Pizza oven in my kettle ....


 
A

Andy K

TVWBB Member
Well I've broken down and jumped on the pizza kettle/modification band wagon! I bought the pizza kettle and th D shaped 21" and the full circle 21" stone in hopes of seeing what type of pizza I can create with this. It seems pretty close to what I've read as the way to go to get the needed temps. What I don't se much discussion about is using the minion method to help keep up the heat. Any thoughts on that?

I'm also thinking about putting firebricks to the side of the pizza kettle but I'm not so sore hoe the refactory mortise would app,t to the stainless steel ring
 
Andy -
I'm not an expert, but I make a pretty good NY style pie on my 22.5 OTS. Here's a post with my routine:http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?38567-OTS-Pizza-getting-better

I use about 1/2 chimney unlit and top with 1/2 chimney lit plus the splits of wood (been using maple cause it's what I have a lot of), all arranged in a ring. I make sure the wood is really past the smoke point and is just adding BTU's because I do not like a smokey crust. I have a 16" stone placed on top of bricks, the bricks are resting on an old grill grate. This elevates the stone closer to the lid. I keep the top vent open until cook time to improve airflow. From the time I pour the lit on the unlit to cook time - minimum 45 minutes.

For the pizza I use store bought or pizza parlor dough, whole milk mozzarella and my favorite tomato sauce...sometimes from scratch, sometimes just a can of good sauce. Toppings are fun - just be careful with high liquid content items. Mine cooks 6-10 minutes based on how much heat I have going and how thin a crust I'm able to throw that day.

I'd love to get a 26" Weber with the 21" stone. If you are using the 21" stone on a 22'5, you might be restricting your airflow a bit.

Have fun and keep us posted with how you do... ask questions, there are a number of pizza cookers on the site. I basically learned everything I do from TVWBB. Best part of the pizza making process is it's always an experiment of sorts and you get to eats your results!
 
Jim-

Thanks for the thoughts and sharing the experiences! I read on a different forum about the 21" on top and how it appeared t increase the air temp and reliant heat - not sure about the science but I'm willing to try it since it sounded logical. I also read about a stup that uses two (2) of the "D" shaped stones that allows for the air flow. That seems to make sense too and would have saved me $20 had I seen that idea first. Nonetheless, I'll try my "D" shaped on the bottom with the 21" on the top with the kettle lid on. I may try it with the top vent both open and closed to see what differences I can get.

Thanks for the time reference and fuel techniques tip- that isn't something that I've seen discussed in great detail. Normally it's just build it in the back and keep the pizza forward. I have seen some people talk about the putting some coals under the pizza stone but I've seen more people talk about NOT placing fuel directly under the stone due to burning. Not sure who is correct on that- may need to go with the majority and assume the minority uses less quality stone that needs the direct heat source. Not sure about that though.

I like the idea of the 26.75" grill for this endeavor since it would give more room for the fire and arguably generate more heat. One plus on that would be the extension to the pizza kettle and not have to buy a whole new pizza kettle!

I'll keep everyone posted on how this comes along!

Cheers!
Andy
 
Boy, I realize I need to spell check these posts and re-read them before I publish. Somehow the auto correct does a number on my typing! Some of my posts either make no sense or make me seem as though I can't put two words together!

Nonetheless, I'm still waiting on my pizza stones to arriver in order to start the pizza process. I like Jim's idea of going to a local pizza place and asking to buy the dough. Can't hurt since the worse they can do is say no! I'm pretty excited about the prospect so I'm looking to clean up the OTS in preparation to turn it over to the pizza kettle.

The new question I have is how do you pre-fire a log to cut down on the smoke? Do I take a torch to it or just build a fire in the kettle with my splits and pre char them? I have thought about getting a half of a whiskey barrel and cut it up for the oak… might be a bit pricey though. But since it's charred, would that have the same effect as pre-burning the wood?

Thanks to everybody for all your thoughts and input! Once I get the parts I'll have to get pics up to show the final product.
 
Ok- so the stones came in and I test-fitted everything. However, I decided to dissemble the kettle and deep clean it prior to firing up the Kettlepizza. However, Jim's right- the test fit shows the 21" stone fits really well as my "top" stone with only about 3/8" gap all the way around from the stone to the sidewalls of the Kettle Pizza. I find that a little odd since the Weber kettle diameter is suppose to be 22.5". Though the Kettlepizza sits on the inside diameter of the Weber, maybe I'm losing something there. Not sure where I'm loosing the space but it's lost. I should measure the inside diameter to help de-conflict the oddity. Nonetheless, I hope the gap or lack of enough gap doesn't mess with the thermal properties too much. Other websites seem to think this two-stone concept works better than no top plate at all. Even Kettlepizza makes a steel top plate but that one has a few large cut-outs to promote air flow. Nonetheless, I am undeterred. I have an infra-red thermometer that I'll use to measure the temps once I get her going. I'm using a second grate for the top stone so that the 21" stone has additional support and not just the three top bolts of the Kettlepizza.

