First attempt at pizza, disaster...


 
B

Brandon A

TVWBB All-Star
Saturday I decided to give grilling a pizza a try. I fired up the egg and put my pizza stone directly on the grate from the beginning so that it would preheat. I opened all the vents wide open and let it go, at about 350 the pizza stone cracked in half. When I looked inside there were some flames licking the bottom of the stone, so I suspect that was what did it, but how are you supposed to get 500-600 degrees without a little flame?

Anyways, I decided to go through with it, and made the pieces fit together, when the therm read about 600 I slid my thaw take and bake pizza on and sat back. I waited about 5 min, before I could smell something burning. When I opened the lid the cheese looked perfect, but when I tried to slide the cardboard under to get the pizza out it was stuck to the stone a little bit, and black as night.

In the process of trying to get the pizza off, the stone separated, and pretty quickly my cardboard circle started on fire!
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So now I have my pizza on a flaming piece of cardboard, and I'm blowing on it as hard as I can, but I think the fire was fueled by cheese grease because it would NOT go out. I was pretty much in panic mode by now, and I knew the pizza was inedible anyway...so I threw it in a dirt spot in the yard. I know you guys got a good laugh out of this, but can someone tell me where I went wrong? Guess its time to buy another pizza stone.
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I'm just lucky I didn't end up with molten cheese on my hand or something, I can't believe I didn't get burned.
 
Brandon,

First off, glad everything is safe.
I would look into a platesetter for the XL. Setups are numerous for pizza, but you could go with the platesetter with the grid, then the pizza stone on top of the grid. Some set the green egg feet or cut firebricks on the platesetter, then stone, so there is spacing between the pizza stone and platesetter. Was that a BGE stone that split? If it wasn't, I would get one. They hold up the best.

You could also try temps of 400-500, might even things out(crust and toppings finishing together)

Also, another thing I learned, the hard way
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, is trying not to overdo the toppings.

Don't give up man, you will get it. We all have bad cooks. You are only a few cooks away from never ordering pizza again.
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I had similar issues (well sort of) with the bottom blackening before the top is cook and Bryan S gave me some good advice.

1) make sure the bottom of the pie has a good coating of flour or cornmeal which lifts the dough off the stone and creates a little air space. It'll slow the cooking enough to get the top caught up before the bottom burns.

2) try not to have coals under the stone. it shouldn't be directly fired, it'll get too hot.

3) make sure your pie is close to a reflective source (the lid or another stone) so that this reflected heat can heat the top. I've played with this some and found it makes a big difference. here's a shot of my set up:

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good luck and keep at it, its a worthy challenge to any griller worth their weber (or egg).
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I'm not going to give up, in fact I'm more determined now then ever. Brandon, no it wasn't a BGE pizza stone, it was a pampered chef stone. I've put off buying a platesetter, just been using foil pans and putting a weber grate on top of it, but I guess its time to bite the bullet and buy the platesetter and a new stone.

But c'mon fellas!, I was hoping I'd get a good laugh out of SOMEBODY!?
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Hi Brandon, I got a good laugh because I have had similar episodes. It just so happens that I made a perfect pizza last night and I took pictures. I wanted to find a way that wouldn't cost a lot of money or need to do any crazy fabrications in order to acheive success. I believe I have found that. Right now I am having some computer issues and can't send the pictures, but I will give you the basics until then.

