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Lump usage question

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jrog74
jrog74 Posts: 42
in EggHead Forum
My wife is a high school basketball coach and she wants to get the girls over and feed them pizzas and do some team bonding. Well I get to cook the pizzas that they make. I was wondering how long a full load of lump would last at 600 degrees? I think that i will be making 10-15 pizzas. Can i do that in one load? or do i need to have a chimney full of lump ready to refill the egg after a certain amount of pizzas? Thanks all and i promise to post pics of the cook. 
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    @Solson005 is the guy, I think he has a post here somewhere where they did 13 or so pizzas. We have never done more than 5 at a time and we cook at 550 max, mostly 500 target. I'd think you could get 10-15 with one load, IMHO.
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • JwgreDeux
    JwgreDeux Posts: 139
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    I've done five in a row at around 600 degrees.  If I was planning on that many, I would try and arrange a two at a time setup, and likely plan on a 30 minute window to refill the lump and let it burn off and come back up to temp.

    Good luck.  Sounds like fun
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
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    size of the egg probably matters
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    Clean the firebox and fill it up to the top of the fire ring.  Stage all your pizzas so they go in one after another.  I'd recommend thin crust and cook as hot - at least 750 so they don't take 10 minutes apiece.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    And plus one on doing two at once.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • BGEXL_Nick
    BGEXL_Nick Posts: 88
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    Sounds like a perfect excuse for convincing your wife that you need another egg :)
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  • jrog74
    jrog74 Posts: 42
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    It is a large egg and thanks for all of the advice.

    Nick: I tried to tell her that i need one more. This may get it done for me. 
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  • jrog74
    jrog74 Posts: 42
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    Nola and Jw: I have just the basics. Any recommendations on how to do two at once? 
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  • Solson005
    Solson005 Posts: 1,911
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    As @Skiddymarker said I do pizza parties all the time (thanks by the way for the recommendation.) 


    Here we did 11 pizzas and two little ones. I fill my large BGE full of lump to the fire ring and get my pizza stone temp above 450° usually 525° - 550° dome temp. The thing with cooking so many pizzas is you have to find a method that works for you to keep the pizzas going. Normally we have one person over seeing the making of the pizzas and one person in charge of the egg. I will usually form the dough and have whomever is getting the pizza put their toppings and cheese on themselves.  

    We try to get one pizza on the egg, one being made, and one sitting on the super peel ready to swap out only doing one being made and one on the egg will take forever and you might run out of temp. If you don't have a super peel I would make the pizzas on parchment paper, since once they are made they tend to stick to the counter. Put all of your toppings out in a bowl and that helps speed up the process. Have a place to make the pizzas (I use a pastry mat now for that post I just had a big cutting board) a place to cut the pies, and a cookie sheet or something to keep the cut pieces that aren't being eaten on. 

     I use Ozark Oak and it allowed me to get all 13 pizzas done but the last two took a little longer since the fire was starting to lose temp in the end. 

    Have fun, take pictures, oh and you will probably go through much more cheese than you think or atleast we did..  
    Large & Small BGE, CGW Two-Tier Swing Rack for BOTH EGGS, Spider for the Wok, eggCARTen & and Cedar Pergola my Eggs call home in Edmond, OK. 
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  • JwgreDeux
    JwgreDeux Posts: 139
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    two ways I could setup to do two pies at once:

    1: I bought an 18" weber grate, put three six inch bolts with nuts and washers on it and it is a second tier rack that my 16" pizza stone can go under and another stone on top. (grate and bolts were less than 20 bucks.)


    2:  My stones are different sizes, one 16 inches and one 14 inches, so the other way I could do it is to use a couple fire bricks to sit my 16 inch stone on and slide my 14 inch stone under it on the regular grate.


     
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  • DonWW
    DonWW Posts: 424
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    8 pizzas on an XL and decent (not full) load of lump was more than enough.   You should be OK with a full load.  Keep the temp at 550.
    XL and Medium.  Dallas, Texas.
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  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668
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    You should be able to get 3/4 hours of burn time at 550/600 with a full load of lump without seeing a decrease in temps.   Swing racks work great for double cooking pizzas.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

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  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,567
    edited November 2012
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    jrog74 said:
    It is a large egg and thanks for all of the advice.

    Nick: I tried to tell her that i need one more. This may get it done for me. 

    But honey it's for the kids.
    O:-)

    I have done six in a row, I'm not sure 10 can be done let alone 15 in one load. Your best bet is set up for two at a time. Or maybe find a recipe for dough that can be cooked at a lower temperature, like 500 or so.

     

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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    I've done 10 on my xl over the course of 6 hours at 600*. The last pie had to have lump added to keep it chugging at 600. No chimney needed. Those coals are HOT. The new lump will take off without a problem. If you do the pies closer together, you ain't have to add lump.
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    Nice tip on Shady Maple. Is there anything they don't have?
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    Haven't been there in years. Until this forum, I thought it was just a restaurant. My next brisket will come from there.
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • Stargaze
    Stargaze Posts: 68
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    I'll have to head up there to Shady Maple, only thing is I'm in the Harrisburg area so we're talking an hour drive.
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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    Its worth the drive. Plan to eat at their buffet restaurant (the whole complex is closed on Sunday) or any of their smaller eating places.  They have great selections of bulk food including spices.  If you go to the buffet on your birthday, your meal is free. They are open at 5AM for breakfast.  Check their web page for all info.

    This is their market web page: http://www.shady-maple.com/farm-market/
    you can check their latest ad (changes each Wednesday).

    Some of the meat they sell is either ungraded or Select, so check carefully before you buy.  In season they have mostly local produce.

    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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