I'm also using the 21" "D" shaped pizza stone for the bottom. However, I think I'm going to rest the bottom grate/stone combo on the Weber grate points and not the lower bolts of the Kettlepizza like often seen in youtube videos. Apparently, the only reason to rest the grate on the Kettlepizza lower points is to help the Kettlepizza retain its shape. But by using the top grate/stone method I think I'll be ok. Besides, the 21" "D" stone is pretty thick. It seems like the Kettlepizza opening space is too limited if I put the grate on the lower Kettlepizza resting points and use the thick "D" shaped stone. I saw a couple youtube videos that people were scraping their pies on the opening due to the smallish opening size. Using the natural Weber grate resting points seems to allow for more space. If I get bad temps on the stones as a result, I may have to adjust the placement of the lower grate/stone back to where Kettlepizza suggest you rest it. I'll know more once I fire it up and put a pie in there.

Now I just have to clean the kettle up and get her back together so I can fire it up in the next day or so. More to follow…
 
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So another update: power-washed the kettle and reassembled and now it looks really good and no real worries that some of the grease smells might transfer over to the pizzas. However, after putting the Kettlepizza back together using my two pizza stone idea, I've come to realize that resting the bottom grate and "D" shaped stone in the normal Weber position for the grate sets the stone too low to get to with a pizza peel. There's too much on an angle and not enough of an opening to get in-between the pie and stone with the peel. Thus the reason the bottom grate rests on the Kettlepizza since it's clear the pizza needs to go into the kettle at 180 degrees, or said another way, straight into the kettle with no angle.

The problem I now face is the handles on the rack do not allow my huge "D" shaped stone to sit on the rack without the handles getting in the way of the opening of the Kettle Pizza or the handle prevents the stone from sitting on the rack all together. Flipping the rack upside down also doesn't' allow the stone to set flush and level and leaves the stone wobbling around on the rack. Thus, I think I have to cut one of the handles on the stock Weber grate to allow the stone to fit without any problems. Hopefully a hacksaw will work on the stock rack from Weber. The rack seems like the metal is a bit thin. I realize none of the youtube videos that I've seen use these huge stones so my issue is a non-issue if you use a smaller 14",16", or 18" inch pizza stone on the bottom. Additionally, I think I'm just going to set the top stone on the Kettlepizza's top resting points rather than use a top rack as well.

Once I do that, I think I'll be ready just in time for a Friday night pizza night! More to follow…
 
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I'm still trying to get use to taking the pictures- here's what it the two stone method looks like - notice how the top stone covers the top completely? You can get a sense of the bottom stone as well. The picture with the Weber lid on has the bottom grate turned upside down since I haven't cut one of the handles yet. the crossbar on the bottom of the grate makes the bottom stone sit slightly elevated. I'll try that for the first bake and see how that works. Otherwise I know I'll have to cut a handle to make the bottom stone fit properly.
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Here's the update after the first pizza cook: I got the Papa Murphy's supreme pizza which looked really good but I noticed it was a little heavy on when I picked it up. So much so that it kinda bent the paper plate thing that it sat on… more about that in a minute. Nonetheless, I take my pizza home thinking about how this would turn out in the Kettlepizza.

I set up the Kettle pizza and use a full chimney of charcoal with two thin and smallish splits. I threw a thick fat split on as well but noticed that it sorta slide to the center of the grill and due to its length couldn't be stacked up at the end like the others so I pulled it out since things I read said you don't want direct heat under the stones. I think that was a mistake- at least some charcoal toward the front (not a lot) to help balance the stone's heat would have been good. Especially since using the two stone method like I do makes the whole Kettlepizza system extremely heavy and requires a lot of fuel due to the thickness and diameter of these stones. Thus adding fuel mid-cook is impossible unless I have the grates that open and I could rotate the kettle pizza to the opening to add fuel. That is what I think I need to do.

So I sallied forth with the wood that I had and assembled the Kettlepizza over the fire and let it heat up. The temp gauge on the ring registered just over 700 and my infra-red thermal gauge registered the stones at 600+ when the pizza went on.

