For setup, I used the same charcoal setup that I use on my typical pie. I used my cast iron grate contraption to raise the cooking level. The other thing I did was put my pizza stone on the main grate below my cast iron to try and deflect any direct heat from my deep dish pizza. I did break my stone doing this since it was close the the heat source. Kinda expected that but it was only $4 so I'll just get another one to replace it.