pizza stone set up

greendean

I made pizza the other night. Put my platesetter with the legs up, and the grill grate on top of platesetter. I then put my pizza stone on the grate. Does this sound like a decent set up to do pizza?

Carolina Q

I've never done it that way, but that doesn't mean you're wrong. I do legs down, spacers (green egg feet, terra cotta flower pot feet, copper plumbing pieces... whatever) between the platesetter and the pizza stone. No grid at all. Has always worked well for me.

As for your method, if you liked the pizza, then it was a good method.

greendean

my only problem was that I got a strong charcoal flavor. I am not sure if that was because I did not let the charcoal burn clean(even though the last ones still tasted that way) or if It had something to do with the set up

"Sparky"

That set-up has worked for me for years How did your pizza turn out?Go with whatever works for ya

Goody

That is exactly how I have done pizzas on the egg.

greendean

have you ever had a strong charcoal flavor? How long do you preheat and at what temp?

Carolina Q

The strong flavor has nothing to do with the setup. More likely with how long you let it burn before you put the pizza on. If the smoke coming out of the top smells bad, the pizza will taste bad. I'm betting you just didn't wait long enough for the bad smell to dissipate.

BobS

You did not mention how hot you cooked the pies and how long you let the pizza stone and plate setter preheat.

I cook hot (650+) and it is normally an hour+ from the time I light the Egg until I cook a pie.

There is essentially no smoke coming out the vent at that point.

I cook with the PS, legs down, three inch spacers and then the pizza stone.

greendean

I preheated it about 40 minutes to get it between 550 and 600. I think you are right, just need to let it burn longer, do you get any charcoal flavor at all?

MemphisQue

I do the legs down so I can put some spacers (I use four 1 1/2 inch nuts) under the pizza stone. I had read on this site that doing this will help the stone last longer as it provides the stone a buffer from the high heat on the place setter.

"Sparky"

MemphisQue wrote:

I do the legs down so I can put some spacers (I use four 1 1/2 inch nuts) under the pizza stone. I had read on this site that doing this will help the stone last longer as it provides the stone a buffer from the high heat on the place setter.

If you use the plate setter legs-up with the grid on top,then the pizza stone,you get more of a "buffer" :ohmy: I actually prefer this set-up for another reason though.A plate setter in the legs-down position deflects the heat of the fire directly toward the gasket Also,I don't have to keep up with spacers(I have enough crap to keep up with) I still say,go with whatever works for you

Bash

I tried that on the XL and really warped my aftermarket grid with the high heat. Maybe with BGE grid and a shorter span on the L, it would not matter.

May not be a problem for you, but wanted to share so you are aware of the problem it caused me (again, aftermarket grid, XL size).

YMMV.

Richard

thirdeye

RTD got me hooked on using the green feet to create a little air space between the pizza stone and the legs down plate setter.

Da Kine Green BBQ

FINALLY!! A good use for them Big Green Feet! Eggcellent! Thanks!

thirdeye

I use them on several of my chicken and casserole cooks.

[Deleted User]

I just responded to your other post when I saw this one.
Yes, there is usually some smokiness to the flavor. Pizza is one of the foods that picks up smoke in the flavor very easily.

I think you gave it enough time to pre-heat, but what you really need to do is check the smoke. is it non-existant or a light,wispy bluish smoke? If so it's ready to cook. If you're cooking in the dark and are having trouble seeing the smoke, do the best you can and then sniff the smoke. (don't get too close, you'll burn your nostrils! :laugh: ) If the smoke smells good/aromatic, then it's ok to cook on. if it smells more chemical or like someone's house is on fire, it's not ready yet.

There will always be some smell of smoke, the key is getting it right .

Also- I forgot to comment on your setup. I used to do it that way but wasn't excited about the results. I tried platesetter legs down, 3 spacers then Pizzastone and have never gone back. I'm thinking there may have been something leftover on the grid (but that should've burned off) but I don't know. I like it better PS legs down than legs up on the grid.

MemphisQue

That's a good point

BDogD

Ha! I've never seen a Crown Roast of Chicken before.

I do the legs up, grid, pizza stone setup and it seems to work for me. Haven't had the BGE XL grid warp.

dloubiere

What size pizza stone should I purchase for a large?

Goody

I have done this setup 2 ways, at the end of the day both settle the egg around 500 - 550. 1) You can let your egg go full force and get up to 600 - 650 like you would a steak and then put the plate setter, grate and stone in to heat up. 2) start with the plate setter grate and stone in and let the egg run wide open until you reach temp. Agin both will settle around 550. In my opinion that does 2 things, 1) at the higher temp it cooks the pizzas in a shorter time (10 - 15 min) depending what you topped it with and 2) the higher temp makes for "cleaner" smoke faster. Both of those things limit the smokiness in the dough if you do not prefer it. Personally I think pizza at that temp and time is a great balance of smoky flavor and crispy crust. Below is photos of pizza I have done this way.





