First attempt at Pizza on the Egg

shadowcaster

Last night I decided to try doing pizza on the Egg. We made 3 different types of pizzas. one was a meat lovers, another was a margherita, and the last had pep, onion, gr peps and mushrooms. I had the Egg at 650 and they took about 4-5 mins. I burned a small part of my first one but the others came out pretty good. I was happy with my first attempt, I know I can improve but at least I didn't ruin them. The only real problem I had was controlling the flames which you can see in the pics. Any suggestions would be great!

TexanOfTheNorth

The only reasons that I can think of to explain the flames would be that you were cooking with the dome up or you may have had melted cheese dripping onto the lump. If the later, try making your pies a little smaller so that they are not as big as your baking stone.

Closing the dome usually retards any flames unless something that you're cooking is dripping.

Federalist226

Looks good! but I highly recommend that you use a platesetter under your pizza stone. A pizza stone that is directly over the open fire will get very hot very fast. I usually have flames shooting on my pizza cooks. The plate setter mitigates that, and the flames often will go away when I close the lid and then jump up again when I open the lid. I wouldn't worry about it.

shadowcaster

TexanOfTheNorth said:

The only reasons that I can think of to explain the flames would be that you were cooking with the dome up or you may have had melted cheese dripping onto the lump. If the later, try making your pies a little smaller so that they are not as big as your baking stone.

Closing the dome usually retards any flames unless something that you're cooking is dripping.

I had the Dome closed the whole time except when I put them on and snapped a pic and when I took them off. Didn't seem to help the flames. It was probably the cheese and whatever else was falling on to the coals. 

@Federalist226 I had the platesetter in place with legs up then put the grate down and the stone on top of the grate. I was reading through all the threads yesterday and it seemed to be a mixed opinion on whether to put the legs up or down.

shadowcaster

I definitely am not winning a beauty contest with the pizzas haha but they sure tasted good! next time I will try changing a couple things here and there. Thanks!

SmokeyPitt

They are looking good from here!  I have had the crazy high flame thing happen before too.  It usually does get better when you close the dome but I have seen them shoot out of the top with the dome closed.  I think it might be partially due to uneven airflow if your grate is clogged.  The air is finding one path so the flames concentrate in a single spot.  Wiggle rod to clear some ash might help. 

Like @TexanOfTheNorth suggested if you make your pies a little smaller than the stone it helps and gives you a margin of error.  

shadowcaster

I cleaned everything before I started because my last cook had too many small pieces and ash and I was getting good air flow so my temp wouldn't go about 300. I'm still new at all this but should I still have to poke with a rod if its cleaned out and i used all bigger pieces? 

TexanOfTheNorth

Not really sure what your question is... I usually give my lump a stir (i.e., whatever is in the egg from the last cook) to knock it down and to make sure that the air holes are clear. I've never bothered paying attention to the size and will just dump new lump on top of what's left. Once I start cooking I don't do anything to the lump.

shadowcaster

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Not really sure what your question is... I usually give my lump a stir (i.e., whatever is in the egg from the last cook) to knock it down and to make sure that the air holes are clear. I've never bothered paying attention to the size and will just dump new lump on top of what's left. Once I start cooking I don't do anything to the lump.

I have just noticed it I get too many small pieces in there I don't have as much luck getting a higher temp. I'm sure it is something I am doing, or not doing.

Cookinbob

I've done pizza twice, once with the platesetter, once raised direct, good results for both.

+1 with TexanOfTheNorth on fitting your pies to your stone.  I had no problems with flameups.

I do mine at about 450 dome.  I would think at 600+ the crust would burn before toppings were ready

TexanOfTheNorth

shadowcaster said:

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Not really sure what your question is... I usually give my lump a stir (i.e., whatever is in the egg from the last cook) to knock it down and to make sure that the air holes are clear. I've never bothered paying attention to the size and will just dump new lump on top of what's left. Once I start cooking I don't do anything to the lump.

I have just noticed it I get too many small pieces in there I don't have as much luck getting a higher temp. I'm sure it is something I am doing, or not doing.

You said you were at 650*; how much higher do you want to go?

Difficulty reaching high temps is usually air-flow related (or not enough lump) so keeping the air holes clear both in the fire box and the fire grate is important.

FWIW, I usually do my pizzas at around 550* dome temp.

shadowcaster

TexanOfTheNorth said:

shadowcaster said:

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Not really sure what your question is... I usually give my lump a stir (i.e., whatever is in the egg from the last cook) to knock it down and to make sure that the air holes are clear. I've never bothered paying attention to the size and will just dump new lump on top of what's left. Once I start cooking I don't do anything to the lump.

