F. That’s still plenty hot for a great crust, but you need a pizza stone or steel to absorb and radiate heat evenly. Without one, the bottom will stay doughy while the top burns. Put your stone on the grate and preheat the grill with it inside for at least 45 minutes at max temp. Don’t shortcut this — the stone needs to soak up heat all the way through.

Another trick: launch your pizza directly onto the hot stone, then after two minutes, lift the pizza with a peel and slide a sheet of foil or a small pan under the stone to block direct heat from the fire pot. This lets the top finish cooking without scorching the bottom. I’ve also had good luck par-baking the crust for 90 seconds on a hot cast iron skillet before adding toppings — gives you a head start on crispiness.

Your pellet grill is not a Neapolitan oven, but it’ll crank out a better-than-delivery pie if you respect the heat soak.