At the end of the day there is really no wrong way to do it. You learn that in hear opinions can be like noses, everybody's got one. :laugh: Take them all in and do what works for you. Just have fun with it. Pizza is one of those thing were your creativity can go wherever!

rprice54

Have any of you noticed less stress on the gasket with legs up? I posted last week about my first pizza cook at 550 and the three edges where the plate setter is recessed had crispy gasket (crust was crispy too).

BGE is sending me a replacement (it was basically a brand new egg) but I'd like it to last longer than 1 pizza. I'm thinking legs up for me. I also have some split firebricks I can use to raise the stone off the grid.

Can I still get a good crispy crust legs up?

malcl

I cooked pizza  for the first time last night on my XL lge.  Setup was plate setter - legs up, grill gate and pizza stone on top.  Heated to 650 deg for 15 mins dropped the temp to 600 and started cooking.  First I cooked a smoked salmon, creme fraiche and dill pizza which took 15 mins to cook it was perfect.  I kept the temp at 600 and cooked a sausage onion and garlic pizza which took only about 6 minutes and was also perfect. Finally, I cooked a   margherita  pizza which burned in about 3 mins.  I assume that even though I kept the temp constant at 600 the stone continued to heat up over the 45 mins or so that it took to cook the pizzas.

Question:  How do I better regulate the temp of the stone?

Eggaroo

I use the exact same setup that you did - plate setter up, grid, then pizza stone. Heat the stone to 600 to 650 for at least 30-45 minutes before cooking and have never had too much smoke flavor in the pies. I've seen somewhere that if your crust is getting too done before the toppings, you can put a damp towel on the stone to bring the temp down some. I just wouldn't put a real cold one on there for fear of cracking the stone. For thicker pies I would use a lower temperature in the range of 450 to 500 or so.

Backyard Mike

This is how I used the adjustable rig

Begger

Legs up makes perfect sense for the PS.   Then I'll add some space with firebrick I've cut in half to raise the grate, THAN add the pizza stone.  Cover the stone with a good sprinkling of Corn Meal and it shouldn't stick, right?

nolaegghead

I cook a lot of pizza on the egg.  I like legs up, then a grate, then some spacers and a stone.  Having the PS face low gives you a bigger shadow, like having your hand closer to the bulb to shield from the light.  And legs down deflects heat to the gasket, the mothership released a memo about not doing that.  Not that anyone cares about the gasket, all ye commando people.  Just not necessary to do legs down, does not give you anything advantageous.

jtcBoynton

Begger said:

Legs up makes perfect sense for the PS.   Then I'll add some space with firebrick I've cut in half to raise the grate, THAN add the pizza stone.  Cover the stone with a good sprinkling of Corn Meal and it shouldn't stick, right?

No, do not cover the stone with cornmeal. Use cornmeal, or semolina, on the peel in order to allow the dough to slide off and onto the pizza stone.  Once the dough as set, it will release from the stone. Use just enough so that the uncooked pizza will slide on the peel.

jtcBoynton

malcl said:

I cooked pizza  for the first time last night on my XL lge.  Setup was plate setter - legs up, grill gate and pizza stone on top.  Heated to 650 deg for 15 mins dropped the temp to 600 and started cooking.  First I cooked a smoked salmon, creme fraiche and dill pizza which took 15 mins to cook it was perfect.  I kept the temp at 600 and cooked a sausage onion and garlic pizza which took only about 6 minutes and was also perfect. Finally, I cooked a   margherita  pizza which burned in about 3 mins.  I assume that even though I kept the temp constant at 600 the stone continued to heat up over the 45 mins or so that it took to cook the pizzas.

Question:  How do I better regulate the temp of the stone?

You need to let the pizza stone heat up thoroughly before cooking on it. 15 minutes is nowhere near enough time. Minimum of 45 minutes, 1 hour would be even better. The decreasing times you experienced are classic example of a stone that was still heating up as you were cooking. Pizza dough is cooked by the heat transfer from the stone to the dough. You need to get the stone completely saturated in order to get consistent results. Better regulation of the temp of the stone is accomplished by time - be patient and let the stone heat up completely.

H12mike

If measuring the stone temp with IR, should it close to the dome temp?

UCFFAN

jtc is dead nuts on.... let the BGE get to temp.... One hour is good! Indirect for me and usually around 450.....cooks fine .... just a little longer on the stone but will not burn. Secret is to have the entire mass of the Egg including the stone at your selected cook temp.....then its all good.

A31unit

nolaegghead said:

I cook a lot of pizza on the egg.  I like legs up, then a grate, then some spacers and a stone.  Having the PS face low gives you a bigger shadow, like having your hand closer to the bulb to shield from the light.  And legs down deflects heat to the gasket, the mothership released a memo about not doing that.  Not that anyone cares about the gasket, all ye commando people.  Just not necessary to do legs down, does not give you anything advantageous.

I know this is an old post but what do you use for spacers on top of the grid and under the stone?