Epic Fail - first try at kettle pizza on OTG

[Jeff Padell]

I decided to try a kettle pizza on my OTG. I shoveled it out of the snow and then had one of the kids shovel out the KBB, we still have 18 inches of snow on the ground and piles to 3 feet or more.
I had a pizza stone so I lit one chimney of KBB and spread it in a horseshoe shape around the back and sides of the OTG. I preheated the stone for about 15 minutes and put the first pie right on the stone, left it for 15 minutes, in retrospect that may have been a BIT LONG. The second pie I put on a pizza tray and put that right on the pizza stone and left it for 6 minutes, a bit shorter.
The second one, was overcooked in the back half while the front half wasn't THAT bad. The first one, well I ate one piece since no one else would even touch it, it was that bad even the DOG wouldn't eat it!

I had thought to try to save money by buying the ingredients, which I figured cost $5 for a pepperoni pizza, this time I did buy the dough, was $4 for a total of $9, the dough was from Bertucci's. The local Stop and Shop has dough for $2.50 or I could make my own. BUT a Digorno pizza or a store brand frozen pizza costs $5 or less when on sale so to save money frozen may be the way to go.
I think this epic fail tells me to stick to chicken and pork and beef on the OTG and on the WSM's!!

 

[V_Rocco]

Ouch! It's a shame you burned it. The top looks pretty darn good.

 

[James Lake]

I suggest rotating those pies my friend. My pies are on the some less than 5 minutes, it's a quick process. Keep doing the chicken, pork, beef and keep trying those pies also.

 

[Nate Frost]

Do you have a pic of the setup you used that you can post? Did you raise your stone? Just trying to help figure out why your crust burned.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Sorry to see this post, as I just got a kettle pizza. Haven't tried it yet but I've seen a lot of great pies coming out of those things. I can't use frozen or delivery pizza too much salt in them, so that's why I got the kettle pizza. Don't give up Jeff, from what I've seen you may be cooking the pies to long.

 

[Jeff Padell]

The first one went way too long, 15 minutes!!

The second should have gone only 4+ minutes, I let it go 7 minutes and didn't rotate it

Today I am shoveling out the 14.5 and going to do some chicken as I just got some rub from Harry Soo and want to try it, at the same time I will get a small dough and try another pizza as an appetizer. This time my setup will be, half plus chimney of hot coals spread evenly under the stone but don't put the stone on until 15 minutes before ready to put the pie on, check after 2 minutes and rotate if needed, yesterday the coals were all around the stone none under and mostly at the back.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Yeah the leoparding was a little much. Live and learn.

It's hard to believe your still digging out. We cleaned up flower and garden beds yesterday and I'm mowing today after church. The forsythia, daffodils, crocuses, Bradford Pear, and plum trees, etc are already blooming. The cherry and peach trees only have a few more days and they're gonna bust open.

 

[Jeff Padell]

This is where we were just one month ago

 

[Robert McGee]

Jeff;
Putting the pizza stone directly on the food grate will simply cook the bottom of the pizza before the top. However, if you get two thin fire bricks, you can set the pizza stone on the bricks (set the bricks on their sides ) and this raises the the pizza up into the lid. When you do this, the bottom of the pizza will finish the same time as the top.

If you are only going to do a couple of pizza's, then one full lit chimney spread evenly over the charcoal grate, replace the food grate, set the bricks up with the pizza stone on the bricks. Give it fifteen to thirty minutes to heat up the stone (all vents wide open) then slide the pizza on the stone. After four minutes you might want to rotate the pizza. It'll take about 8 minutes for a full sized pizza. You can look through the top vent to see how the pizza is coming (after dark you can use a flashlight).

Here's a post I made some time ago:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?54851-Quick-Pizza-on-the-Performer&highlight=pizza+grill

Don't give up - some of the best pizza in the world is made on a Weber. We mostly use home made dough but you can use frozen, store bought, or homemade with good to excellent results. We prefer the Cuizenart home made pizza dough:
http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/breads/436.html

My son also does pizza on his Performer but he prefers the "No Knead Dough" for his pizza:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe.html

I will assure you that either is only wonderful!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

I use the exact same setup, one chimney, horseshoe around the back. Then , after the stone heats up at least 15 minutes, I add oak splits to really jack up the temp. I think where you went astray was the time you left the pizza on the stone. Way too long. Just a few minutes and you must spin the pizza. When it looks perfect to you, you can get it on the peel and raise it up inside the cooker for about 30 seconds or so to crisp it up. Actually, I haven't found this step to be necessary. Good luck with your next one!

 

[Jeff Padell]

Dale and Cliff
Thanks for the advice! I know my firebricks are buried under the snow behind my old New Bruanfels offset smoker, but I do have two of them holding up my Charbroil Big Easy so I will steal them from that and try your set up! I was going to make the dough in my stand mixer but they say to let it sit in the fridge for 1-5 days so I bought a pound of dough and some cheese and will try a couple cheese pizzas.
East to do today cause I am firing up the WSM 14.5 for some chicken, my 22.5 is still buried under ice and snow!

 

[Nate Frost]

If you happen to have charcoal baskets, those will work to elevate the pizza stone.

 

[ChuckO]

I preheated the stone for about 15 minutes and put the first pie right on the stone, left it for 15 minutes, in retrospect that may have been a BIT LONG.

Are those "stones" (Ceramic) or metal? They look metal and somewhat thin. A good ceramic stone is the way to go. I might have gone overkill, I bought an Emily Henry (made in France) but I don't have to put flour or corn meal on it, and never have stick issues. Don't give up, making pizzas on the BBQ is great fun, once you get the hang of it

 

[Jeff Padell]

I just got done with the pizza, I elevated the stone and let it go 5 minutes with a turn halfway through. Came out great!

At the same time I fired up the WSM 14.5 and did legs and thighs, they came out great, It was really windy but you can see the natural wind break, almost 4 feet high, the last shot is the backyard today.

 

[Bob H.]

That much snow this late in the season just doesn't seem fair Jeff.

 

[Jeff Padell]

Tell me about it! There will still be snow for the kids April vacation in about a month!

 

[Jim Mathews]

Jeff, like others have said, I think the problem lies with some functional flaws in the basic KP kit. If you put the stone directly on th ecooking grate, and nothing is above the stone up to the top of the grill, then there is too much space above the pie. In that case, the top and bottom of the pizza will reach optimal done-ness at very different times. That may be what happened. Also, you need to rotate.

I bough the baking stel insert that is custom cut for the KP. It's a stainless steel sheet that sits about a foot above the pizza. Thi shas helped be get a top and bottom that finish at about the same time.

Keep trying, you'll get it.

 

[Jeff Padell]

I called it kettle pizza but it was not with any kit, I simply put a stone on the OTG grate and tried making a pizza, left it on way too long, looked great on top!

Yesterday I elevated the stone on 2 fire bricks to bring it up into the dome and it worked, 5 minutes, rotated once. The picture of all my equipment was taken while the pizza was on the kettle.

 

[Robert McGee]

Jeff;
Congratulations! I did a pizza the exact same way a couple of days ago. Great results and extra cost is nearly nothing!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

 

[Jeff Padell]

No extra cost as I already had the firebricks from trying to set up an area for my dutch ovens!

I do like that idea I had seen where a guy cut a hole in a kettle dome so he could see the pizza and a "block" in the top to lower the top. I will do it if I can find a free roadside grill or really cheap.