Wsm or kettle?

[Rick Lea]

I have the summit platinum d-4 which serves me well for most of my cooking. I am not into the low and slow 4-12 hour cooking events. Mostly steaks, lobster and some ribs once in a while.

I do have a genuine interest in santa maria style tri-tip. I cook it on the gasser with great results. I would like to take it one step further with the real red oak chunks, rather than gas. I have a smoker box on my summit but it is probably not going to be the same as cooking over an oak fire.

Wsm or kettle?

Rick

 

[Jeff Bittel]

Kettle.

 

[dsitterson]

I have both and love them both. The WSM is like a crock pot slow and steady, The kettle is a little more versitile. I livove them both but the kettle gives me the best of both worlds. Chicken, ribs. skirt, flank, turkey. steals,

 

[Robert W]

Rick,

Based on the type of cooking you have mentioned, sounds like the kettle is the correct choice.

Bob W.

 

[Bill Pearson]

Kettle

I have one of each (Kettle, Gasser, WSM) and they all have there places, I would estimate I use my platinum kettle 85% of the time. If you aren't sure which you'd like find a good 22.5" kettle on Craigslist that way you save a couple of bucks if you decide you want the WSM instead (or also)

 

[Bryan S]

Ribs are best on a WSM period. Steaks are best on a kettle over charcoal, lump prefered 18.5" or 22" makes no difference as long as you have the bottom vent/vents right under the charcoal bowl to get er hot. Gasser best for quick cooks burgers, dogs, sausage,etc.... and what I Love my Summit Gold D the best for, PIZZA. Homemade 11 day old cold ferment pizza dough. I cook them on a 16" pizza screen at 600 - 650 degrees.

 

[Phil R.]

Bryan,

That pizza looks great...do you do it direct or indirect? I've toyed with the idea of pizza in my (22") performer, but I always thought the bottom would be done way before the top, so didn't try.

 

[Rick Lea]

So many choices! I can do steak, beer can chicken and rotisserie on the gasser. I can sear at almost 700 degrees.

Santa Maria tri-tip needs real red oak chunks, which calls for the one touch kettle.

Ribs I can live without, along with the other "southern-style" pork butt, pork shoulder or pulled pork sandwiches. Nice but I am not into the 4-12 hour cooks.

Pizza on the gasser. That's my idea of a great cooking option.

Rick

 

[Vin]

Pizza screen, eh?... I've used aluminum, stone, cast iron pizza pans, but never a screen..

I'm really interested in pizza on the grill.. direct heat? at what temp? how long? do give details please.

 

[Bryan S]

On the Gold D I turn all 6 burners on high for 15 - 20 min, temp gets to 650. I turn down the 4 middle burners to low and the 2 end ones I leave at full throttle. The pie will cook faster than the oven (cook them at 550 in that) so don't wander too far. At the 4 min mark I give it a 180 spin, do it quick to keep the heat in. Another 2 - 3 minutes and it's done. Now if you only have 3 burners and they are running long ways you'll have to experiment a bit. Def all 3 to low when the pizza goes in. And you might want to check it at the 3 min mark. This beats heating up the oven/house when it's so darn hot out. If you find that the bottom is getting done and the top is not, raise the pizza on the screen up some away from the grates/burners with some bricks and rest the very outer edge of the screen on them, soup cans with both ends opened........ improvise but make sure it's a solid rest and the heat doesn't block the bottom of the crust or you'll have raw spots. HTH, Bryan

 

[Bryan S]

Originally posted by Phil R.:
Bryan,
do you do it direct or indirect? I've toyed with the idea of pizza in my (22") performer, but I always thought the bottom would be done way before the top, so didn't try.

Phil, You will def want to raise the pizza away from the coals if doing them over charcoal. That intense heat will charr the bottom in short order. I'd do the pizza screen on 4 soup cans both ends open. That does 2 things for you. Gets you away from the intense heat from the coals and gets the top of the pie closer to the dome to get the heat reflection for the top of the pie. You might burn one or 2 up getting it right but homemade pizza dough is cheap.

Your biggest task will be to get that charcaol fire the same each and every time. On a gasser we just heat em up, it's same every time. With charcoal use the same amount for each cook say 3/4 chimney spread out or 1 chimney to get a nice even single layer. Do a dry run with unlit to check it out, hey count them if you have to. A full weber chimney holds 100 Kingsford Briqs.

