Making 2 pizzas at a time

run53

hey folks 
got my first BGE (large) on Saturday and getting very excited about using it. I grilled salmon and roasted potatoes yesterday but tonight I want to try pizza. Since I have a double oven inside I am used to making 2 pizzas at a time. Does anyone have any ideas about how to setup the egg for dual pizzas?

pgprescott

Roswell rig by Smokeware. 

run53

Thanks! that looks like a great rig. Unfortunately, I already have  (2) 16" stones that I'd hate to waste. However if there are no other alternatives, I might just have to go out and buy (2) 14" stones to fit it

Lowcountrygamecock

Last time I tried cooking four, two at a time on my Kamado joe using the rack extender. First two went great.  Second round was a disaster. I have to remove the rack and top stone to get the bottom pizza off/on. Things got too hot and I was in a hurry and the top pizza tilted over as I was trying to get the extender rack in place and it flared up an atomic fireball in my face. Salvaged the pizza other than one burned corner but singed my eye brows and hair. Haven’t done one since but I will again one day. 

KiterTodd

They cook so quick, it may be more trouble then it's worth.  I'd focus on thin crust and thin cut ingredients.  Everything will be done in 5 minutes which is just enough time for you to go inside, make another pizza, and swap them out.

If you do get a two stone setup, I think you'll waste more time getting the pizzas in and out, and letting the entire rig reheat between pies so you don't run into the issue @Lowcountrygamecock mentioned above.

You get a single setup that has heat soaked long before your first cook and... bam bam bam... you'll be hammering out pizzas.  No matter the crowd size, once you have the first 2 or3 out (call them to the table when the 2nd pie comes off) you will be keeping up with demand.

$.02

GrateEggspectations

@run53: Only because I already had all of the requisite items on hand, I've previously used two baking stones and a Smokeware Raiser to Macgyver stacked pizzas. I can't claim it's the most elegant of solutions, but it is functional and gets the job done (in my case, with no additional expenditures or items needed). See my comments within this thread for details: http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1204637/smokeware-raiser

DoubleEgger

Cook a pie on the egg and one in the oven. Taste test to see if it’s worth it to pursue a multi pizza setup for the egg. 

bgebrent

DoubleEgger said:

Cook a pie on the egg and one in the oven. Taste test to see if it’s worth it to pursue a multi pizza setup for the egg. 

Heretic.

run53

DoubleEgger said:

Cook a pie on the egg and one in the oven. Taste test to see if it’s worth it to pursue a multi pizza setup for the egg. 

I've tasted hundreds of pies baked in my oven. Not bad but my first egg pizza was better  

DoubleEgger

Just use it as an excuse to get another egg

jtcBoynton

Getting a dual pizza setup in the egg is tough.  You need room to be able to launch the pizza from the peel onto the stone.  Most setups for dual stones are tight in this regard.  The Roswell rig pictured above would be tough to get a peel between the supports.

You also need to dial in the setup to get the proper balance of above and below heating for optimum results.  A lot of the dual stone rigs are fixed and will not allow for adjustments to get the heat balance right.  The dual stones complicate the dial in process for heat balance.

Depending on the type of pizza you are cooking, you can crank them out quickly in sequence.  In most cases, I would think this is the better route to take.  

SouthernEagle

This link is to a similar post I had asking about cooking 2 pies on the roswell rig (RR is what I have, only have cooked one pizza at a time on the top level).
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2219508#Comment_2219508
@jdkeithbge and @Jupiter Jim both have been successful cooking 2 at a time, and pictures of one of the set ups.

