Watching this thread with interest. I'm an avid CI user.
What I have used in lieu of a pizza stone in the oven (600 deg cooks) instead of a stone is vintage CI round griddles. I have Griswold in 12, 14 and 16.
I liked using them instead of stones, period.
But then I went "rogue" and discarded stones and heavy metals and simply started cooking them on screens. I think this will translate well to the Performer, but frankly haven't tried it just yet.
That said, just wanting to point out another alternative as these old round CI griddles go cheap, and I think 22" overall width is large and ungainly.
Hey - we all know that we also want paella pans without handles right? You folks know what I mean, that's another topic and another challenge
I believe these old bail griddles (since we don't waste space for useless handles IMHO) work much better for the purpose. I'll post a sample url below.
CI at high temps over 400 degrees, don't worry about the seasoning for gosh sakes. You are going to burn it off anyway and you really don't need to care about the "non stick" advantage it brings to the purpose.
Warnings about temps above 400 degrees has more to do with liabilities about modern/cheap price point casting and materials techniques that can result in small air pockets that can split, crack, neh even explode (typically only found occasionally with Chinese import CI, never with modern Lodge).
So is Lodge a good choice for modern cast iron? YES! Better than Chinese imports due to overall quality control and concern about raw materials used.
In the end in the theme of this article, I am of the mind that you don't need a stone or any large heat sink of sorts under the pie. Just proper positioning in the hot air space because you really want to cook at 500-600 degrees for a very short period.
Screens eliminate the need to preheat everything that you are cooking on. The challenge then simplifies to the proper spacing in the cook/heat space, because in the end the actual cook time is so short - or ought to be IMHO.
In my indoor pizza cooks I have found with our old friend Bryan Stephans [sp] help that for the actual cook you do not need all this heavy gear and the pre heat that goes with it. Just preheat the oven itself (outdoor or indoor) to 500-600.
That said, it's a long story.
For purposes of this thread I would just say take a look at these old round griddles from Wagner and Griswold, they fit the purpose well. I used them after I got tired of stones as they clean up easier and will hold up forever.
These old pieces are made from very fine material no longer used today. They were also surface ground. You will NEVER have one of these pop or crack on you at any given temp (they will melt first
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And - at these temps you don't worry about seasoning. Get the Lodge as it's readily available or pick up or watch for something like this, they go cheap:
vintage round griddle
As far as seasoning, again who cares this is not about non stick characteristics. IMHO the trap/requirement is really about thinking you need the heat sink to cook the bottom of the crust at the same interval as the top?
You lightly oil your CI before and after and that's just to avoid rusting in this case and that's it. Dust the surface of the Lodge or these vintage griddles with flour, cornmeal before the bake and what's the worry? It will come off with your peel just fine.
I'm so used to great cooks right on a screen now in the indoor oven that I really haven't played with the outdoor gear for this.
I really believe that proper spacing in the heat chamber or zone and proper pre prep of the toppings is the key. In the end, at these temps the cook should be very short duration - 5 to 8 minutes at best IMHO.
Sorry for the long winded response. I'm loving this post and the creativity is astounding. I've loved the looks of every pie I've seen
Oh, and I'm waiting for this topic to come up since we have some Jersey boys posting. They will know what I mean.
What's the best tomatoe pie prep? Hint: this is a trick/regional question as it applies to "tomatoe pie".
It's almost like asking what's the best "Philly Cheesesteak" Recipe.
I want everyone on this site to come to my house
In the end isn't always about fire control?
