pizza 911

cbs

First attempt at pizza today. I got a good fire going to about 600 degrees and then put an indirect setup with one pizza stone, an extender and a second pizza stone. Unfortunately, the temperature dropped to 250 right away. I tried to use both pizza stones on the grill extender and got up to about 350 but no higher. I finally went with one pizza stone and got a steady 550. I then tried my first pizza. After about 9 minutes, the toppings were perfect, but the bottom was about right to be used as lump for my next cookout. I tried a second one, wiped down the stone pursuant to the Naked Whiz's suggestion, and after about 6 minutes the toppings were ready, but again, the crust was burnt, but not nearly as bad as #1. Any suggestions to avoid burnt crust?

GrillMeister

cbs,[p]Try a pizza screen. It makes it easier to put on and take off too.

usa doug

GrillMeister,
I agree, pizza screens is the easy way. www.abestkitchen.com
The screen allows air to circulate between the hot stone and the dough which makes a nice crisp crust. [p]usa doug

Mac in NC

cbs,
Walmart sells disposable pizza screens in their grill section for about a buck apiece. However, I still cook on the stone itself. It just takes patience (which I have always struggled with) and practice. Good luck! Mac [p]

FatDog

cbs,
For some reason, most eggers are laboring under the illusion that you have to crank up the heat to get "good" pizza. Not necessarily so ...[p]I have great success with the following setup: grid, firebricks on edge, secondary grid, pizza stone. I generally run the temperature between 450 and 500 and give the stone a quick wipe with a damp towel between pies. So far I have gotten nicely done toppings and evenly browned crusts in about 10 minutes.[p]Like Mac sez ... patience and practice.[p]Doc

Unknown

usa doug,[p]Congratulations on both your pork and brisket and the fine 7th place overall showing in Clarksville against some very heavy hitters. Did you do some pizza Friday night?[p]Dave

Tim M

<p />cbs,[p]I am wondering why the addition of a second stone would drop the dome temp, it should have little affect. I am wondering if something else was happening, maybe the dome thermo probe tip was blocked or too close to those stones. I am assuming you have a large cooker and not a medium. Two stones on the main grid with no extender should have been enough ceramic to be able to use the 550° heat you had. Like FatDog said, you don't have to use 550° but if you do use it then you need two stones or more ceramic than just one or you will surely burn the crust. If you use one stone try the extender but lower the dome temp a good bit. [p]Linked below is a website for the Super Peel. It is a slick tool for loading a pie on the stone.[p]Tim
[ul][li]Pizza Super Peel[/ul]

Nature Boy

Old Dave,
I echo your congrats to Doug. Way to go Doug!
Chris

cbs

Tim M,[p]Thanks for the help. I have a medium egg. Does that make a difference? [p]Actually, the pizza peel was about the highlight of the whole thing. It worked pretty well.

QBabe

cbs,[p]Did you heat all the ceramics at once? The stone/setter should come up to the 550° temp simultaneously with the cooker. You don't want to get the cooker up there and then put in an unheated setter or stone...it'll drop right back down like a rock. Also, you run a risk of it cracking.[p]Once your firestarter is out, put your pizza setup in and let it all come up to temp together. Then stabalize it at whatever temp you are shooting for (500° - 550° is our preference). We use both a plate setter and a pizza stone and think it's important to have both masses to protect from the extreme heat of the fire below. We also use a pizza screen which helps keep the bottom from burning. [p]Keep trying!
Tonia
:~)

Unknown

I have a totally different experience than what everyone on the forum says about pizza, but it works perfect for me, so I wanted to throw it out there. I have a Pampered Chef stone which is not supposed to crack being put in a hot oven (and hasn't yet). I start my fire, put the plate setter in and heat the Egg+setter to 450. I then put my stone with the pizza on it in and keep the temp constant at 450. 25 minutes later I have one of the best tasting pizzas you have ever put in your mouth.

Pakak

My latest mantra concerning pizza - use a different cheese, one with a lower melting point. I use fresh mozzarella. Others have suggested goat cheese. I personally prefer the taste of fresh mozzarella over aged anyway.

usa doug

Nature Boy,
Thanks guys. Of course I thought my stuff was better than that, but that is why they call it a contest.:) The judging system is up and running with no big problems. Clarksville is a good contest and we had a wonderful view of the Cumberland River and the country side from my site.[p]Dave, I got the pizza "machine" running Friday night and cooked 4 nice pizza's for friends, the KCBS Reps. and some of the stinking judges.[p]Winchester, Tn, with drbbq and friends next weekend,
Doug

JSlot

He did some killer pizzas on Friday night. I was lucky enough to get a whole piece without my hand being bitten off. LOL.[p]Jim

Unknown

cbs,
It took me several tries, but once you figure out what works for you pizza is great. It took me several tries. I use a lower grid with fire bricks, then raise a second level with pizza stone, and then have an upper level with a second pizza stone cooking surface. I let the fire rip until it stabilizes at 550-650 with all the mass inside. I have had multiple pizza parties with my child's friends and families. Everybody makes a pizza and shares. Last weekend we did 9 pizza's non stop. I use cornmeal and put one on the stone, then make one on a pizza screen. That way we can pull one off with the peel and put a second on with the screen. Both come out equally wonderful. Fun family event. The secret for me was maximum mass inside the cooker so opening and closing the lid had minimal effect between pizza's, given all the mass along with starting the cooker early (45 min) to let everything get to temp before cooking. Good luck. ChuckE