Pizza Question

fireiteup · Jun 23, 2016

So i'm trying to have a dinner party with a few other couples where each one makes their own pizza that i throw on my big green egg one at a time. Anyone with a BGE have any suggestions on how to make this work and as painless as possible? i know there are issues with the temp of the stone increasing as you go...should i just cook them all first then enjoy at once?

i guess i can't get that thing italian pizza brick oven hot and do the pizzas in like 3 minutes?

Zippylip · Jun 23, 2016

there's really no issue with that format, just do them one at a time so everyone can enjoy the process by watching while waiting their turns then by doing their own... don't worry about the temp it's not an issue with the egg, if you dial it in for, say 550, it'll stay there until it runs out of fuel. Yes, you can go much higher in temp to do a 3 minute pie BUT that's not a realistic thing to do with a bunch of people doing their own, the egg is screaming hot & you pretty much need to know what you're doing to go that temp, not really wise for a bunch of folks that are likely doing it for the first time.

Norm · Jun 23, 2016

I did a party on my egg similar to what you are asking about. I made up a variety of toppings and sauces, had dough balls proofed and held in a covered container. As I would put one on I'd ask that the next 2 folks got theirs prepped. Worked pretty good but I was busy! As time went on the stone got a bit hotter but no big deal.

fireiteup · Jun 23, 2016

Norm said:
I did a party on my egg similar to what you are asking about. I made up a variety of toppings and sauces, had dough balls proofed and held in a covered container. As I would put one on I'd ask that the next 2 folks got theirs prepped. Worked pretty good but I was busy! As time went on the stone got a bit hotter but no big deal.

i've never done a pizza...any temp suggestion or BGE setup you do different? i have the ceramic heat thingy, i was going to put that upside down (from what i use it for smoking) and put a pizza stone on top.

Zippylip · Jun 23, 2016

fireiteup said:
i've never done a pizza...any temp suggestion or BGE setup you do different? i have the ceramic heat thingy, i was going to put that upside down (from what i use it for smoking) and put a pizza stone on top.

I didn't realize that when I answered above, given your beginner status I'd do a dry run before doing it for a party... here's a thread with probably overkill information but it should get you from start to finish:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103444

LMAJ · Jun 23, 2016

^^^That is a great thread.
Pizza parties are a lot of fun. We have done this with the Egg and with Dutch Ovens.
I set up my Egg the same as ZippyLip - if you don't have the feet that he is using you can use just about anything as a spacer - you really do want that air between the plate setter a.k.a. "the ceramic heat thingy" and your pizza stone. I once hadn't cooked pizzas in a long time and forgot to put the pizza stone on - was just cooking them on the plate setter - let's just say it was not a good pizza night at my house...

It really helps if you have a lot of counter space to be able to lay out the ingredients and a place to put the cooked pizzas.

I do not have good luck with using corn meal on my peal, so I go with making them on parchment paper - makes it easy.

And yes, if you haven't done a pizza yet definitely do a dry run to get the hang of it.
And give your Egg plenty of time to get up to temp and heat up all the ceramics.

Most of all - Have Fun! It's pizza, it's friends - sounds like a good time.

Zippylip · Jun 23, 2016

LMAJ said:
I do not have good luck with using corn meal on my peal, so I go with making them on parchment paper - makes it easy.

And give your Egg plenty of time to get up to temp and heat up all the ceramics.

funny thing I stopped using corn meal years ago, I now use a 50/50 mix of semolina & flour, use that as the bench flour & I rub a tiny tiny bit of it on the peel (basically you can't see it) but it is enough to keep the dough sliding around beautifully...

And good advice on the preheat, seems most problems people run into at first with ceramic pizza baking starts with an improperly preheated cooker

Norm · Jun 23, 2016

Zippylip's tutorial is awesome! I don't use parchment paper either but there's nothing wrong with it, especially until you get a couple of pizza cooks under your belt. I'd also do a couple of test cooks just to work out the kinks.