I have just noticed it I get too many small pieces in there I don't have as much luck getting a higher temp. I'm sure it is something I am doing, or not doing.

You said you were at 650*; how much higher do you want to go?

Difficulty reaching high temps is usually air-flow related (or not enough lump) so keeping the air holes clear both in the fire box and the fire grate is important.

FWIW, I usually do my pizzas at around 550* dome temp.

Sorry I was not clear....I did not mean the cook with the pizza, i was happy with that. Actually I really wasn't planning on doing it at 650* but that is what it settled at....My last cook I did 2 whole chickens. Before lighting I stirred all the coals and cleaned out some of the ash in the bottom but i could not get the temp past 300* no matter what I did. Like I said I'm sure it is more on me than anything else. I am still new at this and do a lot more reading on here than posting and have learned a lot from you guys, I am just trying to pick your "eggs" to learn new tips and techniques. Thanks!

TexanOfTheNorth

The only time I have personally had temp problems is when I did not start with enough lump. That usually happens when I'm using leftover lump and underestimate how much is in the egg. I believe, however, that there are 3 basic causes for temp problems... inadequate air-flow, not enough lump or lump that is not burning properly due to dampness.

jfm0830

Like most of the others, when I saw your pictures my reaction was too much pizza, too little pizza stone. I have had great luck doing pizzas right out of the starting gate. 

When I do my pizzas I use the platesetter and a pizza stone. The platesetter gives me the indirect cooking and the stone crisps up the crust. At first I was installing the platesetter legs down and setting the pizza stone on top of 4 copper plumbing T's used as shims. Lately I have been doing the platesetter legs up with the pizza stone resting on the grill grate. This seems to be a little gentler on the crust. The advice came from 3 different folks who all do competition cooking on their Eggs for 3 different BBQ teams in the New England area.

I preheat and stabilize the Egg at 600 degrees. Once it is stabilized I let it continue at that temperature for 30 minutes. This lets the stone get to 600 degrees and really helps with any heat loss from opening the grill to add a pizza. While this is going on I go in and top my pizza.

I make a 12-14" pie. I want to make sure there is extra room around the pie in case there is a little spillage. Spillage = flareups if it rolls onto the flames. It also helps with any landing errors you may have by giving you some extra room. You can put a normal amount of toppings on the pizza. If you are going to go for other than normal, go for light and simple vs over stuffed. Too many toppings and you will start burning the crust before the toppings are cooked. Come up with a temperature you will use consistently and a time for that temp. My first pizza at 600 degrees was cooked for 5 minutes. I decided the crust could go a little longer and I tried 5:30 which was perfect. Now I make sure the Egg is at 600 and I can cook 1 pizza or 10 in a row and they all come out perfect.

A few other  things: The only time I have had problems with reaching high temps was when the fire grate was clogged or I hadn't stirred the lump to get rid of the dust and small chunks. Many people swear by the High-Que fire grate. It replaces the BGE grate with something that looks like a mini s/s grill grid. The wider openings allow for better air flow and less chance of clogging. Lastly be sure to burp your Egg whenever you open it so you don't get a flashback. Eyebrow and arm hair are somewhat over rated but a bad enugh flashback is no laughing matter. I actually do a double burp, I lift the lid an inch or so and count to three. Then I lift it to 3 or 4 inches and count to three again. After a while it becomes second nature. Sometimes if I am distracted I burp my unlit Egg.

Pizzas on the Egg are one of life's little pleasures. Enjoy!!

Jim

shadowcaster

@jfm0830 Thanks for all the info, I appreciate it. Next time I will do smaller a smaller pizza. Orrr I can go buy a LBGE and a bigger stone and keep the same size pizza! hahaha. It was a fun experience and will definitely be doing them again soon. I will be sure to take in all that everyone said and post pics of my "improved" pizza. Thanks again everyone, I have learned a lot so far and I am having a lot of fun doing it, I love cooking on the Egg!

TexanOfTheNorth

shadowcaster said:

@jfm0830 Thanks for all the info, I appreciate it. Next time I will do smaller a smaller pizza. Orrr I can go buy a LBGE and a bigger stone and keep the same size pizza! hahaha. It was a fun experience and will definitely be doing them again soon. I will be sure to take in all that everyone said and post pics of my "improved" pizza. Thanks again everyone, I have learned a lot so far and I am having a lot of fun doing it, I love cooking on the Egg!

This is the most important thing related to the BGE!