Pizza on E6


 
JohnTak

JohnTak

TVWBB Pro
I know a lot of you do home made pizza on your grills. I'm not there yet, I want to try Papa Murphy's first but have some questions. Do you take it off of the cardboard first? If so how? I have a new pizza stone, do I need to do anything to it before using it? Thanks for any help.
 
Try starting with a few inexpensive frozen pizzas first. They slide right off of the cardboard.
 
You will see lots of people with the WSK/E6/S6 cranking up their grills to 800+ degrees to try make Neapolitan style pizza....but personally I think this is a really bad idea. There are other styles and pizza dough that makes amazing pizza in the 500 degree range too.

That said, for a pre-made pizza, you pretty well want to follow the directions that came with it. The dough (and it's ingredients) and toppings etc were designed to cook at close to the temps recommended. Yes...take off the cardboard. You want the crust to cook right on the stone.

In general though, you always want to protect the bottom of the stone from direct heat as it will get scorching hot and burn your crust. I always dual-layer my pizza steel/stone with another diffuser underneath, and make some tinfoil balls to create an air gap. Preheat the grill and the stone to 450 - 500 for at least 30-45 min, drop on the pizza, and let it cook. Try not to open the lid and let the heat out while cooking...you can monitor the topping from the roof vent.

Raising up the stone very high in the grill works very well too...a popular method is to start your fire on the BOTTOM grate, and place the diffuser on the COOKING grate (yes, up high), then place your charcoal baskets on top of the diffuser for a big air gap and protection from direct fire heat, and finally, the stone on the VERY top.

You can really use anything to create the air gap....examples:

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I use two Firebricks, the coal grate from a 22 inch kettle and a 16 inch pizza stone.

I leave the center section out so I can add fuel in the center and turn the food gate 90 degrees so I can add fuel front and rear.

I remove the mid layer coal rack, two CBs on the lower grate.

For a pappa murphy's pizza i would preheat with the stone in and cook at 450 to 500.

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JohnTak said:
Do you take it off of the cardboard first? If so how? I have a new pizza stone, do I need to do anything to it before using it? Thanks for any help.
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At some point, you will likely want to use a pizza peel of some sort...wooden peels are easier to launch a pizza from, metal peels are easier to move the pizza off the stone when cooked. When you get to the point where you are actually making a pizza, it is easier to build the pizza on the wooden peel and launch from there. The stone is non-stick and will take care of itself...don't wash it, just gently scrape or brush off the char.
 
I also used the diffuser under the stone, and it worked OK but I think it limited stone temp a little too much for the type of pizza and dough used.

For a pappa murf, it might be just right.

This is a 14 inch stone on the diffuser.

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Ed P said:
At some point, you will likely want to use a pizza peel of some sort...wooden peels are easier to launch a pizza from, metal peels are easier to move the pizza off the stone when cooked. When you get to the point where you are actually making a pizza, it is easier to build the pizza on the wooden peel and launch from there. The stone is non-stick and will take care of itself...don't wash it, just gently scrape or brush off the char.
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+1 +1

Wood peel to launch, metal to retrieve.
 
DanHoo said:
+1 +1

Wood peel to launch, metal to retrieve.
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In my mind, you need both peels, but just starting out I got by with just a cheap wooden peel and a pair of tongs to move the pizza off the stone onto the peel.
JohnTak said:
Thanks for all of the quick replies. Great tips and advise! I feel more confident now. (y):)
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It can be a rewarding journey and something the whole family can get involved in! But baby steps at first...getting the temps right is important. Taking notes is helpful, too. In essence, you are trying to cook both the bottom and the top of the pizza to the desired doneness at the same time, so dome temp and stone temp are the watchpoints. Good luck, and have fun! Yep, I'm going to want to see some pics, too!
 
I have a tendency to forget pictures 😢😂 I will try to do better in the future. Some of you take some amazing picture.
 
It is quite tedious to remove the cardboard from a raw pm pie.

Easiest best to start cooking it with cardboard on. Then after a couple minutes you can launch it off the paper onto the stone or metal pie pan or pizza steel.
 
The toppings were skimpy with not much flavor and the crust was like toast, no chewiness. I used the deflector plate just above the coals, I wonder if I should have left it out?
 
This is my own personal opinion, and I know others do it, but I only place the diffuser directly above the coals for lower temp cooks. I just do not see the purpose of starting a hot blaze for higher temp cooks, and then covering it up and forcing the heat around the edges. For pizza and higher temps, I either use a second stone (diffuser) on the COOKING grate to allow more heat to hit the stone while still protecting it.

I have also seen many posts where people have posted that if you have your pizza stone nice and high, that you do not even need a diffuser at all as you mentioned.
 
I'm still experimenting on the E6.

An air gap or dual stacked stones was essential on my BGE and on my E330 gasser. Without this the crust was burnt and topping not done.

But the dough matters too. In one cook I had two different doughs and one didn't handle 750F without burning.
 
Just one guy talkin' here, but the only time I've ever used a peel to retrieve a pie was when I worked in restaurants. The peel was imperative to reach in the confined spaces of pizza ovens.

Outside grilling, fwiw, you really don't need a full peel for retrieval. A spatula does the same thing and costs next to nothing. I get it if you're using something like an Ooni, but beyond that if your crust is good you can frankly slide it off with basically anything.

How are people liking pies from the E6 vs pies from a non-kamado??
 
Great thread!

I bought a Kettle Pizza Pro kit for my 22. Used it twice and sold it because it was too single-purpose for me. It was going to be a long time between pizza cooks. I like the idea of making it on the WSC. Going to try this.

So coals on the charcoal grate in the lower position, one pizza stone on the cooking grate, and a second elevated on top of the first? Can I use the 7647 expansion rack to elevate the cooking stone or is the bottom stone preferred as a diffuser plate? Any value in placing a Vortex under the stones facing either way?
 
Tim Campbell said:
Just one guy talkin' here, but the only time I've ever used a peel to retrieve a pie was when I worked in restaurants. The peel was imperative to reach in the confined spaces of pizza ovens.

Outside grilling, fwiw, you really don't need a full peel for retrieval. A spatula does the same thing and costs next to nothing. I get it if you're using something like an Ooni, but beyond that if your crust is good you can frankly slide it off with basically anything.

How are people liking pies from the E6 vs pies from a non-kamado??
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Easiest way to keep your fingertips.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NPQDVD8/?tag=tvwb-20

And perfect form the E6. Yes, I have this one. My pizza steel is 500-550°, I’m keeping my fingers off and away and this is good, cheap insurance.
 
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