A little trial and error but you will get some great tasting pies. I'm going to experiment on my old Master touch one of these days with some pies.

 

[Bryan S]

Pizza screens. I got mine here but this is what your looking for. These are thin and also work well for smoking cheese, nuts, fish, etc. Scroll down a little past half way, 16" screen item #11360. Link to pizza screens. I saw these in a store not too long ago, sorry but can't remember where.

 

[Phil R.]

Bryan,

Thanks for the info. I also use a screen...in the oven though (and crank that sucker all the way up!). I got really, really tired of making messes trying to slide the pizza off a peal onto a stone--thus the screen. Even when I used lots of [flour/semolina/cornmeal] on the peal it still didn't work well.

I knew I was going to have to elevate the screen somehow, but didn't think of soup cans. I was thinking bricks....but now that I think about it, the soup cans would let the heat through without me having to heat the bricks...brilliant! The thing I was concerned about (which you alluded to) was that in an ideal pizza oven, the "floor" is the same temp as the oven itself...and that would be really hard to recreate in a barbeque. I was considering putting a few coals in the middle, but putting most around the periphery of the grate. I thought maybe the heat would rise up better and make the "top" of the oven hotter to match the "bottom" (if that makes any sense at all).

BTW...I too favor long fermentations for the dough. Never done 11 days though!

I usually make a sponge that I ferment at room temp the first day, then put it in the fridge for 2 or 3 (Reinhart's recipe). I've been thinking about trying sourdough, but just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Matt Jones]

I can do steak, beer can chicken and rotisserie on the gasser. I can sear at almost 700 degrees.

You can do the same things with a kettle also...

 

[Eric W]

Originally posted by Bryan S:
Pizza screens. I got mine here but this is what your looking for. These are thin and also work well for smoking cheese, nuts, fish, etc. Scroll down a little past half way, 16" screen item #11360. Link to pizza screens. I saw these in a store not too long ago, sorry but can't remember where.

Thanks for the link. I have been looking for something to use for making jerky, with some kind of legs added to make them stackable these should do the trick quite nicely. Do you know what these are made from?

 

[Dan Tauriello]

I make pizza all the time on either the kettle or the gasser to keep from heating the house up, but also because they come out great and it is another reason to grill!

I use a ZaGrill Pizza cooker in both with great results. They come out perfect.

 

[Rita Y]

Everyone, the secret of getting the pizza off the peel is....parchment! I prefer a metal peel over wood, but wood should work too. Just top your peel with a sheet of parchment, optional but not necessary: sprinkle the parchment with a little cornmeal for textural interest (I prefer the texture of yellow grits, tho), put your shaped dough on the parchment, add the toppings, and slide 'er onto the stone, parchment and pizza together, and bake.

The parchment might brown a bit around the edges but won't burn (I use top oven rack, 550 convection, which is as high as my oven will go. When I remove the pizza, I slide the thin metal peel between the parchment and the crust to remove the pizza, and just pull out the paper by hand.

I have a 5-rack oven and have cooked 5 pizzas at a time. It takes 1 1/4 hours or more to preheat the oven thoroughly with that many stones.

I use a dough with a 6-hour fermentation if doing it straight, but I more often retard it overnight if I have time.

Easy as pie!
Rita

Edited braindead information: Clarified (I hope) the optional use of cornmeal or yellow grits.

 

[David Lohrentz]

Rita,

I also use parchment when sliding pizza and also free form bread into the oven. You really don't need any cornmeal when using parchment. It keeps the oven much cleaner than using cornmeal.

I also have a metal peel and like it a lot.

 

[Phil R.]

I like the parchment idea but...it doesn't catch on fire or smoke excessively? I've used it before in baking, and I seem to remember the stuff becoming *really* dark at temps above 350. Also, it doesn't stick to the pizza at all? You guys have no trouble getting it off? Hmm, this breathes new life into my passion for homemade pizza! I got so sick of messes and smoky kitchens (from the cornmeal) I had given up on it.

 

[Bryan S]

Originally posted by Phil R.:
Bryan,

I also use a screen...in the oven though (and crank that sucker all the way up!). I got really, really tired of making messes trying to slide the pizza off a peal onto a stone--thus the screen. Even when I used lots of [flour/semolina/cornmeal] on the peal it still didn't work well.

Here's how I do it. Just stretch out your dough and place it on the screen. Add your sauce, cheese, topping and put the screeen with the pizza already on it into the oven. I have a peel and never used it.