large pizza stone on med egg......

Curious in California

Others on this forum have said that they use a large stone on a med. egg. I cooked my first pizza tonight.(part oven and part on egg) I could not get the dome temp above 400. The fire was burning great. I used 3 fire bricks (I have not been able to find half bricks yet so mine are thicker than they should be)and stone was on top. So....was the porcelain mass too big or does the large stone keep the heat and air from circulating enough? It was yummy in spite of cooking part way on the egg and part way in the oven. C in C

Unknown

Curious in California,
Los Altos meets Wally Creek - another left coast egger - cool.[p]How much lump did you load, and did you have the ash cleared out of the bottom?[p]From what I've heard, a med will easily go as high as a large. I have no problem getting the large over 1K, but I really wouldn't suggest that for pizza.[p]I doubt that you could introduce enough porcelain mass to suppress the output of a good load of lump with sufficient airflow, so that only leaves insufficient airflow. Unless the stone went all the way to the sides, I’m stumped.[p]Shoot me if I’ve only stated the obvious, but sub-400 on a medium can’t be normal.[p]On the upside, the Za was good .-.-.- as good as Zachay’s?

grill'nMike

Curious in California,[p]I have cooked on a medium BGE for around 8 years now. The medium will cook nicely at whatever temp range you want to run. Over the years I have learned a few tricks that have made life easier for me....first, load the firebox all the way to the top with lump charcoal. This seems to help you get those 10 minute to 600 degree starts and also makes a long term, low temp smoke easier to manage. Make sure to stir your charcoal before you re-light...this helps the BGE to breathe, and once or twice a year pull the internal parts out of the BGE for a good clean up as ash will fall around the back of the firebox where you can't scoop it out with the ash tool.[p]I use a large stone in my BGE in conjunction with the folding grid extender. I light and stabilize the BGE with the extender attached and then drop the stone onto the extender for the cook. Also remember you will see a drop on the temp gauge anytime you put something on the BGE...especially a large stone. Leave your dampener settings be and the temp will climb as you cook.[p]Enjoy your BGE and experiment with whatever type of cooking you want. I have done everything from soups, stews, chili, meatloaf, veggies, fish, breads, different types of roasts, and seared lots of steaks. Good Luck!

Curious in California

grill'nMike,
I did all that you said. Do you use any fire bricks when cooking pizza? I thought that next time I would try w/out bricks and the stone on top of the extender grill. Jane

Unknown

pivotizer,
I have cooked above 400 many times. It was just this time that I had the problem. As soon as we removed the pizza stone, the temp shot up to 600. Next time I might try w/ the stone on the extender grid and no fire bricks. Good to hear from another CA person. I have enjoyed my egg especially since my kitchen if torn apart now installing a skylight. Jane

grill'nMike

Curious in California,[p]No, I don't use the fire bricks. Sounds like you are on the right track. Happy egging[p]Mike