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pizza and smoke don't mix

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citychicken
citychicken Posts: 484
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
played pizza man yesterday and made my first pizza in my egg, and must say i liked the results for the most part. trouble is though the pizza had an overwhelming smoked flavor to it. of course, with respect to the beef, pork, et al, that is why i have my egg. for pizza, i prefer a cleaner taste. anything i can do short of investing in a pizza oven?
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  • Memphis
    Memphis Posts: 144
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    markkal123, I agree - smoked pizza is not my favorite either. What brand of lump are you using ?? Some lumps put out more smoke than others. Also you must let the lump burn awhile until the smoke runs clear - then put your pizza on. Check out the whiz's web site for his reviews on different lumps.

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  • Spin
    Spin Posts: 1,375
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    markkal123,[p]Also, was your egg and charcoal clean? Dripping tend to smoke as they burn when exposed to 550 degrees.[p]What temperature did you cook using. A slower, lower temp cook will add smoke flavor to the dough.[p]Spin
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  • Flashback Bob
    Flashback Bob Posts: 519
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    markkal123,
    Nobody at my house likes smoky Pizza, so I understand.[p]What I do is make sure the fire is burning for a good half-hour before I start cooking. I used to cook as soon as it got up to temp, but that resulted in a lot of un-tasty smokiness.[p]I have also been told that any smokiness could be coming from leftover drippings from a previous cook. Usually I let it burn awhile after a cook to burnoff excess crap.[p]Anyhow - you could let the fire burn longer before you start. If you're going to cook at 600, and you let the egg stay at 600 for awhile, it should clean it up nicely. My Egg and platesetter always come out clean after a Pizza cook.[p]On my last cook, I noted an annoying "band aid" taste and put the question to this forum. One response noted that I left my grate in during the cook and it could've had stuff on it from before that contributed to the funny smoky taste.
    Pizza3.jpg
    as you can see, I do the platesetter legs up with the grill and the stone on top. I do this for cooking bread too and have never had any taste issues with the bread. It's funny, the pizza is a quick cook and the bread is 25 minutes- you'd think the longer cook would get smokier.[p]Actually, now that I look at the picture again, it was probably the spinach! Pre-cooked spinach (that I use in some recipes on the egg) seems to pick up the bitter smoke taste more than anything else. ahHA! Mystery Solved![p]So in summary- make sure you give your fire a chance to be burning good and clean before you throw your pizza on.
    Have fun!
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  • omba
    omba Posts: 241
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    markkal123,
    FWIW ...
    Pizza is fast becoming one of my favorite Egg cooks. I have tried the home oven, and it just doesn't get the same crust that the Egg delivers.
    I do believe that the key is to let the Egg burn hot (600+) for a while (15+minutes) BEFORE cooking. The stone needs to get up to temp and it takes longer than the domed air. At any rate ...
    Whenever I make pizza there is very little smoke in the pit. In fact ... I have never noticed any. Perhaps the brand of lump makes the difference, and I only use Royal Oak or Wicked Good. I don't know about the lump branding, but you could research TNW's site for more information.[p]Bottom line?
    It sounds to mee that IF YOUR LUMP IS CLEAN, you are probably putting "the pies" on too soon. But then I would defer to those much wiser than this relative newbie. :-)[p]Hope it helps,
    Peter
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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
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    omba,[p]You're going to get taught the secret handshake! Giving advice on the forum is one of the other steps we don't tell you about. Good words there bud.
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  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
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    markkal123,
    Smoke from previous cooking can affect breads, pizzas. I start out by scraping off any grease blobs then load my cleaned egg with with fresh lump. After the egg gets fired up I let it heat over an hour before pizza goes in. I do a lot of chicken and low-n-slow cooking and must work around the grease as best I can.
