Pizza over the firebox…

[Its_Raw]

I am thinking about cooking a pizza in a cast iron skillet on the grate in the firebox of my offset smoker. Any suggestions? What temp am I shooting for in the firebox?

 

[Torch&Tone]

When making pizza in an oven, the temp that has always been suggested to me was "as hot as it will go." Commercial operations often go 800F, sometimes over 1000F, but you can also cook small pizzas in cast iron over an open campfire, so there's plenty of range. If using the cast iron like a pizza stone, I'd suggest letting it pre-heat. Definitely be careful when putting the pizza in and taking it out!

Also, tangent for another time, if I have room in the smoker (usually when smoking brats or other small stuff), I will sometimes smoke some AP flour and use that later in making the pizza dough!

 

[Its_Raw]

Smoking the flour, that’s intersting. Great idea.

If I close the lid on the firebox, will I need a lid like some videos have suggested to cook the top of the pizza, or will the trapped heat be more than sufficient? Also, is there any need to partially cook just the crust and flip it before adding toppings?

 

[Torch&Tone]

I've never cooked pizza in a firebox (I've had eggs cooked on an engine and seen fish cooked in a dishwasher - fwiw, both processes were entirely for novelty value) but I'm curious to hear how it goes. Pizza definitely wants even heating above & even heating below, but what the conditions are inside your firebox is anyone's guess?

 

[Its_Raw]

Cooked the pizza yesterday. Verdict - meh at best. The crust was homemade and not turn out well at all. It was like a thick, dense cracker. That was not the fault of the smoker. I am wondering if the yeast did not do as it was supposed to and raise the dough. As far as using the smoker to cook over the fire box, the process was pretty easy. I let the fire burn down to coal. The pizza took a bit over 15-minutes to cook. However, there was little flavor present that gave any kind of indication it was cooked over a fire. Not sure it was worth the effort.