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The Costco Pizza - Start To Finish (Featuring my first ABTs)

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MaskedMarvel
MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
edited February 2012 in EggHead Forum
Greetings friends- 

The setup -

Filled the Egg with Royal Oak.  First time using it.  Two HUGE pieces in this bag; reserved for a later low and slow.  Grid on a legup platesetter...

image
Large BGE and Medium BGE
36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    Baked off for an hour at ~325.  Raised it a bit in the end to get the Egg ready for the pizza.  Here's how they came out...


    image
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    Sorry for the multiple posts - the forum is being wonky about uploading pics...

    Have to give you a close up of one of those ABTs.  My friend prepared them and brought them over for the game and they were FREAKING AMAZING.  Can't emphasize that enough...


    image
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    So, anyway...  Opened the Egg up to try to get to ~500 degrees.  Platesetter and grid stayed put, added a small grid to keep the new pizza stone off the grease that might be leftover.  Here's how the SLT 16 1/2" Cordierite stone looks with this setup.  Note what I consider to be plenty of room from the edge of the stone to the Egg...


    image
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    I run my platesetter with one leg near the back (hinge side) so as to prevent what others consider to be a potential hot spot....  Here is the pizza, before and after...


    imageimage
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
    edited February 2012
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    One more kinda fun pic -

    I started the new lump intending to put the Egg through the works with a full hot firebox.  Left the vent wideopen with no DW and went in to adjust the antenna (homey don't pay for cable) to get the most reliable signal for the game.  When I came back out in about ten minutes, there was a blue column of flame jetting out of the top of the Egg like a retrorocket test launch had gone horribly wrong.  The Egg was steaming.  On the outside.  Weird, right?  Anyway, I freaked, mentally kissed my gasket goodbye, capped the Egg with the DW, and arranged the platesetter, etc.  After capping the Egg with the DW wide open, I noticed flame in the ash compartment.  Keep in mind, this only took ten minutes with a full firebox of lump, lol...


    Thankfully, no flashbacks, and the gasket and thermometer survived...




    image
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    In conclusion -

    The pizza was delicious.  Worth the ease of picking one up and adding a few toppings.  I went with the extra cheese from them and added my own apple smoked bacon, pepperoni, and black olives with a bit of fresh ground black pepper.  Melted toppings perfectly done with a firm crisp crust.

    If I hadn't watched the heck out of it the last 15 minutes, it would have been ruined.  The pizza went from looking raw to getitoffasap in what seemed like 60 seconds.  

    Also, I don't know why, but the first slice I ate right away after pulling the pizza wasn't nearly as tasty as the ones after it had been sitting for exactly the amount of time it took to eat that slice.  Next time, I'll let the pizza rest for ten minutes.


    Finally, and probably what I'll get the most heck from you all about, I had trouble getting the Egg back up to temp after putting the pizza in.  I think wiping the pizza stone would have been a good idea with the crust being so crisp, but the dome temp never really got back up there for the cook.  Next time I'll take the approach of trying to bring the temp down to pizza level instead of working to get it to go up.  Now, especially, that I know how crazy the lump can take off in a short period of time..

    Hope all your Superbowl teams won today!
    8-Damien

    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • Gezr
    Gezr Posts: 154
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    All's well that ends well and this all looks like a very good ending.
    If you don't think too good, don't think too much.

    Afton, VA
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  • boatbum
    boatbum Posts: 1,273
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    Good looking cook.   It is amazing how hot that thing can get fast.   Was surfing through the posts where people were losing their heat during a cook - seemed like a lot yesterday.   Heat and the Egg is almost always a function of air.   Give it air - you have the rocket launch you described.

     

    Cookin in Texas
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    I'm trying this exact same cook tonight again with the "backupincasetheotheronesucks" pizza.  A few notes...

    I think I'll try a little hotter dome and wipe the stone well to just knock the edge off the temp there.

    And, the Costco pizza I cooked before had some cheese stuck to the bottom of the crust I didn't look for before the cook.  Resulted in a few burned cheesy places on the stone.  I'm not concerned, it's prolly just part of the seasoning and easy to fire off, but if you're reading this thread because you're looking for Costco pizza results I mention for you just in case.


    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    if you kept the daisy on after putting the pizza in, that's why she never recovered.  your egg was roaring without the daisy. but even a full-open daisy is a smaller opening than the open chimney.

    capping it is what drove the fire to find oxygen in the ash chamber (lower vent).  lucky to not have a flashback.  though they look worse than they are.

    your egg will steam if it has been raining especially.  but even if it is just damp or otherwise cool.  moisture will be driven out from the heat inside. you might even see it sweat or foam brown goo... 

    not sure if you meant you left the dome itself wide open in order to get to 500.  you might be better off closing the dome and letting the fire establish itself through the lower vent. get a nice draft going.  that way, the dome itself heats up and radiates heat back on the top of the pizza
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    That's exactly what I did..  You recommend not using the DW and just controlling the heat with the bottom vent?  I'll give that a try tonight then.  Thanks.
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
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    I don't use the daisy wheel for pretty much any cook over the 375-400 range.
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited February 2012
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    this is my thinking:

    " Left the vent wideopen with no DW"

    >( that will allow it to get as hot as the egg can get.  it is wide open.)

    followed by

    " I  capped the Egg with the DW, and arranged the platesetter, etc."

    >(this will drop temp due to cold platesetter, and because the daisy is now limiting the exhaust because it is smaller than the wide open chimney)

    " After capping the Egg with the DW wide open, I noticed flame in the ash
    compartment. "

    >(the fire reacts to the sudden loss of oxygen (being choked by the daisy) by finding that oxygen wherever it can (bottom vent).  this is how you can tell the daisy is actually choking the fire, even though it's wide open)

    do not light the egg with the daisy off and walk away, unless of course you are looking to go nuclear.  if you want 300, set the vents for 300, even as the fire is starting.  takes no more time to hit 300 daisy on or off, and that way it won't over shoot.

    yes, you can leave the daisy off and control with the lower vent too.


    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    Thanks very much!
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    MQ.

    i leave the bottom open and control the daisy.  better visual for me, no stooping

    either works.  the daisy was invented because it made finer control a little easier to scope.  but the egg can be controlled with either vent
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
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    Hmm...I just might have to try it that way next time.
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  • jkrl
    jkrl Posts: 23
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    Hey MM - What was the total cook time? Did you get it back to 500 degrees? How did the crust come out?
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,142
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    Kept it a little higher than that with wet wiping the stone before putting the pizza on for 15 minutes. Crust was still too stiff but the toppings browned nicely. Going to try the next one at 450. Also a good temp for my abts.
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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