MiniMax with woo and stone + Pizza setup

westernbbq · December 2014

I will try to make pizza on MiniMax maybe this weekend. I'll use the woo, 10' stone underneath for indirect setup and the 13' stone on top is for making the pizza. I really look forward to experimenting with pizza to see how high I can get the temperature, and with longer time frame low and slow cooks.

i'll be posting picts here later on when I do 'za and a pork butt so stay tuned....

Photo Egg · December 2014

I really think your 13" stone is to large.
You are not going to get enough heat flowing around the stone for high temp cooking and the stone temp will be to hot compared to the temp above the stone in your dome. Would stick with another 10" or maybe 11" if you can find one.

westernbbq · December 2014

thanks for the info PE!

I was going to experiment to see how hot I can get this setup, and maybe will need to reduce stone size. i'll post results here as the experimentation continues.

YEMTrey · December 2014

I'll be following this thread closely.

Just this weekend I was messing around with my Mini Max and noticed that the platesetter restricted a lot of the airflow and kept the temp from climbing quickly and kind of choked out the airflow. I'm very curious as to how the different size stones impact this.

Thanks for experimenting and sharing!

Lit · December 2014

There have been a couple MM pizza posts already. You don't want a larger stone on top as it will get direct heat around the outside of your smaller stone and burn the edges since the stone is much hotter there.

Lit · December 2014

@YEMTrey‌ I had no issues maintaining 700 with the plate setter in.

YEMTrey · December 2014

Lit said:

@YEMTrey‌ I had no issues maintaining 700 with the plate setter in.

@Lit, good to know. I'm still limited on my cooks with it. Thanks for that info!

sodigthisbigcrux · December 2014

in for results. Got my woo today and pick up my MiniMax tomorrow....like a kid before Christmas

westernbbq · December 2014

I experimented with the MiniMax this week to make sure it met my pizza making needs. I've done 'za on the XL at close to 800F, and my best results have been between 600F and 700F. I didn't make pizza on the MM yet but just wanted to see how hot I could get it with the 13" stone as the pizza stone and the 10" stone as the heat deflector with Cowboy brand lump. I may end up getting the BGE platesetter as it expands the firebox capability and creates more heating capability. But the nice thing with the woo setup is that you can lift the whole thing out and recharge the fuel if necessary.

So, the attached picts are of the MiniMax in sequence from start to finish of this experiment. I was concerned that airflow restrictions would prevent the heat from getting to a level that would work but, if you enlarge the picts you'll see there was no problem getting up to temp. This took about 45 minutes to an hour. Moreover, the temp stayed at 700F for a long time (at least an hour) and stayed above 600F for over two hours. Whenever opening the BGE, the temp would drop about 50 degrees and then would climb right back up and recover in 30-45 seconds. See picts below. I think if I used larger, chunkier fuel the temp would have been higher and I believe if I pulled a couple of mesquite sticks off my wood stash, I could have easily had a maintained temperature of 750F to 800F+ I will also be performing this experiment with 100% pure mesquite lump charcoal, which i think will yield higher temps and longer sustained higher temps So, the MiniMax with this stone setup will be used for many a mobile pizza party.

Photo Egg · December 2014

Very nice. What is not tested is the difference in temp between pizza stone surface that you are cooking on and the air temp in the dome. Just because a large stone will fit and you can reach high temp does not mean the set up will work. The pizza stone temp and air temp must work together. The crust and topping must both cook at proper temps. Not saying this will not work. Just that there are other factors than just high heat. Will be watching for your next post.

westernbbq · December 2014

Photo Egg said:

Very nice. What is not tested is the difference in temp between pizza stone surface that you are cooking on and the air temp in the dome. Just because a large stone will fit and you can reach high temp does not mean the set up will work. The pizza stone temp and air temp must work together. The crust and topping must both cook at proper temps. Not saying this will not work. Just that there are other factors than just high heat. Will be watching for your next post.

