Friday Pizza and Beer Night

QBabe

Hey Everybody:[p]Anybody got pizza ideas they'd like to share? We were thinking about a Friday pizza and beer night...! Haven't done one yet so recipes and tips alike are welcome.[p]Any suggestions, even opposing ones, are appreciated! I know not everyone cooks things the same, but as they say, "variety is the spice of life"![p]Happy Q-ing!
QBabe

Shelby

QBabe,
Oh, there's tons of suggestions for pizza. Here's my two cents worth. I've found perfecting pizza is one of the trickiest things but once you've got it, it's simple![p]First, you'll need either fire bricks or a plate setter AND a pizza stone. Light the Egg and bring the plate setter and stone up to 500+ degrees. Cook time at these temps is between 8-15 minutes, depending on how you like your cheese.[p]You'll want a good dough. I do mine in a bread machine.[p]You'll also need a pizza peel to slide the uncooked and cooked pies off the pizza stone. Be sure to put a little corn meal on the peel before putting the pie on it.[p]Of course, you can always check out some of the sites. I think TNW has a good pizza section!

JodyMo

QBabe,
Pizza has turned out to be one of the most satisfying things I have done on the egg. As with anything, I seem to learn something everytime I do it. I have found that the white pies (no tomato sauce) have been the best. They are light and really good. Go ahead and buy whole milk mozzerella and buy some other good cheese, like romano, parmesean, or feta. I have a couple of crust and sauce recipes at my site, and there are some really good pizza sites that have dozens of ideas.
It's definitely worth a try. And if it doesn't turn out great the first time, you will be more prepared the second time around.
Good luck!
JodyMo

Gfw

<p />QBabe, check out the link below - it can really turn out great. There are a few more links at the bottom of the page.[p]And if you really want to do some browsing, check out this link for my Google search of the BGE - it should bring up about 1200+ posts, the first of which is Spin's Pizza sauce which is always perfect.

[ul][li]BGE Pizza[/ul]

Strmn2Smoke

Shelby,
There are really no bad pizzas, other than the ones with ones with burned or soggy thick crusts. I agree less tomatoe sauce is better...nde

QBabe

JodyMo,[p]Where's your site?[p]QBabe
:-)

Gfw

QBabe, check out...
at the link below and have fun :~}

Spin

QBabe,[p]The following is assuming you are making a scratch pie. You can use fresh dough of your creation, from the store, or from a pizza parlor.[p]Pizza is a dual cook; requiring that the toppings finish just as the dough is cooked perfectly. The proper mixture of cooking time and cooking temperature is the ticket and may require a bit of adjusting to get it right. Start with smaller pies as this will allow several cooks in a row to help with the adjustment. If the crust burns prior to the browning of the cheese, raise the cooking temperature and lower the cooking time. Smaller pies cook exactly the same as the larger ones. You can easily go to 720+°F for the cook and make a truly great pie (2-3 minute cook). The proper timing will allow you to continuously repeat the cook until the charcoal can no longer support the temperature required for the cook.[p]Your Egg is NOT a pizza oven and couple of pointers may be helpful with using it as one. A pizza oven is designed to not vent much heat when opened and has a massive amount of hot mass to help quickly regain the cooking temperature once the door is closed. You Egg can vent all of the internal hot air when opened, and tends to be lacking in the mass department (as compared to a pizza oven). Using a very well heated Egg and a minimal, quick opening will quickly allow regaining cooking temperature.[p]The airflow through your Egg tends to run around the perimeter of the pizza stone and wants to exit the top vent. When cooking larger pies, you can see that the center of the toppings tend to not cook as well as the edges of the pie. Controlling the cooking temperature by using only the top vent (bottom vent wide open) forces the heat to be collected in the dome to provide an even cook of the top of the pie. Open the top vent completely to help quickly regain cooking temperature after a dome opening.[p]Pizza from the Egg has that great hearth baked flavor that makes it something special and well worth the quest.[p]Spin

LasVegasMac

QBabe,
I have not yet braved the "from scratch" route.[p]I "cheat" and get the pies from Pappa Murphy's - made to order but unbaked. Oh, man are they good. Little corn meal on the peel, some more on the stone (I bring mine up to temp with BGE fire up), about 10 minutes @ 400 for the first one, 8 - 9 minutes for the next one or two. Good stuff. Yet another meal that the family requests be done on the BGE. Darn. [p]The owner of the local PM's wants a taste - could not believe we were putting these on a "grill".[p]Beer (for me!) and Pizza - on the BGE - is one of the Friday night traditions. Other traditions would be a movie and more beer and more pizza![p]Happy Egg'n,[p]LVM

QBabe

Gfw,[p]Thanks for pointing me in the right direction...![p]QBabe

QBabe

LasVegasMac,[p]Friday nights have become movie night 'round here, too. We pick out a DVD and kick back for a pseudo-theater experience (but can get up and get another beer whenever we want to)...Life is good, and now there's pizza![p]Thanks,
QBabe
:-)

QBabe

Spin,[p]Yes, we'll be doing it from scratch...Larry used to throw pizzas a few years back, and he'll have flour tossed everywhere before it's over with! BTW, is that where your name comes from?[p]Thanks for the tips...been reviewing your dough and sauce recipes last night. It's gonna be fun![p]I'll post a pic of the final results.[p]QBabe
:-)

QBabe

Gfw,[p]MMMMmmmmm! Looks great...thanks!

Unknown

QBabe,
1. Get a good dough recipe; I’m still working on mine.[p]2. Make a few different kind of sauce. Tomato is good, but one of my favorites is a Kalamata olive (Greek black olives) Pesto. [p]3. Toppings. Make sure all toppings need very little cooking, like onions, or pre-cook them. Some of mine favorites are: Greek Feta and Spinach with the Kalamata olive Pesto sauce; Montreal Style Smoked Meat is wicked on pizza. [p]4. Follow Shelby’s instructions. It’s all cook advise. [p]

Gretl

QBabe,
My two-cent's worth: don't load the pizzas with toppings. You don't want a soggy crust, and it's harder to manipulate a pie that's top-heavy. Go through all the tips Spin gave you and you can't go wrong. Oh, yeah...I also cheat; I have 12-inch pizza pans; I make up three or four in the pans, assembly line fashion. I put each one on in turn, pan and all, and after about 5 minutes or so, I reach in (quickly) and slide it off the pan and onto the pizza stone. In another 10-15 minutes, it's perfection. Great crispy crust, no mess.
Good luck and HAVE FUN!!
Gretl

Spin

QBabe,[p]Spin is the shortened form of my long time nickname; Spindle Legs. It seems much earlier in life, I possessed "banty rooster" type legs. They have filled out almost too nicely with age :-).[p]I look forward to hearing of your adventure.[p]Best of luck,
Spin