Alright Brethren, help me out here. How do you cook pizza on a Weber Kettle? I had pretty well mastered it on my BGE, but last night was the first night using the kettle and I just couldn't get the temp up enough it seems. I know there's pizza inserts, but they're pricey and I don't want to add yet another gadget. Any tips?
A few notes on how we do pizza:
Last night on the kettle I used some of my BGE stuff. I had my coals (lump) spread out evenly, the grate, then the BGE plate setter legs down, with the stone on top of the plate setter (on some foil balls to allow an air gap between it and the plate setter). This put the pizza about 6" or so above the grate.
I couldn't get my dome thermometer over 400 with the vents wide open. We cooked two pizzas, and the first one took about 15mins to cook, and the crust still wasn't as done as I would have liked.
With the 2nd one, I left the lid askew, sliding it onto one of the handle brackets a bit so there was about a 1" opening on one side, allowing more air flow. That finally got the temps up over 500*F. That pizza took about 12mins to cook. It was good, but again, the crust was a little under cooked, and the toppings were done. Cooking it longer would have burned the broccoli.
So. Any advice?
Use a vortex to help get the temp up?
No plate setter so the stone is getting direct heat?
Whatcha got?
Some pies cooked on the Egg.
Veggie
Hawaiian BBQ
BGE pizza set up
A few notes on how we do pizza:
- Publix dough 'cause it's usually a game day decision and we don't have time to wait several days for homemade dough (I DO want to try home made dough). The Publix dough is a thicker dough, can't really be rolled/stretched out super thin.
- We go heavy on the toppings. Our two favorite pizzas are Hawaiian BBQ (left over pulled pork + pineapple) and veggie.
- With the Egg I ran it at about 550-600 degrees and I'd elevate the stone up into the dome so the toppings would get some good radiant heat off the dome to cook them fast enough so they would be done before the crust was burned
- With this set up and the Publix dough the pizzas took right around 8-9mins to cook.
Last night on the kettle I used some of my BGE stuff. I had my coals (lump) spread out evenly, the grate, then the BGE plate setter legs down, with the stone on top of the plate setter (on some foil balls to allow an air gap between it and the plate setter). This put the pizza about 6" or so above the grate.
I couldn't get my dome thermometer over 400 with the vents wide open. We cooked two pizzas, and the first one took about 15mins to cook, and the crust still wasn't as done as I would have liked.
With the 2nd one, I left the lid askew, sliding it onto one of the handle brackets a bit so there was about a 1" opening on one side, allowing more air flow. That finally got the temps up over 500*F. That pizza took about 12mins to cook. It was good, but again, the crust was a little under cooked, and the toppings were done. Cooking it longer would have burned the broccoli.
So. Any advice?
Use a vortex to help get the temp up?
No plate setter so the stone is getting direct heat?
Whatcha got?
Some pies cooked on the Egg.
Veggie
Hawaiian BBQ
BGE pizza set up
