Pizza with Hmong Sausage

KB

This is my second attempt at cooking pizza. Last week, I threw the first pizza on the stone before it was hot and, while still good, the bottom wasn't brown yet the top was done. This week I didn't use my DigiQ II and explored higher temps than last week's maximum of 450 deg F. I left the vents open wide on the bottom and top and watched the temp rise to about 580 deg before reducing size of the vent opening.



While I waited for the stone to heat up, I threw a cast iron skillet on it and heated up some Hmong sausage. It doesn't look attractive here in the photo, but it sure is tasty. The green color is lemon grass. You can't see the chile peppers, which added some heat. BTW, hat tip to Zip-Lurk for letting me know it was ok to place the CI skillet on the stone.



After warming up the sausage, I began cooking the first pizza. After 12 minutes the top was done but the bottom was still undercooked (not browned). I burned the second one a bit on one edge of its crust (the good side shown here in the photo), but it was just fine. The third one was a slight bit too brown on the bottom. You really have to watch the pizza closely at higher temperatures. It cooks really quickly. I either need to learn how to adjust my cooking technique or wait longer until I place the first pizza on the stone. The dome temperature remained about the same for all three pizzas yet the evidence (cooking times) indicate that the oven became hotter with each successive pizza.

Eggsakley

Looks very good indeed. The stone will require abit of time to come up to toemp. I usually put mine on after initial light up and let it heat with the egg for at least 30 min to achieve proper temp. What you experienced with the reduction in cooking time for each succesive pzza was the stone coming up to temp and stabalizing there. Give it a bit to warm up and all your Za's will cook in the same time. Where did you get Hmong sausage?

Little Steven

KB,

Did you space the pizza syone off the pletesetter?

Steve

KB

Hmong sausage is plentiful here in MInnesota. We have a large population of Hmong and Vietnamese here, and there are ethnic grocers that carry these sausage in the Twin Cities and their suburbs. I don't know if they do mail order but keep in mind if they do that some of the brands are better than others.

KB

thanks for asking. Yes, it's the same setup I used last week with the stone resting on the egg feet.

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=902985&catid=1

cookn biker

Looks good! I'm a sucker for sausage, it's my chocolate. Have a link for a brand that you prefer?

Hungry Celeste

I've had good luck cooking various flatbreads without the plate setter...I just put the stone atop the grid shortly after lighting. Once the temp stabilizes around 550, I start baking. This will work for thin-crust pizzas, provided that the toppings are fully cooked (iow, you are just warming 'em and melting the cheese). The plate setter method is great if you need to pull off multiple pies, but for one or two, it can take a long time to get up to temp for what amounts to a relatively brief cooking period.

KB

I think I will try that sometime when I only plan to cook one pizza. Thanks for the suggestion.

KB

I'll check for you. I haven't been happy with some of the brand names. I buy mine from a Thai restaurant in Brooklyn Park, MN. I like mine spicy and the brand names I have tried are mild.

eenie meenie

KB, interesting! I've never had Hmong Sausage...never heard of it either. It looked delicious on your pizza. Thanks for sharing. Nice pics.

KB

Glad you enjoyed the post.

A friend at work is of Hmong ancestry but he grew up here. He enjoys Hmong foods but also loves American foods. When I told him that I was going to put Hmong sausage on my pizza this weekend he wondered why he hadn't thought of that combination before. He plans to try it, too. Maybe it will catch on and it will work its way to your place.