Pizza on 22.5" Kettle with stone, looking for instructions

[baza]

Hello
I have a pizza stone which we often use in the oven. I would like to try one on the charcoal grill. I don't have the Pizza Kit or whatever it's called. Are there any good recipes with just a stone that turn out well? I can't seem to find any. I also have hickory apple and mesquite wood. And have kingsford charcoal. Or should I just stick with the oven?

[Jon]

Oh hell yes, you can do it. I've done many even without a stone. (Just pre-cook the toppings, cook one side of the pie, flip it and put on the toppings.)

Look through this pizza section and you'll see guys that have made some good-looking pizzas with just a stone. Check out the posts where they elevate the stone with some baskets to get the pizza up into the higher dome temps. Pay attention to the advice on charcoal placement.

[blksabbath]

I use to do it all the time before I got a kettlepizza. Make Vicious V or Pac man with your coals on one side, stone on the other.  You don't want the stone directly over the fire....that's the key.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[baza]

What about wood to add? How much without ruining it?

[addicted-to-smoke]

What about wood to add?...

Some? Or none? There are no guarantees or must-do's here.

I recently had some good results piling heat on one side and cracking the lid off of the other. Promotes airflow and you need that for heat, and gives you a handy slot to view the pizza as it cooks. I positioned my stone closest to the slotted opening, creating a larger gap in the back for flames to lick up if they wanted to (because the stone wouldn't then be covering up that part of the grill grate.) Heat comes up the back, rolls up top and exits through the slot, as with a KewttlePizza or PizzaQue, (only not quite as well of course.)

[MikeRocksTheRed]

What about wood to add?...

Some? Or none? There are no guarantees or must-do's here.

I recently had some good results piling heat on one side and cracking the lid off of the other. Promotes airflow and you need that for heat, and gives you a handy slot to view the pizza as it cooks. I positioned my stone closest to the slotted opening, creating a larger gap in the back for flames to lick up if they wanted to (because the stone wouldn't then be covering up that part of the grill grate.) Heat comes up the back, rolls up top and exits through the slot, as with a KewttlePizza or PizzaQue, (only not quite as well of course.)

I think unless you can rig your lid to stay open a few inches in the front of the grill or place the lid so that its hanging off a little bit as @addicted-to-smoke is suggesting to allow it really suck in some fresh air, I wouldn't load up on wood.  If you are cooking with the lid on tight, the wood isn't going to burn hot and clean and is going to give you too much smoke IMHO.

[baza]

If I crack the lid a couple inches should I add a bunch of wood? I'd like a nice fire taste to the pizza like in restaurants.

[addicted-to-smoke]

A "bunch" of wood will never fully ignite with the lid present, even cracked, for the reasons Mike said: insufficient airflow. You'd get mostly nasty smoke if that happened. Load it with hot charcoal, add a FEW chunks of wood. Remember, you can always make it fruitwood instead of hardwood ... you'll still get smoke flavor. Hell, even with just charcoal it'll take on a nice mild smokiness. Or even just the Hickory or Applewood charcoal from Kingsford will surprise you.

Try it and make note of what you did and how, for next time.

[baza]

Thanks a lot.

[jkolantern]

I had pretty good success with elevating the stone with something like inverted charcoal baskets, to get the stone a little further away from the fire and the top a little closer to the dome heat.

[CharliefromLI]

I had pretty good success with elevating the stone with something like inverted charcoal baskets, to get the stone a little further away from the fire and the top a little closer to the dome heat.

Agreed

[MeatAndPotatos]

I use to do it all the time before I got a kettlepizza. Make Vicious V or Pac man with your coals on one side, stone on the other.  You don't want the stone directly over the fire....that's the key.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ive also found that you can set the lid a bit askew, stoke the coals until they want to flame, then toss a couple of chucks on top and wait until they are cleanly burning with a standing fire you can get dome temps up real high. Set the lid with like a gap the thickness of your fingertips on the side away from the coals.