Hey Gang, Might have noticed I've recently purchased a PK 360 after many years being a "Keg-Head" from Broil King. I know I'll earn to love it's versatility i.e. Direct , indirect, 2 zone and Low and slow cooking! Having said that, Wondering what luck some of you PK'ers have had doing pizzas? My pizzas on the Kamodo have been terrific allowing for high heat but safe distance from stones and or direct flat bread dough. Looking forward to seeing and reading some of your creative expertise in producing pizza shop quality pies!
Thanks,
This past summer I splurged on an OONI 16" gas pizza oven. Love it, but don't take your eyes off your pie once you launch it. This thing will cook a pie in 3 minutes, with rotating it every 15 seconds until it is done to perfection. It runs very hot, and in 5 minutes, you'll have a charcoal pizza if you're not paying attention to it. Best ever for cooking pizza IMO.
Just did a pre-made pizza from Walmart yesterday (not frozen). Got the indirect side up to 450 degrees and popped it in. Took about 7 minutes and the did a rotate. One more time about 7 minutes again and I deemed it done. Turned out well. If the edges hadn't been starting to brown, I would have left it for a few more minutes as the center still wasn't where I wanted it. It's always the center isn't it? Anyways, there was nothing left.
My latest addition has been to use a pizza steel on top of the pizza stone. What a difference in the crust this has made! Not just getting the upper side of the crust and the toppings done, (which is normal after launching your pie,) but it really crisps up the bottom of the pie much better than the stone. It can also be used to make home-made artisan breads and other baked goods so much better than just the stone. I have a few of them, and bought one for each of my sons, (who are also fathers,) as Father's Day gifts.
Season them, (i.e. coat them with oil and heat them in the oven at 4500F for an hour, let them cool and you're good to go.) It develops that polymerization coating, just like on your favorite cast iron pans. The more you use them, the better they get. After using them for pizzas or baking, when they cool down, just scrape them off with a board scraper or even a clean new putty knife, and rub with a light coat of oil after use. Use a high-temp oil, (flaxseed or, canola oil work well for seasoning.)
They also heat more evenly, heat quicker, and if you are doing multiple pies, the heat recovery time is much less than reheating a stone. A word of warning, these steels cook much faster than the stones do! Watch your pie closely after launching, rotate it every 15 seconds, and it is done in 90 seconds to 2 minutes. It will cook much faster than the stones do! It can be used any place you want to, outdoor grills, campfires, home ovens, etc. It's virtually indestructable. Steel Rules!
I have an Ooni now, but I used to do pizzas on my original PK, so the 360 should work. It was several years ago so I don't know where the pics are, but here's how I did it. I basically made a little pizza oven on the grill. I could only do 10" pizzas but it worked.
Get the coals going about 40% front (direct) and 60% back (indirect)
A rectangular pizza stone on the grate
Narrow firebricks beside the pizza stone to hold up a second pizza stone a few inches above.
I also did pizzas on the PK without all that extra effort, just a pizza stone on the grate. In that case, I put the coals at the 2 ends and the stone in the middle. The complicated way is a little better and a lot nerdier, so I liked it.
So, I'm getting the pk360 griddle top for Father's day. Wouldn't that work the same way as your steel for cooking pizza? (Since it 'is' steel).
Yes, if you have a steel griddle, it would work about the same, after all, they're both steel plates. But if you are limiting yourself to a stone, therein lies the difference. The steel griddle you have will work just as effectively, but will way surpass the effectiveness of a stone surface for even heating and heat retention.
Don't get me wrong, I still have my original PK grill, and I love it as much as all the rest of my backyard cooking equipment, but the steel kicks it up another notch. If you're making pizzas or baking breads, the steel is much better than the stones.
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