Pizza stone as heat deflector got soaked in pork fat

[pulled_pork_python]

Made some ribs yesterday. Usually I put a round flat baking sheet and a pizza stone (both individually wrapped in aluminium foil) between the fire and the meat on my kamado style cooker. Yesterday I made a mistake in the sequence and the pizza stone was on top sitting in the baking sheet. The ribs dripped a lot of fat and my pizza stone ended up "swimming" in that fat held by the baking sheet.

Question:
How do I clean that pizza stone?

I've tried baking soda and water.

I tried putting it in the oven at 250 to make it sweat.

I know it won't be brand new when I am done, but I want to at least get rid of the smell (it doesn't smell good) and use it later for making pizza.

Thanks

 

[mcokevin]

Just a thought, but what about running it in a really hot oven for a few hours to try and cook out the organic matter out of it that's smelling bad?

It's likely that the stone absorbed some inside itself through the pores and that is what is causing the smell. It'll probably stink up the house quite a bit, but I think would be worth a shot.

EDIT: also, make sure you put something in the oven under the stone, like a big aluminum tray or something. If there is congealed fat in there it might liquify then drip out the bottom / sides -- if that drips onto the heating element you could wind up with a grease fire inside your oven.

 

[Phantom5533]

Good topic and questions. I think I will subscribe to this topic to see new answers. Because my dad struggled with almost the same problem yesterday!

 

[chopsaw]

I had a similar thing happen to me years ago , with olive oil soaking into a stone .
Just had to cook it out over the years . Didn't smell good either , but I bet ( or know ) the pork grease is worse .
It's like a sponge , so don't put anything but clean water to clean . Make sure it's good and dry , and put it in a cold oven or your grill . Bring it back to temp and let it cook out . Do it outside if you can .
I think I would put it in the oven at the lowest temp for and hour or two , to make sure you get the water out before taking to higher temp . Just make sure its dry before going to high heat . It will eventually cook out , but mine took quite a few times thru the oven .

Also , might think about how much fat was soaked up , and any chance it could go rancid ? Not saying it will , just a thought .

 

[FFchampMT]

That pizza stone can handle higher temps than anything a backyard BBQ setup can throw at it.
Put your bbq grill on high, throw it in, and let 700 degrees do its thing for an hour. It's probably going to be permanently discolored, but it will be functional and anything organic will be gone.

 

[chopsaw]

P pulled_pork_python
I'm suggesting in post #4 to put some thought into it . My concerns are cracking the stone . Just FYI . Good luck .

 

[Steve H]

You really shouldn't get the stone wet. At this point I would put it in the oven with the door cracked open on the lowest setting for a few hours to dry it out. Then put it on your grill to burn out the oils.

 

[binnesman]

I was doing some research on this for a friend who did a similar thing. I came across this when I googled how much heat a stone can withstand.


Heating Capacity
Since a pizza stone is meant to help your home oven or grill mimic the baking conditions of a high-temperature pizza oven, most baking stones will be fine up to about 600 degrees (some even withstand temperatures of 900 degrees or more).

When I googled most posted the same thing put your stone in the oven at the highest temperature and it will burn out all the impurities. Good luck with it.

ohhh it may turn black but won’t hurt the stone just won’t look pretty anymore. My friend has a pizza oven outside and his stones are black pizza still taste great.

 

[SmokyMose]

Seems like it might be worthwhile to just use that stone for the kamado and get a new one for pizza...

 

[chopsaw]

Heating Capacity
Since a pizza stone is meant to help your home oven or grill mimic the baking conditions of a high-temperature pizza oven, most baking stones will be fine up to about 600 degrees (some even withstand temperatures of 900 degrees or more).

Yes , but seems some are overlooking the fact that if it's full of moisture you run the risk of cracking the stone if the moisture boils .

 

[mcokevin]

Yes , but seems some are overlooking the fact that if it's full of moisture you run the risk of cracking the stone if the moisture boils .

This definitely is a risk. Blew up part of a concrete slab at my brother-in-law's a couple years ago on Christmas Eve with hot charcoal. Loud boom and a fireworks show during dinner. All good though :)

 

[Chasdev]

Off topic but once that stone heats up fully, which it will do in about an hour, you just moved the heat you are trying to avoid closer to the meat.

 

[pulled_pork_python]

Off topic but once that stone heats up fully, which it will do in about an hour, you just moved the heat you are trying to avoid closer to the meat.

I block all the thermal radiation for the coals.

I don't know any other way to do "indirect" cook on a kamado. A metal sheet will do the same I assume.

 

[pulled_pork_python]

Thanks for all the suggestion, I already started drying out the stone in a 250F oven. I will try to burn it when I will have time to fire up the cooker and do 700F without any food on the grill (so that the potential smell stays out of the house).

 

[chopsaw]

Thanks for all the suggestion,

Good . Sounds like you're heading in the right direction .
Here's a pic of my 30 year old stone . The stains are from the olive oil I mentioned above . The darker stains are from cheese . No smell or anything any more , but at first it would smoke and smell . You just might have to do it a couple times .

 

[bigfurmn]

I think calling that a grill tool now and getting a new stone might easier.

 

[mfatty500]

How about turning it upside down with something under it to catch the grease? maybe it will draw the grease out?

 

[pulled_pork_python]

Good . Sounds like you're heading in the right direction .
Here's a pic of my 30 year old stone . The stains are from the olive oil I mentioned above . The darker stains are from cheese . No smell or anything any more , but at first it would smoke and smell . You just might have to do it a couple times .
View attachment 501272

I guess our "problems" are of different magnitude. My stone was also that color before the accident. ;)

 

[bill1]

I can't say for sure, but I think lots of time and temperature is about all you can do. Maybe use generous corn meal on the top to help wick out fluids as the come to the surface...of coarse it will soon burn.

And I' be leary of going too hot in anything but a large commercial oven. These stones don't crack from temperature, but temperature gradients, namely the difference in temperature across the volume of the stone. That's where gas grills get scary to me...they just internally vary too much in temp. So if you're going over 425 or so, I'd ensure the oven or grill is at least twice as large in its narrowest dimension as the stone is in it's largest. And I'd put a uniform-thickness of steel plate between the heat sources (burners, elements, etc) and the stone to smooth out the temp variations you will have. That plate should be 150% the size of the stone.

As others have said, this will take many cycles. But be patient. Heating up and cooling down should take hours, not minutes, otherwise you'll develop those thermal gradients from the interior to the surfaces that create the internal stresses that crack these things.

 

[forktender]

That pizza stone can handle higher temps than anything a backyard BBQ setup can throw at it.
Put your bbq grill on high, throw it in, and let 700 degrees do its thing for an hour. It's probably going to be permanently discolored, but it will be functional and anything organic will be gone.

This, cook it out at high heat, it will never look the same but the good news it will work just as well as it did brand new.