Pizza Steel?

Nashville_Egger

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N205G22/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=biip_111016_impulse-amazon-purchases-staff-picks-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00N205G22&linkId=6732017e78226f22303bd9477fa2eb3b

Anybody ever tried one of the these in an egg?  I've honestly never heard of a pizza steel until today. Thought it looked like an interesting alternative to a stone.  I doubt you could ever get an egg hot enough to crack one of these...

Photo Egg

I have one and really like it. Nice crisp crust and it will never break.

Carolina Q

I have a piece of 1/4" steel plate I use for pizza in my oven. Absolutely love it! I would try it in the egg, but it's too large. Surplus from a steel yard @ $1/lb. I paid $12. I haven't used my BGE stone since the first time I tried the steel.

Photo Egg

I have this brand. Little cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/NerdChef-Steel-Stone-High-Performance-Surface/dp/B00JXVNUHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478880140&sr=8-1&keywords=nerd+chef&th=1

kl8ton

Kind of what @Carolina Q  said.

Based on current steel pricing, you should be able to order 1/2" thick 14" diameter A36 (HRSPLT) for about 20-30 dollars.  

If anybody is interested, i have no problem ordering these and shipping them at cost.  You pick diameter and thickness and I can order it from a local supplier and ship it to you.

I can have custom shapes done too if you want too.  Custom shapes don't cost extra - you pay for the weight of the steel.  I can also personalize it and have it engraved if interested.  I work in the metal stamping industry and deal with this type of stuff every day.  One tool we have out there that we just built is 55,000lbs and stamps out a semi truck front end.

kl8ton

OP I see you are in nashville - one of our steel suppliers has a plant there.  You could call them and ask them for an over the phone quote.

Tell them you want Hot Rolled Plate
Give them a diameter and a thickness.
Tell them you will pick it up.

If you tell them its for personal use and what you are using it for, they may help you out on price too. 

Pioneer Steel, Nashville TN
1650 Murfreesboro Rd # 220
Franklin, TN 37067
Toll Free: 800-245-8988
Phone:615-791-4560
Fax: 615-791-1185
Map Directions ››

Nashville_Egger

kl8ton said:

OP I see you are in nashville - one of our steel suppliers has a plant there.  You could call them and ask them for an over the phone quote.

Tell them you want Hot Rolled Plate
Give them a diameter and a thickness.
Tell them you will pick it up.

If you tell them its for personal use and what you are using it for, they may help you out on price too. 

Pioneer Steel, Nashville TN
1650 Murfreesboro Rd # 220
Franklin, TN 37067
Toll Free: 800-245-8988
Phone:615-791-4560
Fax: 615-791-1185
Map Directions ››

That's awesome!  Thanks! I think I will be giving them a call

RRP

Last year when I did a group buy and had 8 of the steels fabricated I sold 5 locally and shipped 3. Cheapest rate I found was FedX Ground. If you are shipping any distance at all then I can assure that cost is going to be more than the steel itself. I think the most expensive charge was over $30. Plus you need a secure outer packaging.

Photo Egg

kl8ton said:

OP I see you are in nashville - one of our steel suppliers has a plant there.  You could call them and ask them for an over the phone quote.

Tell them you want Hot Rolled Plate
Give them a diameter and a thickness.
Tell them you will pick it up.

If you tell them its for personal use and what you are using it for, they may help you out on price too. 

Pioneer Steel, Nashville TN
1650 Murfreesboro Rd # 220
Franklin, TN 37067
Toll Free: 800-245-8988
Phone:615-791-4560
Fax: 615-791-1185
Map Directions ››

Great information in both your posts. Thank you
Ron did this a few months ago and put together a small group buy and shipped them out with no profit to him.
I went with 3/8" ChefNerd and I really think I would go thinner next time. The weight is just not worth the extra little bit of crisp crust over the 1/4".
I would never do 1/2" after using the 3/8". It's a beast.
Other issue. I did have a friend cut me a 14 1/2" circle from from rolled plate steel. I can not get it to stop rusting. I have not puled it with electrical current but I did soak it for days in vinegar and re seasoned it. Still rusted through.
Make sure what you get is clean...
The Amazon link for ChefNerd is not bad with free shipping. I spent so much time screwing with the piece I had cut it just was not worth it for the savings. 

