Poor Man's Kettle Pizza

[DirectDrive]

Been experimenting with pizza on 22.5 kettle.
So far my best result has been to...

Use real pizza dough vs. the flatbread
Elevate the pizza stone 3" (sits on veg basket)
Don't worry about perfect "rounds"...a rough rectangular shape fits the stone better anyway
Using the Weber charcoal baskets each side of stone, Minion Method (opposite ends)
Using parchment paper (Costco) makes handling easier
400F seems to be a good temp

Here's one...it was left in a little longer after the pic.
The right side always seems to get slightly more heat (N. Hemisphere vortex ?)
I'll swap ends to counter it.
Maybe next time I'll Minion both baskets from the left side

[AnakiMana]

Perhaps the side getting more heat is the one where the vent is?

Anyway, thanks for the tips. I have yet to try pizza, but now I'm thinking I need to.

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

[DirectDrive]

Perhaps the side getting more heat is the one where the vent is?

Anyway, thanks for the tips. I have yet to try pizza, but now I'm thinking I need to.

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

I've moved the vent away from that area to no effect.
Wood-fired pizza is pretty neat.

[1buckie]

that looks really good !!!

thanks for the setup notes also...............

Haven't used baskets for very long, but have run into circumstances where I stopped & thought about how to place two baskets in relation to three vents......just tried to set it up so each basket got equal airtime..............

[Aspiring Pitmaster]

Thanks for the notes on setup and cooking!  I've been targeting 400 on the kettle for chicken wings lately, but I never thought to try Minion method in the charcoal baskets.  I also never thought about using parchment paper so never thought that I'd be able to get the pizza off the stone without tearing it up.  I'll have to try a kettle pizza soon. 

[DirectDrive]

Thanks for the notes on setup and cooking!  I've been targeting 400 on the kettle for chicken wings lately, but I never thought to try Minion method in the charcoal baskets.  I also never thought about using parchment paper so never thought that I'd be able to get the pizza off the stone without tearing it up.  I'll have to try a kettle pizza soon.

Thanks.
For me, elevating the pie about 3-1/2" on that vegetable basket was a key ingredient.
No fire directly under the stone.
The top and bottom seem to get done at the same rate that way.

The pros doing Neapolitan style pies are running 7-800 degrees with a 2-3 minute cook time.
I don't want to try to run my kettle that hard, but I will experiment with some higher temps...maybe around 500.

[1buckie]

             "I don't want to try to run my kettle that hard"

 

Thank You!!!!!

That's most likely the cause of the heat blowouts at the grate support weld points.......

[DirectDrive]

             "I don't want to try to run my kettle that hard"

 

Thank You!!!!!

That's most likely the cause of the heat blowouts at the grate support weld points.......

Yeah, those blowouts are ugly.
Prolly banking coals hard against the bowl, as well.

Just did a whole chicken...about 325...had it in for about 3 hours....fallin' off the bone.
Montreal Chicken Seasoning...man it was good !
I highly recommend MCS and Montreal Steak Seasoning....both are excellent and don't over-power the meat....just compliment it. Costco for the deal on the large containers.
My favorite, prepared seasonings.

[One Touch Platinum]

Almost every cook I do is some version of indirect....I never use the middle of the kettle to cook anything direct, I always use a two zone setup and always bank it in the same place on the grill...that's almost every cook I do or have done......my point is , after about 300+ cooks on my Platinum I don't have any issues with banking the coals directly against the side....and in my case, as stated the same side..same spot! I never try to go for any heat that is hot enough to warp anything like some pics/vids I have seen...the charcoal grate all bent out of shape , handles melted etc. The hottest I ever cook anything is when I do pizza and even that is not as hot as using wood for fuel which is really hot and probably too hot for a kettle. My pizza setup has been pretty well documented on this site so I won't bore you with the details since it should be easy enough to search if anyone is interested. If someone asked me if banking the coals will ruin you Weber kettle I would say "No." I have seen some pictures of damage but regular/frequent use of Kingsford blue exclusively has not caused me any.  I must add that I live in a place where I can grill 365 days a year and don't need to use a cover to protect my grill from rain/moisture ....I have no fear of rust, which I am sure can be a bigger kettle killer than banking coals.....just my two cents.....