Only issue I have is that you would need to make the 2nd pizza smaller to fit between the rods and the peel would not fit either ( I believe I use a 14 inch wooden peel), I can double check the fit for the lower level if you would like. I have LBGE and the BGE 14 inch pizza stone.

bgebrent

Best to rotate pizzas out every 6-10 minutes depending on your dough and temp.  Still keeps up with everyone's plate.

tjv

you can do it on the large rig with extender, with or without the lower blocking stone.  I recommend putting the stones on the oval grids, so you can rotate the stones if not using a blocking stone. 13" or smaller stones. 

your 16" stones will fit the rig but you won't be able to rotate them.



t

fishlessman

there was some idiot here that did pies at 1200 degree dome temps in 53 seconds, two at once though would be tricky

thetrim

I like to run my pies at 600.  Seems to work pretty well.  I only do a single pie set up.  Good luck and please let us know how it works out

run53

tjv said:

you can do it on the large rig with extender, with or without the lower blocking stone.  I recommend putting the stones on the oval grids, so you can rotate the stones if not using a blocking stone. 13" or smaller stones. 

your 16" stones will fit the rig but you won't be able to rotate them.

@tjv  This setup intrigues me but I don't quite understand the terms, being a newbie BGE guy. What do you mean by lower blocking stone? Is it the place setter?  I'm not sure I understand the rotating comment with oval grids. The grids on the picture look round to me. Anyways.....is there a link where this rig can be purchased? I don't see it on the BGE eggsessories list. 

fishlessman

run53 said:

tjv said:

you can do it on the large rig with extender, with or without the lower blocking stone.  I recommend putting the stones on the oval grids, so you can rotate the stones if not using a blocking stone. 13" or smaller stones. 

your 16" stones will fit the rig but you won't be able to rotate them.

@tjv  This setup intrigues me but I don't quite understand the terms, being a newbie BGE guy. What do you mean by lower blocking stone? Is it the place setter?  I'm not sure I understand the rotating comment with oval grids. The grids on the picture look round to me. Anyways.....is there a link where this rig can be purchased? I don't see it on the BGE eggsessories list. 

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/

best raised rack, multi rack on the market for a bge, very well thought out design. if you go this route call tom and ask questions, he has lots of options. tjv is tom

Photo Egg

run53 said:

tjv said:

you can do it on the large rig with extender, with or without the lower blocking stone.  I recommend putting the stones on the oval grids, so you can rotate the stones if not using a blocking stone. 13" or smaller stones. 

your 16" stones will fit the rig but you won't be able to rotate them.

@tjv  This setup intrigues me but I don't quite understand the terms, being a newbie BGE guy. What do you mean by lower blocking stone? Is it the place setter?  I'm not sure I understand the rotating comment with oval grids. The grids on the picture look round to me. Anyways.....is there a link where this rig can be purchased? I don't see it on the BGE eggsessories list. 

Tom, @tjv, is a long time Egghead and designer of many custom pieces made primarily to fit ceramic cookers. His obsession tinkering, designing and fabricating stainless steel was the foundation for what is now "Ceramic Grill Store". https://ceramicgrillstore.com

Back to your post.
Lower blocking stone would the indirect piece below your pizzas stones as a plate setter will not work with the Adj Rig, nor is it needed if you have a Rig.
A pizza stone or stainless pan can be used as this lower indirect piece. It would fit on the lower notches of the rig. One of great feature of the rig is the ability to grab it, with gloves..., and pull the entire set up out of the Egg as one unit. Here is a photo from the web site of the Rig out of the Egg. The oval pizza stones give you the ability to slide it out and easily rotate the stone 180* and slide it back in for even cooking. The Rig Extender can be added to the top for your second pizza.
This is the same type of set up used for cooking ribs low and slow. So the Rig would be using 3 levels. Lower level is indirect piece, two higher levels are cooking levels in this set up by adding the extender to the below Rig as seen in the photo on Tom's post.

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/collections/big-green-egg-large-accessories-by-ceramic-grill-store/products/large-adjustable-rig-r-and-b-oval-combo-bge

run53

@Photo Egg 

I get it now and I can see how that would work!!!!

Thanks for the detained explanation. Think I need to get me one of those rigs :-)

Looks like it will helpful in more than just making 2 pizzas at a time. 