Now transferring the supreme pizza onto my pizza peel from the paper-plate thing that Papa Murphy's used was more of a challenge than I imagined. Let me say upfront- if you order Papa Murphy's and plan to cook on a pizza stone, tell them to NOT put the pizza on a paper plate thing. It was REALLY tough getting it off and onto the peel by myself. Hindsight suggests take another peel or platter, quickly flip the uncooked pie upside-down onto the other platter/peel to get off the paper plate-thing and back over onto the floured/cornmealed pizza peel for insertion into the oven. Ensure you flour or cornmeal the peel that the bottom of the pizza will touch to ensure it slides off. If Papa murphy could make the uncooked pizza on plastic wrap or parchment paper then it would be to easy to transfer. Bottom-line: using Pap Murphy's was not as easy as I envisioned. Nonetheless, it worked out despite the slight deformation of the shape.

HOWEVER, a supreme pizza that's loaded is a lot harder to "turn" in the Kettlepizza than I envisioned as well. Due to the weight and size, it's slightly problematic since the Kettle pizza is not huge (the Ranch grill might be cool to use with this thing- they do sell an extension piece to allow for use on the larger kettles). I ended up pulling the pizza back out and rotating on the peel and re-inserting. The one edge of the crust did get burnt but I just cut that off and nobody noticed. I think a simpler pizza would be much simpler to rotate inside the kettle. Plus, experience plays a big part in this too- so for my first pie- not a big deal.

So, lessons learned- 1)when using the two stone method, get the rack that opens and cut the handles so the stones sit properly and you can rotate the Kettlepizza in order to load more wood as necessary. 2) Let the stones get really hot. At least 20-30 minute warm-up time and ensure you have the fuel to last at least 40 minutes since the pizza will only take a few minuets at the 700+ temp to cook. 3) Papa murphy's is good pizza just be sure to specify you're grilling the pizza on a stone so that they don't make the pie on a paper-plate thing. Removal from that is REALLY tough if you do not have a second peel that you can hold the pizza upside-down and pull the paper plate off. Two people would be ideal for that operation. 4) Get the grate that allows you to flip-up to load more fuel and cut the handles to allow for the large stones. Smaller stones will not have as much of an issue. 4) Ensure you use flour or cornmeal on the peel to allow for easy slide on and off. 5) be prepared to rotate the pizza quickly after inserting if using two stones and pay attention to the bottom of the pie to ensure even cooking. 6) Be aware the stones will be cooler at the front of the kettle and much hotter in the rear- an infra-red thermometer is a good tool to have to measure the surface temps.

Hope this helps others
 
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So I fired up the Kettle pizza again this evening despite the 16 degree temp here near Kansas City. Using the lessons learned from last night, I decided to use three pieces of splits and a few hickory chunks with a full chimney of KBB. I spread a FEW (maybe 5-8) coals directly under the bottom pizza stone to help heat the stone a little more evenly. I used a Boboli regular and thin crust with a homemade sauce with Sargento cheese and pepperoni.

Well a lesson learned from tonight… I don't need to worry about the larger top stone blocking the air flow and choking out the fire. The heat was so great it melted (or at least deformed) the stock Weber grill grate that my bottom stone sits on. I knew the grate was a bit thinner and lighter than the other Weber grate that I have that has the sides that open but I didn't think I'd generate so much heat that I would damage the stock Weber grate! I'm impressed that this set up worked so well! In fact, the kettle pizza SS ring now looks copper as a result of the high temp! My digital infrared thermo stopped reading the top stones temp when it went past 980 degrees. The Digital just read "Hi". The bottom stone also read "Hi" as well! I'm not sure how fast my Boboli cooked because I was constantly rotating to keep from burning but in the end- the ends still blacked more than I wanted due to the both my technique (or the lack of it) and the high temps. I think these actually tasted better than the Papa Murphy's too! Previously, I never thought too much of Boboli but both had a great crunch, the "cheetah" spots on the bottom (as well as come charing at the ends) and the charred ends weren't as bad as I expected them to be- it's not the same as burnt toast.

So- lessons learned: 1) The extra wood makes a huge difference to the temps and the few coals under the stone may help heat the stone more evenly.
2) If you use the two stone method, be aware you can generate serious (+980 degrees) heat if you use a lot of wood. The stock Weber kettle grate does not appear to be able to withstand sustained high temps and will deform.
3) Cooking at those temps makes the edges of the crust highly susceptible to charring beyond what you might expect/want. Experiment with the heat and doughs.
4) Boboli regular and thin crust are pretty good using this method of grilling but at these temps the regular crust's edges charred much too quickly resulting in me cutting off the charred ends and getting a slightly squared pizza. The thin crust charred as well but not nearly as much as the regular.

Hope this helps and keep on cooking!
 
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Enjoying the thread Andy! Keep up the experimentation...once you find the heat range you want work with and crust you'll be rocking!
 
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