[1buckie]

Good Show, O T Platinum.....you're sane & a dang finely tuned cook........

I bank almost constantly also....the thing I was talking about is where folks use lump, piled with mesquite wood & throw rubbing alcohol on it to 'get 'er goin' !!"

Reasonably high heat banking I don't think is a problem, but something has happened to all those nice old grills that pop up with the porcelain popped out & all chipped to hell & it may be just my own irksome character speaking, but I do believe it's from running the heat just too far up.....using them for a firepit & such......450, 500 degrees even, 7~800 or more probably not........

Don't know......let's discuss........

[MacEggs]

Don't know......let's discuss........

No problem ... let 'er rip! It can handle it.    Turns crimson red. 

[1buckie]

Thanks MacEggs !!!!


                    So much for that theory !!!!!

[One Touch Platinum]

When I was still using my old grill....the kind that has a side fire box...I started out using charcoal and the paint looked like brand new.....I started using wood and DURING the first cook with it the paint peeled off! I never fire up more than one (Weber) Chimney full of charcoal at a time for a cook. The only time I ever light more than 3/4 of a chimney is when I need (for me) high heat. I use my chimney full to form my ring of fire when I do up pizza or German pancakes. I tend to bake a lot of things on the Weber and don't really do much of the "Normal" bbq that most people outside of this forum would expect that you can cook on a grill, like burgers and steaks and hotdogs. I love to cook those things whenever I get the chance but I use my kettle more as an oven than just that thing in the backyard Grandpa burns hamburgers on. My point is, I never have found the need to cook anything at 700 degrees. I might just be a wimp but besides the possiblity that the Weber is not designed to handle that kind of heat , it seems like an awful waste of fuel....I mean what do you do after you get done cooking in 5 minutes? Whatever you are cooking/baking can't take too long at that temperature and then you have all that wood/charcoal going at 700 degrees...what next. I realize that you can reuse charcoal and wood that has not been burned all the way, I do it all the time but...if cleaning up after using Kingsford bothers people because of all the ash....isn't cleaning up your grill after a 5 minute cook with all that fuel just as much of a pain? Now I admit that I cook up a lot of weird shit on my grill as far as cooking on a grill goes but I never heard of a recipe that you cook in the oven in your house that requires that kind of heat. I know....pizza ovens at a pizza place may be burning that high or that the broiler at your local steak house may be way up there in heat too but for me the main attraction of the Weber kettle is that I can control the heat while I am cooking/baking and the idea of getting the temperature up so high that you are basically tossing the food on and holding on for the ride seems kind of random or haphazard. No offense to anyone using high heat since it is working for you but if we are talking about welds blowing out or grates getting mangled and melted and the sides of a grill getting a big hole burned through it ......I think that the materials that a Weber kettle in made from are not thick enough or even the right kind of metal to withstand that kind of heat for very long.  Anyway this is just my opinion and I am as full of shit as the next guy so just adding my two cents to the disscussion. 

[MacEggs]

Anyway this is just my opinion and I am as full of shit as the next guy so just adding my two cents to the disscussion. 

It's never a problem having an opinion. I like to tell people .. "just because I have an opinion, doesn't mean I'm right."

I now have a dedicated KettlePizza-only kettle. The above pics with the redhead were the first time firing it up earlier this month.
It was my wife's b-day, and we had a pizza party .. cooked up 6 pizzas.

I just really like the KP adaptor. It's truly a lot of fun, and I get to watch the pizza cook whilst playing with fire. 

[One Touch Platinum]

Fire is good!