At Xmas my brother-in-law tells me he picked up a pizza insert "for the Weber, with handles" but forgot to bring it with. So wow, I'm thinking he got me the #8836 Gourmet System insert, since he said he talked it over with my wife first and she confirmed I didn't have it.
Turns out it's Stok's Mega Pizza Stone Insert,
http://www.stokgrills.com/accessories/mega_pizza_stone.phpIt's
yuge, and the included frame
replaces your normal cooking grate. I like that idea, even though it means I can't raise the pizza up higher to better cook the toppings. Turns out that didn't matter.
Here are the directions:
![](http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/5e597b5d0c804c13b98379795e64191b/crumpled-paper-ball-in-hand-a3xpem.jpg)
OK not really. But apart from the usual safety stuff there are no directions beyond a recommendation to let it heat up for 30 mins (!) prior to the pie going on it. Ain't nobody got time fo dat!
In the time-honored tradition of failed scientist everywhere I elected to introduce as many variables as possible, to negate any possible relevancy here. You're welcome!
Goal: extra heat, and pushed off towards one end ...
Apple wood chunks, with a full chimney of lit charcoal soon added on top:
![](http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/03/10/IMG_6207.jpg)
That was a bad idea. I got heat, and nice big flame but with lots of white smoke:
![](http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/03/10/IMG_6210.jpg)
I picked out most of the wood chunks, redistributed and was soon ready to go albeit with reduced heat. Broke 'er in cooking 3 different frozen (partially thawed actually) pies, two different Tombstones and a smaller diameter gluten free thing. The Mega Pizza Stone Insert was big enough to handle a Tombstone and the smaller gluten-free one at the same time, however each sorta hung off the edge just a bit.
Temps remained low (350) and times remained long (10+ minutes) but it worked. The gluten-free pizza was the first off, and it stuck. Badly.
![](http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/03/10/IMG_6212.jpg)
Here's one of the Tombstones ( jalapeņos added ). It was pretty fantastic actually.
![](http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/03/10/IMG_6213.jpg)
So back to the Stok. It does indeed fit the 22.5" kettle just fine and yes the handles move out of the way to let the lid close. It's quite thick, a good 1/2" or more, and seems to hold up to heat very well. Although I did rotate the thing about halfway through each session that wasn't entirely necessary, even with the heat source off to one side. I could
never say that about my smaller pizza stones. Either the thickness absorbed/redistributed the heat more evenly, or its larger diameter allowed the heat to roll under to the other side perhaps.
I think next time I'll try two full chimneys.