Anyone else use an "OnlyFire" pizza kit? - update

[Bearded]

Do you have any pictures of this setup with the baskets?

Personally I wouldnt use the slow n sear with a pizza set up.  If will probably be ok, but if the high heat made it warp it is expensive to replace.  Personally I used 3 charcoal baskets and bolted them together to create a C channel for my charcoal. 

Having a pizza rig for your weber is great, but always use things that are easily replaceable because 600+ degrees is hard on everything. If you are having trouble with the tops melting you can grab a SS baking steel from kettle pizza ($100+) or a Hunsaker griddle ($50?).  Just be aware that if you use any kind of steel it will burn off any seasoning if you used it as a griddle. You could make your own i suppose, but probably not worth the effort unless you just have scrap steel plate sitting around.

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[Retired@55]

1st pizza on OnlyFire was a surprising success! Thanks to the previous posters as I used some of your feedback. I used roughly 3/4 of a chimney of charcoal - just over the vent holes, which filled my slow n sear about 1/2 way, without the water chamber. Pizza stone was over 600 at the back left within about 10 minutes of putting the oven over the coals. The fire was hotter on the left side, so that's the side I would turn the pizza away from pretty quickly. The top of the pizza cooked perfectly with the crust, so the design of the OnlyFire seems to be good for reflecting heat back down evenly. Fire from the hickory chunks would lick the edges of the crust at the back, just as I had hoped it would.

The thermostat on the oven was pretty accurate with the center of the stone, which I was measuring with a laser pointer thermometer. I didn't time the cook, but it was probably around 6-7 minutes and I was turning frequently. I used cornmeal on a wooden peel to slide the pizza onto the stone and it was a breeze.  Used the metal peel that came with the OnlyFire to turn the pizza.  I also used a pair of $10 pizza hooks that I got on Amazon - very helpful once crust is firm, as using those let me keep the front door of the oven closed.  The peel is so large you have to open the door to use it.  Hope this helps!

[Retired@55]

One other cooking note: I left the bottom vents wide open. Fire was burning well. I only cooked 1 pizza and then took the oven off and replaced the lid to put the fire out in order to save charcoal. We'll be cooking 4 pizzas tonight, so I'll be able to make sure I can get all 4 cooked with 3/4 of a chimney.

[Retired@55]

Just in case anyone is still following this, I wanted to provide some more info and some suggestions. We made pizzas again last night and they turned out great!

I intentionally kept the pizzas small - in the 8-10" range. That made a huge difference in the cook, as I could easily move the pizzas around on the stone and monitor the crust much better. This also allowed me to pull the pizzas towards the front, where the stone wasn't quite as hot but heat from the top was radiating back down, cooking the toppings really well. I'm finding that most pizza dough recipes that say they make 2 pizzas really make enough for 3. This recipe link is super easy and was the best I've tried so far: https://youtu.be/c_DrwsGB7OQ Thanks to the poster of the smashburger pizza thread for sending it to me.

Get a pair of pizza spinners. That way, you can spin pizzas without lifting the door in the front. This retains the heat on top of the pizza and lets you get the toppings piping hot.  You can also use them to slightly lift the pizza edges to monitor the crust. I found these spinners on Amazon for around $10: https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPS-022-Alfrescamore-Pizza-Spinners/dp/B00N0L5Q6O

Get an extra peel if you will be cooking multiple pizzas. That way, you can make a pizza on 1 peel and have it ready to go while using the other one during the cook and to remove the cooked pizza. I use a wooden peel to make the pizza, as the dough seems to slide off of it a little better than the metal one that came with the OnlyFire. I learned that after turning a pizza into a calzone when trying to slide it off the metal peel onto the pizza stone.

Use a healthy dose of corn meal on the wooden pizza peel to get your pizza to slide off onto the pizza stone. I had read that using too much would cause the crust to burn, as the corn meal burns easily, but I haven't had that problem.

If you have a SnS, I've found that it works perfectly with the OnlyFire. Using 3/4 of a chimney seems to be the right amount of charcoal to get the center of the stone to 600°, which I've found is the sweet spot.

I've now cooked around 10 pizzas on the OnlyFire and absolutely love it! The 1 piece form factor is great and no add-on options are needed. It is really well-built and actually looks good. The low top really keeps the heat down on top of the pizza, which is needed to cook the toppings while the stone cooks the crust. I was about to buy the Kettle Pizza until I found out that a separate attachment is required to get this functionality, which pushes the price point well above what I thought it was worth.  The OnlyFire is complete with no add-ons needed. I highly recommend it!

[toiga]

Thank you for your updates. I plan on purchasing this after the rain season

[Bearded]

Agreed. Thanks for the update and tips. Any additional you have are great. I plan to get this if Santa does not.


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[mdjason]

I second what @Retired@55 has said about the quality of the onlyfire pizza kit. I picked up the one pictured for $65 not too long ago and have already had multiple successful pizzas nights with it. Should be a tool that pays for itself in a matter of no time and is fun for everyone involved. I use parchment paper when putting my pizzas on because my first one also turned into a calzone but since then it's been successful, really simple to use great looking product imo


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