I burt my felt ring!

Dean · October 2000

I was making Spin's eggcelent pizza recipe for the first time today. I couldn't follow it exactly because I didn't have the right fire bricks. I used a 12" hexagonal 1.5" thick brick on my Large egg. Then, I added a grill rack that added a few inches of height, then I placed my large 16" pizza stone I just bought. I thought I had stabilized the temp when I first came out and it was 575, then I closed down the lower door, and sank it back to 550. I put the pizza on, then came out a few minutes later and it was up well in the 600's. I closed things down, but the temp didn't dive fast enough, so I waffled the lid, and got a peek at red hot coals. I noticed smoke (not good when you're going for no-smoking on this recipe), and it was the felt ring burning. Luckily, it didn't really destroy the meal, though it is 1/2 destroyed on the inside. It definitely needs replacement. So my questions are 1) what is entailed with the replacement (buy mail order? how replaced? reglue? what kind of glue? how scrape off old? And 2) how did I burn it? My guess is that it was because my pizza stone was a good inch or two above the ring, not just slightly above it. This would have allowed the extra 2" diameter that the pizza stone hung over the roundish brick to reflect heat (which got to 650) back down onto the felt. Sound logical?

Tim M · October 2000

<p />Dean,[p]No big deal on the felt. Call BGE and order a new one - it glues on. Use a putty knife to scrape off the old one. No chemicals should be used![p]The pizza temp is variable so don't worry about holding that high temp dead on 575. The two layers of ceramic is important - you need 550-650 deg so the toppings cook but you also need enough shield to keep the fire from burning the crust. A perfect combination is needed for the best results.[p]Tim

RRP · October 2000

Tim M, It probably makes no difference, but I noticed in your picture you leave your grid in and sit your plate setter on top. Any particular advantage? I always leave mine out and then I can throw in some chips to add a quick bit of hickory smoke taste to my pizza while it bakes.

Spin · October 2000

Dean,[p]I would have liked to hear how the pizza turned out :-). [p]It sounds very logical and reflects my experience. The heat from the fire tends to be deflected to the dome and the seal tends to see more than it may have been orginally designed to withstand. You have no real problems with the seal. It will slowly dry from the inside out with active Egg use anyway. My large is 3+ years old and has only the very slimest of a very dried seal left (original seal). It still cooks under 210°F for 20+ hours. I do have the replacement seals on hand and will install them if and when I see the need.[p]I use a different setup for the "mass" in the Egg to make pizza than what I used when I first posted the recipe. I have come to favor two stacked pizza stones (set on top of each other) that are spaced up (minimal mass spacers) so that the top of the stack is at or slightly above the lip.
I also control the dome temp by limiting the top vent only - bottom vent wide open. The Egg is ready to cook on when you need to really restrict the top to hold cooking temp. Open the top wide after installing the pie so you can quickly regain the cooking temp.[p]How was the pizza?[p]Spin

Tim M · October 2000

<p />RRP,[p]I wouldn't know how to fit it in the Egg without the grid in place. Without it the setter and pizza stone would sit much lower and that would make ingress and egress of the pizza much more difficult since it would not be level with the open Egg anymore. [p]The wood is a personal thing I guess - I avoid all smoke with pizza, bread, and calzone.[p]As far as adding wood "thru" the grid -- I cut out a notch in the grid a long time ago and that makes it easier. Here is a picture of it from my website.[p]Tim
[ul][li]Tim's website of BGE[/ul]

Dean · October 2000

Spin, The pizza was very good. I didn't have the ingredients for the sauce, which was the weak link. The crust was the main point, and for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I actually made a crust that slid off my peel. It baked quite well, and was crispy and done. My first attempt with a frozen crust and a pizza tray the first weekend I owned the egg left me with a partially uncooked crust. My wife was leary going down this path again, however I convinced her I was doing it 'right' this time. My aprehension was that the smoldering felt would ruin the taste, but it did not. I followed your instructions on removing the old lump, and I went with BGE lump, which I like a lot. So, all in all, I am quite pleased. I even went for splitting the dough in 2 rather than 4 pieces, and I still worked it with the peel well. Your idea of practicing with a folded dish towel is genius. Thanks for being the pizza king.

djm5x9 · October 2000

Tim M:[p]I could be mistaken, but I think RRP has a second generation plate setter that fits on the fire ring, not the grid. It is difficult to tell for certain from your picture if this is the case.

RRP · October 2000

Tim M,
??? "would set so much lower" etc etc etc???
The grid is what, maybe 3/8 inch? Guess that hasn't given me any problems in the MANY pizzas I've made and loved on my large BGE. Different strokes for different folks as they used to say...good night.

Tim M · October 2000

djm5x9,[p]OHhhhhhhh,[p]That now makes sense. The picture I posted was from last year when BGE sent me a setter to play with. They then made a larger one that will sit on the fire-ring. I have it and use it now but I still don't remove the grid. That old style setter would drop 3-4" below the bottom edge if I removed the grid. Thanks Darryl for clearing that up.[p]Tim

Spin · October 2000

Dean,[p]Making the first good pizza is the hardest part of pizza on the Egg. Once you get a good one, the rest just happen.[p]Congratulations.[p]Spin

I burt my felt ring!

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