TRYING OUT MY NEW KETTLE PIZZA ATTACHMENT

[SmokinAl]

OK guys, I bought one of those kettle pizza oven attachments. I already had a pizza stone & a pizza peal, so all I needed was the kettle pizza ring.
I have been making pizza in my kettle for years, but was intrigued by the design of the kettle pizza oven. I had to get one & give it a try. So far it seems like a very well built unit, but it is a little pricey for a piece of stainless steel with a hole cut in it. I'm sure some of you fabricators out there could make one for about $10. Anyhow I'm no fabricator & have to rely on what is available on Amazon. So here is the maiden voyage of my pizza ring!!!

I started a full chimney of charcoal. It's like 90 degrees outside today so I had a fan running to keep me cool while I drank a few beers & got the charcoal burning!

The directions said to put the charcoal on the end & put a few under the stone. Next time I won't put any under the stone, cause the stone got too hot & the crust got done before the top did.

You can't have a wood fired pizza without wood, so I put a couple of small splits on the charcoal.

Then on goes the kettle pizza ring & pizza stone.

OK, lid on & were ready to rock! Just have to heat up the stone.

In the meantime Judy has made a homemade crust & covered it with onions, green pepper, pepperoni, & cheese.

The temp is at over 700 degrees on the kettle pizza therm & the dome therm.

The fire is going really strong! Look at how burnt the S/S has gotten. That sucker is hot!!

Time to put the pizza in.

I know this sounds crazy but it only took about 2 minutes to cook this pizza, we rotated it 180 degrees at about 1 minute & pulled it out at 2 minutes.

Then we did another one, this time only pepperoni, the kettle had cooled down a bit & this one took about 3 minutes to get done.

About all I can say is WOW!!
This thing makes some crazy good pizza's, I think we will be having pizza at least once a week from now on.
But think about it. I used a full chimney of charcoal & 3 small wood splits to cook a pizza for 2 minutes, then another for 3 minutes. That is a lot of material for a couple of pizza's. Now if you have a bunch of people over & your gonna make a half dozen pizzas it makes sense, but for one pizza it seems like a lot of fuel to use.
But still it is the best pizza I have ever made, way better than just using the stone & getting the Weber as hot as I could without this kettle pizza attachment.
So I guess I'll just bite the bullet & use the charcoal & wood needed to make my pizza. It still costs less than buying a pizza & it sure tastes a lot better. I give this pizza oven attachment 5 stars!! It's just another toy for the kid!!
Al

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

WOW that's a very cool attachment. Maybe you can experiment with some different fuels. It may not even be necessary to use as much as you put in there the first time around. Try some Royal Oak lump with no other wood. It is an oak wood only product and does impart a very light oak flavor without any extra chunks or splits. You could even try some chips to produce smoke on demand with the lump at a pretty low cost since you only need to cook for a few minutes. Enjoy your new gizmo.

George

 

[AllAces]

Lookin' good. Did the pie pick up any wood smoke flavor?

 

[chilerelleno]

That's some nice kit for making homemade woodfired pizza.
Nice looking pies!
What, no anchovies?

Stainless steel is very pricey, just the sheet metal used to make it, before cutting, rolling and finishing was worth way more than $10.00.

 

[73saint]

Awesome write up and the pizzas look amazing! You know, I’ve always wanted one of those attachments. And until you explained it in terms of fuel usage, I never would have thought about that.

I guess for now it’s a moot point, I’m on a low/no carb diet these days!

Like!

 

[oldsmokerdude]

Love me some wood fired pizza. Great write up and pictures. Thanks for sharing. I think I know what we're having for dinner tonight.

 

[motocrash]

Congrats on the new toy Al,it appears to work very well!
I'd let Judy make me a pie any day,I'd even let you fire it :D
I think some measurements might be in order for that stainless ring with a cutout.

 

[kit s]

That is a great idea somebody made up for this type cook....Al mam those look good, and well like George was wondering if yo really needed that much fuel. I am sure you will play with that factor some as time goes, and probably even on creating or making up other dish using it. Also was wondering if the pies had any smoke flavor. May a chunk on the the pizza stone were it would smolder. Hey hope you have more cold ones, cause that for me is the beverage of choice when having some pie.

