Kettlepizza Cooks

[kettlecook]

I'm no pizza pro. I just know that there's nothing better than wood fired, and my wife surprised me with a KettlePizza kit for Christmas. She says she's created a monster, but she's not complaining!







All three were done in 20 minutes with no refueling. I can't wait to see what we can turn out after we get serious and start making our own dough! Lol. Thanks for looking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MacEggs]

Nicely done!  I love mine ... Just don't use it enough, but I'm keeping it.

[EricD]

Those look fantastic!!   Have you done a pizza on the kettle WITHOUT the kit?  I've done a bunch of pizza's but don't have the kit and they come out fine.   It is on the wish list of accessories but I'm wondering if it's really that good, or if it should be moved down on the list to make room for a roti.

[mattmountz94]

Looks great! I have the pizzaque can't wait for it to warm up alittle so I can use it more

[weldboy]

Man that looks good!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kettlecook]

Those look fantastic!!   Have you done a pizza on the kettle WITHOUT the kit?  I've done a bunch of pizza's but don't have the kit and they come out fine.   It is on the wish list of accessories but I'm wondering if it's really that good, or if it should be moved down on the list to make room for a roti.

Eric, I completely get where you're coming from. First thing I'd suggest is going somewhere where they fire pizzas with wood if you haven't had it (or recently had it). Watch them fire em and enjoy. Now you can't duplicate that without a wood fire. You can't efficiently cook pies in five minutes or less, either.

But I honestly don't know when, or even if, I'd ever pulled the trigger on my own. I simply mentioned it to my wife after seeing it online a couple of times, and the cheaper version at Home Depot. The good lady with killer intuition I have must've realized that it was a perfect Christmas gift for a guy who plays with fire and charcoal. Lol. And she might've thought that wood fired pizzas would be a refreshingly faster pace than BBQ! At any rate, I couldn't believe she actually got the kit for me, and the down side was that I became actually intimidated by some of the reviews I started to read before actually trying the dang thing. I'm bad about overthinking stuff and reading too much on the Internet. I'm not gonna go into all that, but will put it like this. I've cooked pizzas like half a dozen times since Christmas already, but still haven't tried my rotisserie she got me, yet. Get the kit with the stone and the metal peel. You use the metal one to manipulate and remove the pizzas, the wooden ones to slide them onto the stone. I picked up a couple of wooden pizza paddles at a kitchen store for cheap, but am gonna order a pair of spinners next. I don't have the issues I've read about where folks think the dome is too high to finish the top before the crust is crisp. Keep the fire up and coals pushed back, and you shouldn't have that issue. Actually, I want the spinners so it will be easier to keep the pizza on the stone while I turn it so I get a crisper crust. Anyhow, sorry if that's more than you wanted to know! Lol. As I might've posted already, my wife says she's created a monster. She doesn't eat chain pizza anymore, though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kettlecook]

Those look fantastic!!   Have you done a pizza on the kettle WITHOUT the kit?  I've done a bunch of pizza's but don't have the kit and they come out fine.   It is on the wish list of accessories but I'm wondering if it's really that good, or if it should be moved down on the list to make room for a roti.

Sorry I forgot to answer your question but yes, I've cooked a few pizzas on a closed grill. Better than in the oven, yes. Anything like wood fired? No sir.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[addicted-to-smoke]

Let's step back a bit. Has anyone used hardwood in the kettle for pizzas? Is there even enough room for that? If I'm picking nits, and it seems I am, it's that charcoal isn't wood per se.

[MikeRocksTheRed]

Let's step back a bit. Has anyone used hardwood in the kettle for pizzas? Is there even enough room for that? If I'm picking nits, and it seems I am, it's that charcoal isn't wood per se.

I use KBB for by base fire then add a ton of mesquite chunks (2-3lbs) or some mesquite logs when I have them.  It's the wood that really gets the flames licking up the back of the grill and makes the pizzas amazing.  I've use pecan chuncks as well, but I think mesquite is the best flavor for pizza crust!

[kettlecook]

Let's step back a bit. Has anyone used hardwood in the kettle for pizzas? Is there even enough room for that? If I'm picking nits, and it seems I am, it's that charcoal isn't wood per se.

I use KBB for by base fire then add a ton of mesquite chunks (2-3lbs) or some mesquite logs when I have them.  It's the wood that really gets the flames licking up the back of the grill and makes the pizzas amazing.  I've use pecan chuncks as well, but I think mesquite is the best flavor for pizza crust!

Mesquite? Interesting. Burns quite hot, that's for sure. Pecan burns at a lower temp other hickories and oaks. Check out this video where the guy used apple wood:

https://youtu.be/_zcl_AP5jd8


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MacEggs]

Has anyone used hardwood in the kettle for pizzas? Is there even enough room for that?

When it comes to the charcoal I use in the KP set-up, I go with lump only.  Usually made from oak or sugar maple.

I then use sugar maple chunks of wood to get the temperature up.

I have modified my set-up from the below pic, but there is lots of room.




I buried the needle on this particular occasion.
I don't cook the pies "by time", I watch them like a hawk, as they cook very fast when it's this hot.

[EricD]

@kettlecook, Thanks for your reply!   So many great ideas here already too.   I think the pizza kit just bumped itself up on my wish list!

[MikeRocksTheRed]

@EricD - have had my KP since Xmas and have used at at least once a week.  It is one of my favorite accessories now.

@kettlecook - great video.  Good that is shows them needed to "dome" the last pizza at the end since the temp had dropped quite a bit at that point.  Stone is usually still as hot at the beginning and if you wait for the top to get done your going to burn the bottom.  I did learnfrom the video that I should put my KP on the kettle then my grate.  I've been putting the grate on first which makes refueling if I need to a pain.  Thanks again for posting the link to that video!

@MacEggs - that is similar to the setup I do.  Use my Weber baskets at the same angle you do.  Don't use a brick at all and like to sprinkle some coals where the stone will be, not too many though.  I use mesquite logs about the same size as your logs and chunks when I don't have logs.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[addicted-to-smoke]

Thanks guys. I really was wondering if ONLY wood has been used in the kettle for here, like well, wood-fired pizza in a restaurant. In other words, if only oak chunks for example is used, no charcoal, would there be enough room in the kettle to have enough wood to create the heat?

[MikeRocksTheRed]

Thanks guys. I really was wondering if ONLY wood has been used in the kettle for here, like well, wood-fired pizza in a restaurant. In other words, if only oak chunks for example is used, no charcoal, would there be enough room in the kettle to have enough wood to create the heat?

I think it might work.  It might take a long time to get it going though.  Might need some alcohol gel, or you could always do a half chimney of coals to get the wood going.  The coals would probably be totally burned up by the time you got the wood going good enough to start making a pizza.