BGE After A Good Smoke

sjm1027

So my wife asked me a question last night... I was not sure how to answer her... I cooked a chicken, with some smoke chips... It was delicious and commented on the smoke flavor... Her question was:
If you cook meat with wood chips and the Egg smells like smoke the next time you cook a pizza will the pizza smell like smoke?
She likes smoked meat but not all the time and I know she won't like her pizza to taste like hickory. 
What is the answer to her question?

cheeaa

No. 

GratefulJason

If there is some wood leftover, it might. But getting the egg up to pizza temps will eat it up before you throw the pie on, and take care of any lingering aromas for good measure.

sjm1027

what is a good pizza temp?

StillH2OEgger

Many on here will say higher, but I think good pizza can be done around 550. I think more pizza has been ruined by trying to cook at 650 or 700 rather than a lower range. It really depends on what type of crust you're using and thickness of the pizza. I also encourage you to consider the source because while I have been pleased with my own results, there are some pizza pros on here and I would certainly recommend you heed their advice.

sjm1027

I like thin crust pizza, easy on the toppings.. keeping it simple. I just picked up a Rig and a stone so I can get it up higher in the dome. 

pgprescott

The answer is yes. You must burn up or remove the smoking woods. Also, if you cooked poultry without a drip pan you will likely have chicken fat drippings on the coal and / or plate setter. This will need to be cleaned or burned off. I always try to be mindful of my smoked cooks and poultry cooks for this reason. 

sjm1027

Thanks, Yes I used a drip pan.. Best tip I could have read about. 

Jameson19

Burn off or scrape as best you can all the fat buildup. (Burning it is better)

Remove all wood chunks or chips. Fire egg up 1.5 hours before you plan to start putting pizza in the egg. It's ok if you miss a few, the raging fire will take care of the problem itself and remove the smokiness. 

For thin crust stabilize at 600. I do these often and they take 8-10 minutes, depending on the amount of toppings.

For thicker crust, 450-500 range. They will bake slightly longer.

Regardless of which type pizzas you make, the key is to get them up in the dome as high as you can. Use your rig's highest setting to put the pizza stone on. The dome heat acts like a broiler and cooks the top of the pizza, while the stone does it's magic on the crust. 

sjm1027

Sounds fantastic... Thanks

pab

As far as the temps go you need to take into account how the dough was prepared. Is it a store bought dough? Homemade? An unbaked pie from your favorite pizzaria? If it is a premade pie follow their directions same with a purchased dough. It is my experience to go 400* - 500* if the dough contains oil or sugar. Any higher you run the risk of burning the crust. Dough made with just water, yeast, salt and flour can be cooked at a higher temperature but you will need to watch it closely and cook it high in the dome so the toppings cook. 

NPHuskerFL

Fat absorbed into lump takes heat and time to clear the bad smoke.  That said by the time all the ceramics and stone get to stabilized temps the smoke should be good.  If it's still a billowing white  plume of smoke just wait longer until it's almost an invisible sort of smoke. You'll know the difference when you see it.

sjm1027

Almost sounds like I should clean out the used lump, se fresh lump, get egg 500˚ and let go for a bit before I cook pizza. I'll give that a try. 

cheeaa

That sounds good but its really not a big deal. by the time you hit 500 any left over chips and or meat residue are long gone. in fact after a long smoke i doubt u have any chips left anyway

cheeaa

Jameson19 said:

Burn off or scrape as best you can all the fat buildup. (Burning it is better)

Remove all wood chunks or chips. Fire egg up 1.5 hours before you plan to start putting pizza in the egg. It's ok if you miss a few, the raging fire will take care of the problem itself and remove the smokiness. 

For thin crust stabilize at 600. I do these often and they take 8-10 minutes, depending on the amount of toppings.

For thicker crust, 450-500 range. They will bake slightly longer.

Regardless of which type pizzas you make, the key is to get them up in the dome as high as you can. Use your rig's highest setting to put the pizza stone on. The dome heat acts like a broiler and cooks the top of the pizza, while the stone does it's magic on the crust. 

Why do u wait so long to put it on?

northGAcock

cheeaa said:

Jameson19 said:

Burn off or scrape as best you can all the fat buildup. (Burning it is better)

Remove all wood chunks or chips. Fire egg up 1.5 hours before you plan to start putting pizza in the egg. It's ok if you miss a few, the raging fire will take care of the problem itself and remove the smokiness. 

For thin crust stabilize at 600. I do these often and they take 8-10 minutes, depending on the amount of toppings.

For thicker crust, 450-500 range. They will bake slightly longer.

Regardless of which type pizzas you make, the key is to get them up in the dome as high as you can. Use your rig's highest setting to put the pizza stone on. The dome heat acts like a broiler and cooks the top of the pizza, while the stone does it's magic on the crust. 

Why do u wait so long to put it on?

Prob has something to do with what you smoke....not the egg. Just a hypothesis. 

Jameson19

cheeaa said:

Jameson19 said:

Burn off or scrape as best you can all the fat buildup. (Burning it is better)

Remove all wood chunks or chips. Fire egg up 1.5 hours before you plan to start putting pizza in the egg. It's ok if you miss a few, the raging fire will take care of the problem itself and remove the smokiness. 

For thin crust stabilize at 600. I do these often and they take 8-10 minutes, depending on the amount of toppings.

For thicker crust, 450-500 range. They will bake slightly longer.

Regardless of which type pizzas you make, the key is to get them up in the dome as high as you can. Use your rig's highest setting to put the pizza stone on. The dome heat acts like a broiler and cooks the top of the pizza, while the stone does it's magic on the crust. 

Why do u wait so long to put it on?

I do a lot of low and slow cooks in my LBGE, so I like to make sure it clean burns all the gunk out. I also like to make sure the egg is completely stabilized at the high temps and there is no dirty smoke coming out of the egg. 

This past weekend when I did pizzas, it cleaned itself out very nice. The firebox, fire ring and Adj Rig oval stone almost looked brand new. 

SaintJohnsEgger

StillH2OEgger said:

Many on here will say higher, but I think good pizza can be done around 550. I think more pizza has been ruined by trying to cook at 650 or 700 rather than a lower range. It really depends on what type of crust you're using and thickness of the pizza. I also encourage you to consider the source because while I have been pleased with my own results, there are some pizza pros on here and I would certainly recommend you heed their advice.

There is an official definition and requirements for Neapolitan Pizza:

The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 485 °C (905 °F) stone oven with an oak-wood fire

That is for those who like to get technical. But the truth is longer cooks at lower temps taste just as good. jUst experiment and figure out what works best for you and what you like.