It was time...

[saxart]

As some here know, I picked up one of the few Weber Pizza Ovens that were offered in the US just before Memorial weekend.  We were booked up with family events for the past week, but finally had a chance to fire it up tonight.    The family got involved.  Wife and daughter whipped up the crusts, and topped the pizzas while I got the kettle going.  These had to be the best pizzas ever.  It was incredibly windy here tonight, so I ended up wheeling the grill right into the garage to finish the cook.  The family didn't even wait for the other pizzas to be ready so we could go inside and eat.  We just sat right there in the garage and ate pizza!

I'll let the pictures do most of the speaking....

First the coals.  Webber says to use "100 briquettes and not lump as lump does not last long enough to warm up the oven and cook pizzas".  100 briquettes is basically a very full chimney.   I added a small hunk of oak based on some comments I've heard from a good friend who uses 'pizza kettle' cooker and uses oak as well.  I may ad more oak next time.



Warming up...



One of the pizzas raw:



It's cooking...



The oak log is giving it some smoky lovin'...
(ignore the reflection of my wife's girly phone cover, mine was charging in the house)



Action shot (blurry due to dark garage)



This pizza was literally gone in mere seconds and there was only three of us tonight!  Luckily we made 3 pizzas total tonight.



Plated pic:



The pic-stich my wife made for her Facebook account:



Like I said, this was the BEST pizza we've ever had.  I told my wife we needed to pick up a pizza-peel as my two spatulas we were using were horrible at best.  LOL   Basically, if you have a chance to pick up one of these, do not hesitate.  They work great!   It would be fun to get my buddy together with his pizza-kettle and figure out the strengths/weaknesses of the two designs.  (and eat pizza)

Thanks for tuning in!

[dazzo]

Great job.

I need one!

[salad]

Nice!
I have questions....

So, does the pizza thing sit on the grate or does it replace the cooking grate altogether?  Also, is that a heat shield at the front handle?  Does come with the stone and was the crust browned and crisp? 

EDIT.  I found the original thread so now know the shields and stone come with it.  I assume it sit on the rim of the bowl so no top grate. 

[saxart]

Thanks guys.

Salad-
Yes, you're correct, no grate is used inside the kettle.  The entire assembly sits on the rim of the kettle, but if you try to set it there with the grate still inside, the bottom of the assembly will hit the grate and not settle on the kettle rim.  (Hope that makes sense)

This pic shows the depth of the assembly, so you can see how it would hit the grate inside the kettle. 



You asked about the crust being crispy...   I'm not a pizza expert, so I'm not sure what it's 'supposed' to be like, but these pizzas had a nice balance between being cooked all the way through vs being burned on the top or bottom.   I may try a few more chunks of oak on top of the coals to boost up the temps next time.  That may be too much heat, but it will be interesting to try it and see what happens.

If we have anyone here who knows about pizzas, I'd love to hear your thoughts as I'm a NOOB right now.   

[Tim in PA]

Sweet! Looks like fun.

[G$]

Nic job Sax!  How much pizza cooking have you done on standard kettles?

[Mayhem]

I'm in England and have on of these. Easy to use and cooks v
Fast. 4/5 mins. Thin and crispy works great but not designed for
you deep pan fans.

[1buckie]

 So you too have had all good success, Mayhem?

[Idahawk]

Looks like a fun toy , I'm digging it .

[OoPEZoO]

I love it......BUT, I can cook some damn good pizzas using the standard kettle, upside down charcoal baskets on the cooking grate,  and a baking stone on top of those. 8 min at a shot per pizza.   I love the gadget allure of a Weber pizza oven, but I'm not sure I could justify $150+ extra to cook something that my friends and family already rave about. I put it I the category of a great gift, but nothing I would buy for myself. I hope we see some more posts about people using them.  I'd love to be able to justify the purchase.

[landgraftj]

Nice cook Art! I need to break my kettle pizza adapter in ASAP. Get that peel now.

[Hogsy]

Good write up Art , now I definitely want one. I had a feeling they would work well , it would be unusual for Weber to design and manufacture an accessory like that if it didn't work well
Hopefully it's as successful as the Rotisserie and is produced for years to come
If I could get one for $150 I'd be right on it. I have been tempted to import one from the UK for $300 but have decided to stick with my komado!

[Craig]

Nice job and great write up Saxart! I'd like to get ahold of one of these down the road. I do have one question, is that a heat shield in the bowl handle?

[addicted-to-smoke]

Nice job and great write up Saxart! I'd like to get ahold of one of these down the road. I do have one question, is that a heat shield in the bowl handle?

It comes with that heat shield for the handle and a pizza stone.