Pizza too Smokey

jwc6160 · December 2017

I don’t do pizza too often, but decided
to give it a go again today. Everything was almost perfect. I got the crust perfect and was pretty pleased. The family however brought up again that it is too Smokey. I cleaned the firebox this time and made sure there were no wood chunks and I let it burn for quite a while. In the end, I got more smoke the hotter it got because it was burning off other residue from the lid and such. The smoke flavor doesn’t bother me much but I can see how my wife and kids don’t care much for it. Is there a good way to minimize it or is this just the cost of doing business for cooking pizza in the same place you smoke ribs, chicken, and pork?

dmourati · December 2017

What temperatures are you cooking your pizzas at?

I go 600 or so and can say for sure there is little to no smokiness from residual cooks. In fact, my firebox has never looked more pristine than after a batch of pizzas. I usually do 4 at a time. You should experiment with a few in a row and see if the smokiness diminishes by the last pizza.

Little Steven · December 2017

What kind of lump are you using? I agree on the higher temp cook. I use 900*

The Cen-Tex Smoker · December 2017

This is why I got a pizza oven. I grill so much on my eggs that when I go hot for a pizza cook it starts a clean burn and will burn dirty smoke for an hour. I realized that I needed a pizza only cooker if I didn’t want to wait an hour after lighting up the eggs I cook other stuff on regularly

dsleight · December 2017

I had not done a pizza in several months, cooked some up on Thursday night and it took an hour to clear up. Like other have said, it was basically a clean burn for the first hour.

When I was doing pizza once a week, it never seemed to be a problem.

Nature Boy · December 2017

I find that starting the fire early, and running it high until the EGG is hot all the way through eliminates any strong smoke. I'll get it close to 600, then back it down at let it idle closer to 500. Starting the fire at least 45 minutes before you start your pies is a good move from my experience. Happy pizzateering!
Chris

jwc6160 · December 2017

Thanks for the replies. The Egg was pretty dirty and I haven’t gotten up to too high of a temp in a while. I’m thinking I’ll maybe plan better next time and do a hot cook the night before next time. I’ve got Smokey pizza and a ruined gasket. Not my best cook.

Legume · December 2017

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

This is why I got a pizza oven. I grill so much on my eggs that when I go hot for a pizza cook it starts a clean burn and will burn dirty smoke for an hour. I realized that I needed a pizza only cooker if I didn’t want to wait an hour after lighting up the eggs I cook other stuff on regularly

always selling...

Legume · December 2017

jwc6160 said:

Thanks for the replies. The Egg was pretty dirty and I haven’t gotten up to too high of a temp in a while. I’m thinking I’ll maybe plan better next time and do a hot cook the night before next time. I’ve got Smokey pizza and a ruined gasket. Not my best cook.

I end up burning through lots of lump when I cook pizza for this reason, I fill it up, light it early and let it cruise at 400ish for a good 90 minutes before opening it up more for pizza. That way it cleans out the funk and gives the stones time to heat up properly.

SmokingPiney · December 2017

I'm three years into my Egg ownership and have cooked my share of pies (and everything else)....and I'm still chugging along nicely on the original gasket.

I cook my pies at around 600. I let the Egg come up to temp with the stone in place and stabilize for about an hour before I put the pie on. I don't have any smoke issues.

I check my gasket seal about every 2 weeks and adjust the dome if needed. The gaps in the gaskets (and un-needed thermo-nuclear clean burns) allow the heat to escape and that is what kills a gasket.

Take care of your Egg and it will take care of you.

onedbguru · December 2017

plus one on the 600+ preheated at least 45-60 min. I start the Egg before starting to prep the pizzas. I have no issues with smokiness. If anything, I wouldn't mind a bit more.

stlcharcoal · December 2017

Definitely clean burn first......you can do this while the stone warms up, then throttle it back once the smoke stops. If you're running at 700F+ for more than an hour on that burn, you may need to add some charcoal if you're going to be making pizzas for more than 30-40 minutes. Better have something to lift that plate setter or stone out with though!! Kick Ash Basket's new lifters are my favorites......can't use them on an XL stone though (too heavy!)

Early on, one of the worst mistakes I made on the Egg was a pie when I didn't do a clean burn first. The butter in the crust soaks up that bitter smoke and YUCK.

HurricaneT · December 2017

New to egging and was going to try pizza with the wife this week, smoke flavor shouldn’t be a problem since the egg is still very new but great info for the future.

northGAcock · December 2017

You know there is always the obvious solution to the problem....get rid of the wife. Just kidding of course. You got this. A little smoke is good on a za though.

RRP · December 2017

One word of advice - I hope you nip this issue in the bud quickly - I know a person whose daughters refused to eat anything cooked on his egg as they were determined EVERYTHING tasted smokey! He gave up and sold his egg for pennies on the dollar just to spite them - which was stupid, but he did it just the same!

EggMcMic · December 2017

+1 on above. I experienced this one time, not with pizza, but a cherry pie that I threw on after a long brisket cook. Almost had a greasy smoke flavor to it. Now I try to do a mini clean burn after a long cook to burn off the grease, etc.

thetrim · December 2017

I agree with previous comments. I cook mine at 600 and let it burn for an hour before placing the pies on the egg.

kl8ton · December 2017

If you can plan far enough ahead (I can't) and you know your next cook is a pizza cook, just open up the vent and remove your daisy wheel (or smokeware cap) when done with your current cook. Do a clean burn and run it out of lump.

tarheelmatt · December 2017

I'm like @The Cen-Tex Smoker I get a lot of smoke because I have a lot of gunk in my Egg. It's like a clean burn.

Buy a new egg for baking is what I'd do.

JMCXL · December 2017

I agree time fora clean burn. I had a problem with a cook after for a pork butt, learned my lesson - you usually can tell after 20 min startup, if it keeps smoking you might need a clean burn.

unoriginalusername · December 2017

i do pizza at around 700 and it’s done in about 90 seconds and you don’t get any smokiness

Woodchunk · December 2017

It's a smoker and it burns wood which gives a smoke flavor when lit. Maybe you should try your kitchen oven or gasser if you have one. We use the egg to give food a smoke flavor and we like pizza off the egg, gasser, and kitchen oven.

nolaegghead · December 2017

This is why I do pizza in my oven 90% of the time.

pdevoy · December 2017

my pizza setup. I repurposed a webber gasser for the oven cart and use campchef burners and pizza oven. its was very cost effective and makes a great pizza. I also have the campchef bbq box and griddle for other cooks. man I can make anything out side on this setup.

Pizza too Smokey

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