 

[weedeater]

Al that sure looks like a new toy that works like a charm. Fuel may be a little pricey but it’s not if you compare the cost to building a dedicated pizza oven that has few other uses. Like!

Weedeater

 

[chopsaw]

Looks good Al . I've been wanting one , and passed on a closeout at a good price . They make a couple models , and also have a " baking lid " That goes on top of the insert . Closes off the dome to help cook the top .

 

[browneyesvictim]

Great write-up Al! Very jealous actually. That sure has got me thinking about making a kettle pie myself.
Congrats on the new toy! In fact I vote you put yourself on the carousel!

 

[ab canuck]

Al that looks great, How was the taste? Great I bet!!! Like the write up as well. Definite point.. That is worthy of a carousel ride IMO.

 

[gmc2003]

That pizza looks absolutely fabulous Al. Pizza is one thing I've never tried on the Kettle. Now I have to put it into the rotation.

Point for sure.

Chris

 

[Bearcarver]

That's Really Cool, Al !!
I see what you mean about the material used for such a short cooking time, but they Really Look Awesome!!
Bet that Smoke flavor is good too!
Maybe you just gotta have company more often!!A little too far from PA though!!!
Congrats!
Like.

Bear

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Great step by step info al! That pizza looked great!

I bought the weber pizza stone, and grate for my genesis about 3-4 years ago and never used them. Still in the box in the barn. I’ve seen the one you bought and wondered how well it works. Seems like it works great!

The 2 minutes isn’t that crazy. A farmer out here has a pizza oven built into his fire place. We temp it with a gun and it gets up around 700+. He kept burning pizzas so one night we had a party at his place and made 2 dozens pizzas just experimenting with times. I got it down to just a few minutes as well. And it’s way easier the thinner you make the dough.

If you don’t have one of those temp guns ryobi makes one for about $25. It’ll help your temp different spots on your stone. Great tool for this type of cooking.

That is a lot of fuel for two pizzas. I’d be trying to cut back on the charcoal, and see how hot you can get it, and how the pizza cooks at a little lower temp.

I’m sure you’ll be having a blast experimenting with that all summer long and beyond!

You deserve a carousel nod for this one al. Stop being humble and put yourself up there!

Great job
Scott

 

[johnmeyer]

Wow, 700+ degrees! That is crazy hot.

I love the idea of having a "wood-fired" pizza oven without having to do a special build.

+1 on getting temp gun. Amazon has models that are only about twelve bucks.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Great looking pizza Al! I didn’t even know that existed. I’ve been trying to find a used BGE or KJ on Craigslist to do pizza but this might be the way to go. Thanks for the write up def gave me some good ideas!

 

[bregent]

Nice. I would suggest using less fuel and getting the temp lower. While baking a pie in under 3 minutes is impressive, it's really not beneficial for the type of pizza you are making. Considering the thickness of the crust, you're better targeting 7-8 minutes, and probably running around 500-600F. Your dough will cook better at those temps and you'll save a lot of fuel.

 

[WillRunForQue]

You'll love the new toy, Al, I sure do mine! I'll share some tips from many cooks, take them or leave them, but it's the least I can do after learning from you!

Like Bregent said, I run mine at more like 500-600. I've had it over 1000, which freaked me out a little when my infrared thermometer topped out!

I spread the coals in more of a crescent moon shape that reaches around the sides so the stone doesn't overheat in the middle.

I also stand my splits up in the back, they are usually only about 6" in length and I start with 2 splits... and then add another split about every 2 pizzas.

Holler if you have any questions on what I said, be happy to help!

 

[noboundaries]

Great job, Al! Now I'm craving pizza!

I have that exact same stone and pizza attachment. You are definitely right about not putting fuel under the stone.

Head's up; I don't believe that exact stone is available any longer, anywhere. Great stone. I love it! I remember reading the company went out of business. The stone is now my in-house oven stone where I can control temps better to prevent cracking. In the Kettle Pizza oven I use a cast iron pizza pan that is indestructible.