Good luck!

Groundhog66 · Jun 23, 2016

fireiteup said:
i've never done a pizza...any temp suggestion or BGE setup you do different? i have the ceramic heat thingy, i was going to put that upside down (from what i use it for smoking) and put a pizza stone on top.

You really want an air space, between the platesetter and pizza stone. I use the feet that used to come with the BGE's, but you can use something else if you don't have them. The stone will only get as hot as the ambient temp, so no worries about that. Keep the crust thin, and toppings light, and you're looking at about 9 minutes at 600-650 degrees. The temp you cook at will depend on the sugar content of the dough, some will burn at this higher temp. I do pizzas all the time, love them on the BGE...best I've ever had.

I'd also recommend building the pies on pizza screens, easier to deal with.

mjpmap · Jun 23, 2016

If you want to make things go a little quicker, you can actually partial bake the dough a little bit ahead of time. Then let your guests assemble their personal pizza. They are easier to handle for your guests, and then when it's time to bake your really only working to melt the cheese. The crust will heat back up quickly. We did it that way when we had a larger group of guests. The only thing I did different was make 8 inch crusts, and when the dough was raw I painted both sides with olive oil and dusted with garlic powder. I didn't use a stone, but put the dough directly on a hot grill. They set up in about 3 minutes.

fireiteup · Jun 23, 2016

All great points I will check out that thread. Thank you all so much!!

cfspence · Jun 23, 2016

+1 on precooking the dough. If you making it fresh or buying the dough balls it can be difficult for someone who has never done it before.

mrboy · Jun 23, 2016

Don't have an egg, but this week when the wife and I cooked pizza on the weber kettle, we put parchment paper on the stone and it was great! No pam/oil, nice crispy brown crust and no burning.

It really improved the product.

JacksBBQ · Jun 23, 2016

Any recipes for good homemade crust?

martyleach · Jun 24, 2016

I have an XL egg and cook about 580 with the setup that Groundhog66 talked about above. An air space between the platesetter and the pizza stone. I use Trader Joe's white pizza dough ($1.25 or so) which will make at least 2 8 inch pizzas. Let the dough rest on a floured cutting board for 2-1/2 hours before stretching into the crust. No rolling required. I cook them on pizza screens (google it) so I don't have to hassle with corn meal and other stuff on my pizza stone. 8 minutes and boom! Perfect pizza!

fireiteup · Jun 24, 2016

mjpmap said:
If you want to make things go a little quicker, you can actually partial bake the dough a little bit ahead of time. Then let your guests assemble their personal pizza. They are easier to handle for your guests, and then when it's time to bake your really only working to melt the cheese. The crust will heat back up quickly. We did it that way when we had a larger group of guests. The only thing I did different was make 8 inch crusts, and when the dough was raw I painted both sides with olive oil and dusted with garlic powder. I didn't use a stone, but put the dough directly on a hot grill. They set up in about 3 minutes.

My kind of thinking!

Any specific heat I'm looking for to "set" these bad boys up? And you do in and indoor oven yeah?

I'm still setting the egg up in the same manner as well? I don't have those feet...might have to grab some

Pizza Question

fireiteup

Knows what a fatty is.

Zippylip

Full Fledged Farker

Norm

Quintessential Chatty Farker

fireiteup

Knows what a fatty is.

Zippylip

Full Fledged Farker

LMAJ

somebody shut me the fark up.

Zippylip

Full Fledged Farker

Norm

Quintessential Chatty Farker

Groundhog66

Babbling Farker

mjpmap

is one Smokin' Farker

fireiteup

Knows what a fatty is.

cfspence

Knows what a fatty is.

mrboy

Full Fledged Farker

JacksBBQ

Take a breath!

martyleach

Quintessential Chatty Farker

fireiteup

Knows what a fatty is.

Similar threads