Indirect Cookng

Unknown

Hi, we are new to the Big Green Egg and are trying to learn as fast as possible. We read about the indirect heating in all you'll messates and wanted to use this method to cook pizzas but are not sure how to build this and how big the tiles are and what kind of tiles are best and how high from the grill grate and where to purchase what we need and tips and tricks and etc. etc. etc.[p]Thank you for help in this area,
Bobby & June

sprinter

June,[p]Welcome to the forum, its a great place to get your questions answered quickly and by people who have been using and learning their eggs for a LONG time. You'll get different answers undoubtedly but there are more than one way to skin a cat. Good luck and enjoy and holler to us if you need help at all.[p]Now, on to the indirect setup. I use firebrick. Its the "tempered" bricks used to line fireplaces and kilns etc. I got mine at a local chimney shop though some have been known to find them at a Home Depot store. I didn't have any luck finding them there and I got that look when I tried to explain them to the assistant. Places that sell bricks should have them or they should be able to point you in the right direction anyway. There are a couple, maybe three different sizes. I have 6 bricks, 2 of them are about 1 1/2 inches thick, the other 4 are only 3/4 inches thick. Good mix for my medium grill. I gave about a buck each for the big ones, about 85 cents for the smaller ones if memory serves me. Maybe more but not much, less than a buck and a half definitely. You will also need another grill rack, I use the ones off of my old water smoker, they fit just perfect.[p]The setup I generally use is to lay two thin bricks flat on the grill and two on edge, forming a "U" on the grill. |_| I then set my other grill on the top edges of that U. This also gives you room to put a drip pan on top of the flat bricks, between the vertical bricks but still under the top grill rack. TimM and Gfw have good examples and pictures of this on their web sites, they would be very helpful if you can see it. Their sites are available from their profiles, sorry I dont have them here for you.[p]Hope this helps, holler back if you need any more help.[p]Troy

Gfw

<p />June, welcome to the forum. Sprinter is pointing you in the right direction. Check out the link to one of my last pizza cooks - indirect but still at about 550 degrees. Also take a moment to browse through the rest of my BBQ web site - there is even a pretty goo search function.[p]The picture shows the firebrick setup described by Sprinter - I only have one size.
[ul][li]Pizza[/ul]

Tim M

<p />June,
GFW's picture of the |_| setup with firebricks and then a good pizza stone on top works well. Also the plate setter that BGE sells works very well along with their pizza stone. I suggest you use BGE's stone because I know its a good one. There have been a million posts here about cheaper ones (pamered chief) cracking at 400 deg - so get a good one. The setter can be gotten from BGE. Firebricks can be found locally but you won't find them in a big national hdw store like Home Depot or Lowes or that type. Look for a place that sells wood stoves or fireplaces since the firebricks are used to line these. They are 1" thick and about 4x8". Get 5 for a large Egg. They cost about $2 ea -- if you can find them.[p]I have a lot of other pics on the website that might help you. Pictured is a pie on the BGE stone and that is on the plate setter. Temp= 575 deg time to cook <13 min.[p]Tim
[ul][li]-- Tim's world of the Egg --[/ul]

Spin

June,[p]Welcome to the forum and family.[p]Egged Pizza is well worth the effort. The hearth baked flavor is unmatched from commercial establishments. As much great info and links have already been offered, I will hold my comments to what is required to make a great pizza on your Egg.[p]Fantastic pizza can be made on the large, medium, or small Eggs (I'm working on mini Egg pizza). The setup that creates the environment the pie will be cooked is important. We all use differing combinations and settings of firebrick(s), baking tiles, BGE pizza setter, spacers, pizza stones, ect. Each works as it takes care of the three requirements of the setup. The setup first must allow enough airflow through the Egg to enable the fire to achieve and then quickly recover cooking temp. Second is that the setup provides for insulating the pizza stone used to cook on from the direct heat of the fire (avoiding uneven heating of the cooking surface). Third is that the setup spaces the pizza stone up to the opening lip level (or just above) so insertion and removal of the pie is easy.[p]I do hope I haven't discouraged you as I can be windy. I hope you are more inspired to to persue your goal.[p]Spin[p]

AndyR

June,[p]For those just learning and even for those pros out there, I'd recommend the Setter and Pizza Stone Combo, both from BGE. Let them warm up for about 40 minutes prior to placing your pie. You'll enjoy it tremendously.[p]AndyR

Gfw

AndyR, unfortunately, BGE only makes the setter for the large model - for the rest of us, we have to be a little more creative. But then, even if I had a large I would probably continue with the firebricks.

[ul][li]Gfw's BBQ [/ul]

Spin

AndyR,[p]I agree. That combination is very hard to top for pizza making on the large Egg.[p]Spin

Spin

Gfw,[p]Hopefully BGE will produce a "setter" for the medium Egg. I have used both the BGE plate setter and your firebrick setup in the large and can report that both have made great pizzas.[p]The difference is the BGE setter/stone combination is only two pieces. Very easy to assemble and disassemble. The BGE setter/stone also is a smaller mass than four firebricks and a pizza stone, thus it tends to heat faster and then regain cooking temp faster than using the firebricks, yet provides all of the necessities for baking pizza.[p]Spin

AndyR

Gfw,[p]Thank you. I've been wondering if they made one for the medium. I guess it won't be getting one for it anytime soon. Perhaps we should lobby for a change. I can hear Al Gore now, "I will not sleep until the obvious bias against the Medium Egg is eliminated. Bush and his people are obviously Big Egg!" Its Egg-Class warfare.
Just a thought...[p]AndyR

Puj

Gfw,[p]BGE may only stock plate setters for the large egg, but there are ceramic supply shops that stock plate setters of different sizes. You may want to check into one of them.[p]As for the setup, Spin makes a strong case for the plate setter. "To each their own" - happy egging.[p]Puj

Spin

Puj,[p]Thanks for providing me with the ceramics for the mini. As you know, the test run proved the pizza stones slightly too large in diameter.[p]Adjustments are in the making. Thanks again. I will keep you abreast of the developments.[p]Spin

Gfw

<p />Puj, thanks for the follow-up - using the firebricks, I have made everything from pulled pork and pulled beef to ribs - from meatloaf to pizza - from salmon to baked beans and chili - guess once something works really well I'm hesitant to make a change to another method.

[ul][li]Gfw's BBQ[/ul]

Puj

Gfw,[p]You know the saying - "if it's not broke ...."[p]Later,[p]Puj