Canugghead

For fellow canucks, I was told A36 is equivalent to our 44W. I picked up a couple of 1/4" scraps couple of years ago. Works great for smashed burgers, haven't done much baking with it yet.

kl8ton

Yes, shipping steel sucks!  That is why i checked where OP was.  You can save a lot if you can pick it up yourself.  

You do have to keep it oiled and in a climate controlled environment.  If exposed to moisture - rust.  If it gets too humid in the shop, this steel will rust overnight.  I could be wrong, but once it is seasoned, rust shouldn't be too bad - like my blackstone I would guess.  Again, not sure on that.



Our steel suppliers have a route and they drop off steel daily. They would just add 10 - 20 dollars to your order for shipping.  One supplier would drop off what they had in stock locally and over the next few days steel would start showing up from their satellite locations via UPS.  We are talking multiple (30-40) blocks that range from 20-70 lbs each.  It seemed crazy that they only charged the 20 dollars for shipping.  They went out of business.
  

kl8ton

Nashville_Egger said:

kl8ton said:

OP I see you are in nashville - one of our steel suppliers has a plant there.  You could call them and ask them for an over the phone quote.

Tell them you want Hot Rolled Plate
Give them a diameter and a thickness.
Tell them you will pick it up.

If you tell them its for personal use and what you are using it for, they may help you out on price too. 

Pioneer Steel, Nashville TN
1650 Murfreesboro Rd # 220
Franklin, TN 37067
Toll Free: 800-245-8988
Phone:615-791-4560
Fax: 615-791-1185
Map Directions ››

That's awesome!  Thanks! I think I will be giving them a call

One more thing.  Depending on what thickness you want, you can save more money by knowing how they process your order.

If you order 1/2" thick ground - they will start with 5/8" or 3/4" thick and grind it down to 1/2" after they cut your shape out of it.

To save money, tell them to start with 1/2" or start with 3/8" and "grind to clean up"  That way you pay for 1/2"  or 3/8" plate and they just grind until it is flat on both sides.  (for pizza steels you shouldn't care that it ends up at .400" or .295")

RRP

Then after you get your steel you'll want a place to store it. Here's the wooden carrying/storage case I made for mine. BTW I seasoned mine using grape seed oil and it is slick and doesn't stick!

whldch

I pondered the same question last year after reading Kenji write about the steel in SE. He was promoting a high end Kettle Pizza setup with steel rather than ceramic. It was a real pricey setup and I waited and read a few articles, all of them said not worth the expense stick with the ceramic. So I did.

Photo Egg

whldch said:

I pondered the same question last year after reading Kenji write about the steel in SE. He was promoting a high end Kettle Pizza setup with steel rather than ceramic. It was a real pricey setup and I waited and read a few articles, all of them said not worth the expense stick with the ceramic. So I did.

Expense is a tough thing to factor. Some people are real lucky with ceramics.
I have had 3 platesetter fail, 2 high end pizza stones crack and 3-4 cheaper stones crack over 10 years of Egging. None were covered under warranty. $70-$100 for a baking steel now seems like a great deal. As do my cast iron platesetters.

Focker

RRP said:

Then after you get your steel you'll want a place to store it. Here's the wooden carrying/storage case I made for mine. BTW I seasoned mine using grape seed oil and it is slick and doesn't stick!

Ron, that is really nice.  Have kicked around building a stone, piastra, ci griddle, steel, etc (6 or so total off the top of my head) storage rack out of wood, similar to yours.  Thought dowels, 1xs.  Every time I use my oven it's a project cleaning it out to use.  

This looks like a great plan, just widing it out to accomodate more.  Would house some serious weight though.

Focker

Photo Egg said:

whldch said:

I pondered the same question last year after reading Kenji write about the steel in SE. He was promoting a high end Kettle Pizza setup with steel rather than ceramic. It was a real pricey setup and I waited and read a few articles, all of them said not worth the expense stick with the ceramic. So I did.

Expense is a tough thing to factor. Some people are real lucky with ceramics.
I have had 3 platesetter fail, 2 high end pizza stones crack and 3-4 cheaper stones crack over 10 years of Egging. None were covered under warranty. $70-$100 for a baking steel now seems like a great deal. As do my cast iron platesetters.

Good point.