EggNorth

Great setup suggestions above, just a warning that the Egg does not get along well with non-BGE stones.  Not sure how thick the the ones you have, but they may crack in the Egg.

Photo Egg

EggNorth said:

Great setup suggestions above, just a warning that the Egg does not get along well with non-BGE stones.  Not sure how thick the the ones you have, but they may crack in the Egg.

Cheap, thin pizza stones are just that. Many companies make thicker, high quality stones that work perfect in the BGE. But any stone can crack just like the BGE Egg its self. 

jtcBoynton

You want a stone that is at least 5/8" thick made of cordierite. Both the BGE and CGS stones meet this.  If you have a good pottery supply store near you, you can get a kiln shelf.  Pizza stones and kiln shelves are the same thing.  Kiln shelves sell for less than an equivalent pizza stone. While you are at the pottery supply store you could also get some kiln shelf posts to use as spacers in the egg.

run53

EggNorth said:

Great setup suggestions above, just a warning that the Egg does not get along well with non-BGE stones.  Not sure how thick the the ones you have, but they may crack in the Egg.

yeah.....I haven't measured the thickness of my 16" stones. However they are old and if they crack, I really don't care as I'll only be making pizzas in the Egg going forward. So I'll use the ones I have till they break (if they ever do). Otherwise they will just collect dust. 

nolaegghead

I don't know why this thread reminded me of office space...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A939QRRSNV4

GrateEggspectations

run53 said:

EggNorth said:

Great setup suggestions above, just a warning that the Egg does not get along well with non-BGE stones.  Not sure how thick the the ones you have, but they may crack in the Egg.

yeah.....I haven't measured the thickness of my 16" stones. However they are old and if they crack, I really don't care as I'll only be making pizzas in the Egg going forward. So I'll use the ones I have till they break (if they ever do). Otherwise they will just collect dust. 

Why will you use the Egg exclusively for pizzas? It does pizzas nicely, but is capable of so much more. 

run53

GrateEggspectations said:

Why will you use the Egg exclusively for pizzas? It does pizzas nicely, but is capable of so much more. 

Hmmm......after re-reading what I wrote, I can see how it came across that way 

What I meant to say was that I won't be making pizzas in my oven anymore and will only be making them in the Egg. Of course I will use the Egg for many other cooks as well. 

GrateEggspectations

run53 said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Why will you use the Egg exclusively for pizzas? It does pizzas nicely, but is capable of so much more. 

Hmmm......after re-reading what I wrote, I can see how it came across that way 

What I meant to say was that I won't be making pizzas in my oven anymore and will only be making them in the Egg. Of course I will use the Egg for many other cooks as well. 

Re-read as well and now see what you meant. 

Egg on brother!

GoldenQ

with the BGE stone and the XL you can get two small personnal pizzas on at once

run53

ok, so I tried 2 pizzas at the same time tonight with mediocre success. My setup was the Woo with plate setter and the stock grate at felt level. Then I had the woo extender and sliding D grate. I put a 13 inch stone on the bottom and a 15 inch stone on the top grate. I had the egg cooking at between 550 and 600 for about 45 minutes to heat up the stones and platesetter. No trouble at all getting the bottom pizza on and off. However.........the bottom pizza burnt on the bottom (the top of the bottom pizza was perfect). The pizza up in the egg was perfect all around. 

I'm trying to figure out how to fix the burnt bottom on the bottom pizza. I wonder if I should have put the bigger 15" stone at felt level and the smaller 13 inch one on the extender. Maybe better circulation that way?????

I think I am close to perfecting the double pizza cook but need to figure this out. Maybe it's as simple as just pulling off the bottom pizza earlier. Any thoughts?

milesvdustin

@run53 you need protection on your bottom stone. Just like your top stone had from the bottom one. How you achieve this I dont know.  
maybe a third pizza stone