I thought about this as well. This weekend is out for pizza as it takes me four days to make the dough and I have so much pre-Christmas stuff to do it's insane. But maybe after Christmas I can make some dough (pizza dough that is) and try it out. I am definitely going to practice prior to organizing anything substantial with some pizza guests. I will also get the plate setter from BGE and try it with the stone on top of the plate setter, er, I mean ConVeggtor.

Stay tuned to this forum, and I'll post results.

westernbbq · December 2014

I actually had higher temps with the woo/stone setup than I did with the platesetter for the MiniMax. 700F was easy with the woo/stone and the highest I got with the PlateSetter was 650, still plenty hot for my pizza making process. It held for at least two hours, rock-steady and I used mesquite wood this time with some Cowboy lump to start the fire with. The mesquite burns really hot and this was just a couple of sticks. I added some picts of the two mesquite trees in my backyard that I harvest the wood from. These are the trees that helped me produce 1200F on the XL with the blue flame coming out of the top which was posted on another thread in this forum.

the picts, in sequence are attached below.

YEMTrey · December 2014

Thanks for the effort and pics. I'm absolutely loving my Mini Max.

westernbbq · December 2014

you bet- it's an effort (labor) of love. Tom from CGS is a guy I know well- he and I are in the same company in a different business and he said to me via email a couple of weeks ago that 'Egging is a fun hobby, isn't it?"

It sure is

As I get into cooking things, i'll post updates. I'd like to stretch the boundaries of the MiniMax's capability. I am considering doing some baking over the holidays on the BGE so that should be fun.

Egg ON!

Solson005 · December 2014

I like the setup, can't wait to see pizza pics.

I use the woo / 13" BGE pizza stone on my small all the time and make fantastic pizzas every single time. Since the mini max is the same diameter i'm sure you will have similar successful results. After all the 13" stone is the one BGE sells for the small / mini max eggs, I tend to think they know what they are doing..

westernbbq · January 2015

Pizza on MiniMax: SUCCESS!

I cranked out about ten pies off the MM last nite for a party. While I can't make a round pie yet (still working on it) my biggest concern was that the MM couldn't get hot enough for long enough for a pizza cook lasting a few pies. Boy are those concerns gone. The MM maintained a 650+F temperature for at least 3 hours. I don't like to make the 900F pies, 600F-650F has been the sweet spot zone for me with the dough recipe and technique I use to reliably and predictably crank out perfect 'zas. I was surprised though that the heating up to temp took longer than before using the same setup but different fuel. But once it got above 600F, it stayed there for 3 hrs plus. So, now I am confident in a mobile MiniMax pizza application.

The setup was this: Platesetter, legs up within the MM woo (in case I had to recharge the fuel but this turned out to be a nonissue), the standard cooking grate on top of the larger diameter woo ring and then the 13' stone on top of that. NO air circulation issues, no issues with the stone being too high in the dome and inhibiting closing of the lid, etc. Just perfectly cooked pizzas, one after the other. This was great for a party because kids got to dress their own, adults got to choose what they wanted on them and the results were great. everyone had an awesome time. Thanks again BGE and CGS for helping me nail it! I decided to go with the platesetter instead of the 10" stone as the platesetter sits a little higher and I could put more fuel in to start.

The pic of the pizza with the crazy shape was the LAST one of the evening as earlier on, I was too busy forming the doughs, assembling and cooking pies, and drinking that I couldn't pause to take picts. I think the shape of the last one was in direct relation to how much alcohol I consumed last nite! But, about 1 hr before I put the first pizza on, the temp was at 650F+, and two and a half hours later, I took these picts. And, before the evening was done, and after the guests had all left, I checked it one last time- and the temp guage still was at 650F. I went to bed so I don't know how long it held that temp but I know for sure it was more than three hours.

r8rs4lf · January 2015

Was considering selling my PS for my MM since I got the Woo, but not anymore.

westernbbq · January 2015

the stone for the woo from CGS will have some indirect cooking applications but after using the woo with the platesetter, that will be the setup for pizza, long term low and slow cooks and some baking entered into the repertoire.

MiniMax with woo and stone + Pizza setup

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