Last night I made a fantastic Hawaiian pizza on a regular 22 inch Weber. Lay about a chimney full maybe even a little more charcoal or lump on the bottom. I have done the round ring of charcoal with success, but found it unnessesary. Thicker stones heat more evenly. The key is the stone. Get a commercial grade thick stone. Fifty bucks is worth it since I use it for so many other things. What I do is lay a somewhat even bed of charcoal on the bottom. I use three bricks near the edge under where the stone sets. Then set the stone on down which brings the stone even or just above the rim. This helps if you want to use a peel. It also brings the pizza closer in the dome. Open two of the bottom vents and the top wide open. Let the stone heat slowly, the thicker stones take a little longer. You don't want a blazing fire either. Wait about twenty minutes while the stone heat soaks. I think the 350 range is a good temp give or take twenty five degrees. I like Bryan S.( He's the real pro) Idea of useing the pizza screen. I happen to have a 16 inch aluminum pan from WalMart with the holes in it that works great. Make the pizza on that and keep it in the fridge until the cooker is ready, then just put it on. I close the top vent about half way. The stone and the pan will be seperated and you won't need cornmeal or extra flour. When flour burns it isn't vey flavorful. Monitor it while it cooks, it took me about 25 minutes. The mistake I made early on was that I was trying to do these in under five minutes. I keep a metal espatula and gloves with me and check it for doneness and even rotate it once in a while. If you smell burning bread pull it off! It should smell pleasant. You will still have some trial and error and learn how you like it. Also you will find what works for you. Make the pizza the way you like it, more or less sauce, lotsa toppings, don't worry. I do understand that you put a lot of effort into preperation and that can make you sweat a little especially when you are hungry. Not to fear, you will get the hang of it. By the way, the crust was not dry, and it will brown on top. The slower cook time seems to help make that happen. There is still a learning curve, so more time and less money invested. Furthermore, If you get the platesetter make sure it is as big as your pizza pan. I use a 16 inch pan and stone. The stone is just over a half inch thick. I think the BGE stone if it's 16 inches at least would work. This isn't the end all though. If you feel the need to cook faster it will take practice with higher heat, but for now this should help. Here are a couple of links to older threads of mine. I will post the pictures when my computer is done. Good luck!
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http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...=343109291#343109291

http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...=651109453#651109453
 
Brandon,

I feel your pain......and i did get a good laugh out of that...cause i know exactly what it is like to have the Sh*t scared out of you by fire......one suggestion is to not try and get things so very hot. . . . . too hot on the bottom and you end up with burnt crust and not melted cheese...u have to make sure there is plenty of air circulation around the stone and that the stone just didn't almost totally top the grill. . . . . if i remember my pizza days we used brick ovens set at 550. I've used my weber genesis with some success...if you like pics i can show you some.

Cheers

Dave
 
I had my Pampered chef stone break on me recently after several pizza grills. I use the premade Boboli thin crust. I agree that to many toppings my lengthen you cook times and cause the bottom to burn before the tops is done. The older I get, the more I cook, the more I believe in balance. In College I loved a kitchen sink pizza with everything on it, but I realized you got a conglomerate taste instead of the individual ingredients. I have also learned not to use too much sauce as this makes the crust soggy and the sauce bubbles off the pizza and makes a mess. Keep your chin up and get back on that horse. Grilled pizza is awesome.
 
For an egg, use the place setter (legs down) and lift the pizza stone off the place setter with the BGE little green feet or a few SS nuts. Then use cornmeal to stop the pizza sticking. Preheat for 30 minutes and keep the topping thin.
 
Sorry to hear about your stone cracking. I've had my share of cracked stones too.....either over charcoal or in my kitchen oven.

I love pizza so much so that I decided to build an outdoor wood-fired brick pizza oven and am in the process of doing so. It should be done in a couple of months...
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by George L:

I love pizza so much so that I decided to build an outdoor wood-fired brick pizza oven and am in the process of doing so. It should be done in a couple of months...
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>


George, I appreciate your sentiments. (pictures please?)

Brandon, keep at the it. Between getting the dough right and learning to cook it right, I found the learning curve with pizza as challenging as anything else I have done. I tell ya, the outcome once you get a handle on it is well worth the frustration. Good luck.

Gary
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary Bramley:

George, I appreciate your sentiments. (pictures please?)

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Gary, I will post pics here as soon as the dome starts to take shape.
I'm following the plans posted at Forno Bravo pompeii oven site.

George
 
Here are a couple of the pictures I promised. It cut perfect and had just the right crispness. I also do deep dish once in a while in a deep dish pan with more sauce and toppings. They take a little longer but come out great.



 
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