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BGE tempature when cooking

Yesterday I cooked my first set of homemade pizza's on the BGE. I let the Egg get to 500f and held it, with the plate-setter in place.  Added my first pizza it dropped to 450 even though I opened and kept playing with air flow. I couldn't get it back to 500. For the second pizza it dropped when pizza was added but returned to 450.  Each pizza cooked approx 20 minutes.  After taking the last pizza off, the temp very slowly continued to fall.
How do You hold a higher temp for longer periods?

Looking forward to all the helpful suggestions. 
Barb

Comments

  • unoriginalusername
    unoriginalusername Posts: 1,091
    edited September 2018
    For pizza I heat up with the stone in to about 600-700 and then shut the daisy wheel and the temp quickly drops to about 400. 

    Once stops dropping quickly I open it up and let the heat come back up. Now the ceramic and everything is hot so when it’s reading the temp it’s actually that temp and not just a flame kissing the temp gauge.

    I cool the stone with a wet cloth and put the pizza on. I can do four or five and they each come out the same and take the same amount of time and with the dome hot I gind it cooks / broils the top better. I aim to cook above 600 so my time per pie is 4:30
  • Very very good points. Thanks
  • Those look darn good from where I'm sitting. The longer you let the BGE settle in at your target temp the less those temps will change after adding a pizza. Also, did you preheat with the pizza stone in or add the pizza and stone at the same time? The stone will be more of a heat sink than the pizza alone.
    Stillwater, MN
  • Welcome Barb. that pizza looks good. Its the end results that count. And you will get the hang of getting the right fire and temps. Just follow the advice and keep practicing. And remember its easier to go up than it is to bring the temp down.
    Marshall in Beautiful Fruit Cove, FL.
    MiniMax 04/17
    Unofficial BGE MiniMax Evangelist
    Facebook Big Green Egg MiniMax Owners Group


  • bucky925
    bucky925 Posts: 2,029
    Nothing to add except your pies look much better than mine!  Keep trying, at least that's what the wife keeps telling me.  Gawd I hope she is talking about pizza. 

    Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.

  • GoooDawgs
    GoooDawgs Posts: 1,060
    It's hard to know the temp of the stone by just looking at the dome thermometer.   The stone blocks a lot of heat to it - especially if the stone is elevated.   I like using an infrared thermometer gun to check the stone temp.  I've gotten much more consistent results when I can get the stone around 575/600 for my dough recipe. 
    Milton, GA 
    XL BGE & FB300
  • I use a Fluke IR gun to check my stone temp before the pizza goes on. It is a lot cooler than the dome thermometer shows!
  • Dang!!! Those pies look good.  Keep practising and you will find your mojo.  It is like learning to dance with a new partner.  Have fun.
  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,792
    if you are still using the cast iron daisy wheel (CIDW), you can always lift it off to get a view of the pies
    love the browned cheese also
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap