Help w/ Pellet Grill Pizza

[kevinstaggs]

OK, I'm not a pizza guy but several family members are, so I'm trying to add pizzas to my toolkit. I've only done 4-5 pizzas but I continue to have what I think is a little underdone toppings. Can y'all help me out, please?

Here's what I've done:
1) only used thin cauliflower crusts (from WallyWorld) with olive oil
2) bagged mozzarella cheese (I know... I should have grated from a block)
3) used onions, bell peppers and mushrooms at different times
4) used pepperoni and sausage (from JD chub)
5) cooked on metal pizza pan for a couple of pies and on a "cooling rack" for others
6) MAK at 425 for 10-12 mins

Crust is nice and crisp (it's thin so it should be). Cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots. Meat and veggies just needs a little more heat.

Where do I go from here?

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I don't mean to post a link from another site but since my pics have been photo-*****ed I have no other way.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41663&highlight=wood+fired+brick+oven+pan+pizza

The bricks made a nice barrier between the fire and the pan and they lifted the pizza closer to the lid to get the toppings done right.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

OK sorry I didnt notice you were lookin for pellet grill advise.

 

[kevinstaggs]

OK sorry I didnt notice you were lookin for pellet grill advise.

Well... but moving the pizza up to a higher rack make accomplish the same thing? MAK/pellet guys, does that sound right?

 

[rwalters]

Well... but moving the pizza up to a higher rack make accomplish the same thing? MAK/pellet guys, does that sound right?

Yep, move it higher and you’ll benefit from the radiant heat coming back down from the cooking chamber lid. Or you can place a stone on an upper grate right above the pie and get even more intense radiant heat. The 2019 (and newer) 2 Stars allow you to place the upper stone really close. Here’s a pic of a pre-2019 2 Star and you can still see the difference it makes. It should be even better on yours (closer).

 

[tom b]

What Rob said I don't have an extra stone so but do have cast iron pizza pan that I used.
Only did it once, it was pretty good.

 

[tom b]

found a pic

 

[SweetHeatBBQnSC]

Kevin, no intention of high jacking your thread, but I have thought about doing some pizzas just fooling around. Do you put your sausage, hamburger, or other meat toppings on the pizza raw? Will they cook that fast? I would probably use a thicker pre-made crust.

 

[kevinstaggs]

Kevin, no intention of high jacking your thread, but I have thought about doing some pizzas just fooling around. Do you put your sausage, hamburger, or other meat toppings on the pizza raw? Will they cook that fast? I would probably use a thicker pre-made crust.

Not hijacked at all. We're all here to educate and solve problems.

I have the same question. I could easily precook the sausage but it seems a little weird to pre-cook pepperoni... I've been putting mine on raw. Maybe that's a mistake.

 

[NCGrimbo]

For hot and fast pizza cooking, you should precook any meats that are raw (sausage, hamburger, chicken, etc) but peperoni doesn't need to be precooked. If you are doing a Chicago deep dish, it's OK to put the sausage in raw since the cook time is long enough to fully cook the sausage.

I've only cooked pizza on my Weber so I can't help you on the pellet side of things. But, I do like the idea of a second stone above the pizza to reflect heat down to help browning the top of the pizza.

 

[fernandomiles]

Can you recommend any oil dispenser?

 

[Shiz-Nit]

- Get a pizza stone and put it in your cooker and get it HOT.
The pizza stones can be purchased at Lowes, Home depot or if you have a big green egg dealer around I would get a BGE stone.

- get and use a laser pointer thermometer again the same store above will have one $30 or less.

- The pizza stone should be around 700*

- Use parchment paper under the crust if need be this will make for easier transfer to the cooker and off (if need be).

- just some basics I go by even when I did pizzas in the BGE or gasser before the pizza oven.

 

[jermoQ]

Move the rack to the top. I am also with NCGrimbo. You are making thin crust pizza so cook the sausage ahead. If you want veggies more cooked, cut them thinner or sautee or steam them before. I know a guy who will precook pepperoni to get rid of grease on the pizza but I don't worry about that.

 

[kevinstaggs]

Thanks everyone for all the great tips. I just got 2 new stones delivered today. They're from Amazon, Shiz, sorry. I ordered them before I saw your BGE tip. I'm going to try them along with pre cooking sausage and veggies and will report back.

 

[mike243]

Next time I do 1 it will be thrown on a preheated pellet smoker and a cold stone, my crust gets too crisp cooking on just the grates and the toppings not done enuff

 

[Rock'n B]

I cook them on a rec tec Bullseye using a thick stone like everyone else is saying around 500° closed lid and rotate it a few times and it does a good job. Preheat your stone with your smoker and let it cool down with your smoker so you don't crack it when your done.

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

This is what we do with our MAK 2-star. Use a cordierite material pizza stone on the upper rack. My 2-star has multiple rack slots and I move the rack to the first (lowest) position. I use the FlameZone with the covers removed for direct heat on the stone. Set the grill on 450 degrees and put the stone in the grill so the stone heats up as the grill heats up to ensure the stone is dry and preheated to grill temperature. When the grill has stabilized at 450F for at least five minutes, put the pizza on the stone for 7-12 minutes depending upon what type of toppings are on the pizza and how done you like the crust. Look at the bottom side of the pizza crust and when that has browned to a good color and cheese is browned, remove the pizza. If you wanted to go hotter, you could set the temperature on "High" or "Grill" (depending upon the version of the controller).

 

[TravelingJ]

I think the pre-cooking mentioned above, would have been my main tip. Anything raw I'd want cooked ahead, and same with veggies if you want them to have any real degree on doneness.

 

[kevinstaggs]

Did 2 pies last night. Sorry no pics - left cell phone at the office...

Using the 2 stones with MAK @ 425 and flamezone covers on. Will try hotter and no covers next go-round. I really appreciate everyone's help. Y'all are definitely upping my pizza game.

 

[Kai Yaker]

I am a pizza noob in the smoker too. Timing is perfect for this thread; doing two pizzas tonight. For my first home made pizza I used my BGE with a stone. As this was my first I used a Pillsbury pre-made crust. The stone was a cheap one we had laying around for a decade or so and finally decided to give it a shot. I believe my egg was in the 400 degree range. The stone burned the crap out of the crust and the top was not close to getting done. Could the quality of the stone have that effect? Not sure what happened. I have since graduated to making my own dough but have not ventured back to the smoker for fear of burning it.

Recommendations?

Cheers!


Yaker