    Clay
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    markkal123,
    as others said, a clean fire is key. it doesn't sound like to added wood, either, so it's likely a clean-fire issue.[p]but one other thing, and good advice for newbs... experimentation is good, it's how you learn. but don't go nuts during the honeymoon phase and pile smoke on everything. "if a little is good, a lot must be better". when i first got the egg, sheesh, i was cooking everything lo-and-slo it seemed, because i could! the fact that i had no clue why lo-and-slo works on one type of meat vs another didn't matter.[p]or i'd add too much smoke to things that really didn't 'want' it. over-smoked turkey/chicken even ham.[p]again, doesn't sound like your issue, mark, but there might be an egger here tempted to try pancakes lo-and-slo over maple wood. take it easy![p]...come to think of it, it's 9:30 and i just rolled out of bed. might try some lo-and-slo pancakes after all!
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Chainsmoker
    Chainsmoker Posts: 114
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    Flashback Bob,
    will you share the dough recipe?
    Ryan
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    markkal123,
    To each his own, I guess, LOL. I toss a big handful of wood chips on the fire when I put my pizza in. Pizza and smoke most definitely go together![p]You can try using cowboy lump since it seems to have less smokiness to it. If you preheat your Egg and your stone for 30 minutes and get the setup up to 500ish degrees, you should have a very clean burning fire.[p]So, tell us in detail what you did. Old lump? New lump? What temp? How long did you preheat?[p]TNW
    The Naked Whiz
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  • BlueSmoke
    BlueSmoke Posts: 1,678
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    markkal123,
    To follow up on TNW's questions, I get less smoke from previously burned lump. The volatile organic compounds (VOC's) that are in all new lump are significantly reduced when it is fired, and it is these buggers that give you smoke and smokey taste. [p]If you bake often, pizza included, you may want to remove and reserve all burned lump every time you light your Egg. That way you build up a store of previously burned lump for baking.[p]HTH
    Ken
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  • Chubby
    Chubby Posts: 2,955
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    omba,[p]Yes..."Follow the Sundowner" ..GrassHopper![p]For it is he...who is keeper of the secret handshake,
    (and the 10 percent off on Eggccessorys card) that comes with it!!
    I spent most of my money on good bourbon, and bad women...the rest, I just wasted!!
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  • citychicken
    citychicken Posts: 484
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    markkal123,
    it sure is nice having a "big brother" around. thanks so much everyone for all of your advice and help. [p]with my pie yesterday i realize now that i rusthed the entire process; i used a combo of new and used green egg lump; put the pie on as soon as the temp hit 500; and had the plate setter on that had some spillage from spatchcocked chicken from the night before.[p]i remember reading several posts here that say patience is the key to most cooking on the egg. so honestly, i feel pretty dang dumb now. [p]next time i'll be sure to follow your advice.[p]happy eggin!
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  • FossilPeddler
    FossilPeddler Posts: 72
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    Flashback Bob,[p]What is covered in foil between your platesetter and the grate?
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  • Flashback Bob
    Flashback Bob Posts: 519
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    chainsmoker,
    It's my favorite recipe- I buy the dough for $2.00 from one of the pizza joints in my town! I've tried a few and I like this the best.
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  • Flashback Bob
    Flashback Bob Posts: 519
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    FossilPeddler,
    I put foil on the platesetter out of habit. Didn't need it. Don't usually for pizza.
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  • FossilPeddler
    FossilPeddler Posts: 72
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    ClayQ,[p]Can you remind me of your preferred setup for pizza and bread?[p]thanks
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  • omba
    omba Posts: 241
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    Sundown,
    OMG!
    I'm so excited!
    Really excited!
    I'm so excited!
    OMG! Did I just wet my pants?
    :-)[p]Thanks,
    Peter
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  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
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    IMG_3757.jpg
    <p />FossilPeddler,
    Modified plate setter (no legs), then raised grid supporting pizza stone. A grid ring (modified fire ring) goes around it all.
    I know its hard to see the plate setter, but its there. I made cutouts in the grid ring so it fits tight onto the fire ring and plate setter. I'm done with modifications. I gotta start drawing up designs for a table.
    Clay
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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
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    omba,[p]Keep your pants dry old son. We don't want to have to put you diapers before you learn the handshake! Oh, one other thing you didn't know, being a sick **** is going to go a long way for you. The sicker the better!
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