So, I finally cooked my first pizzas on my 26 inch kettle and the results were ..... OK. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures to share but am hoping to get some tips.
I used Meathead’s Roman pizza crust recipe on both attempts (which I actually like).
My first attemp:
Pizzas stone placed on two fire bricks on top grate. Used full chimney of lump charcoal in a C-configuration on the charcoal grate under the stone. Placed unlit lump on top of lit lump charcoal as well as a few chunks of oak wood. Lid was cracked open slightly and bottom and top vents opened all the way. Pizza stone temp never got above 300 degrees. The temp on the charcoal side never rose above 450 degrees. Pizza took a long time to cook and never developed those nice leopard spots and crusty bottom.
Second attemp:
Placed full chimney of lit B&B Briquettes into my SNS and 4 pieces of oak. Pizza stone set directly on the cooking grate, with the edge of the stone set just above the edge of the SNS. Vents wide open and lid cracked slightly. Temps on charcoal side 600+. Pizza stone temp barely above 300 degrees. Pizza cooked a little faster than first attemp but still took longer than expected. Tasted good but still no leopard spotting on the crust and no browning on the bottom.
I did feel with the SNS that the flames were more what I was looking for. Maybe I should be using more wood? I watched a few YouTube videos of folks achieving what I wanted so I am a little disappointed that I could get the same results. I did notice that in all the videos folks are using the 22 inch kettle. I am wondering if the perfect pizza crust is harder to achieve in the 26 inch kettle because of the amount of space and the need for a lot more fuel. Perhaps a baking steel is better than a stone in the kettles?
Anyone getting the perfect pizza on the 26 inch kettle? Tips/suggestion are mucho appreciated.
I used Meathead’s Roman pizza crust recipe on both attempts (which I actually like).
My first attemp:
Pizzas stone placed on two fire bricks on top grate. Used full chimney of lump charcoal in a C-configuration on the charcoal grate under the stone. Placed unlit lump on top of lit lump charcoal as well as a few chunks of oak wood. Lid was cracked open slightly and bottom and top vents opened all the way. Pizza stone temp never got above 300 degrees. The temp on the charcoal side never rose above 450 degrees. Pizza took a long time to cook and never developed those nice leopard spots and crusty bottom.
Second attemp:
Placed full chimney of lit B&B Briquettes into my SNS and 4 pieces of oak. Pizza stone set directly on the cooking grate, with the edge of the stone set just above the edge of the SNS. Vents wide open and lid cracked slightly. Temps on charcoal side 600+. Pizza stone temp barely above 300 degrees. Pizza cooked a little faster than first attemp but still took longer than expected. Tasted good but still no leopard spotting on the crust and no browning on the bottom.
I did feel with the SNS that the flames were more what I was looking for. Maybe I should be using more wood? I watched a few YouTube videos of folks achieving what I wanted so I am a little disappointed that I could get the same results. I did notice that in all the videos folks are using the 22 inch kettle. I am wondering if the perfect pizza crust is harder to achieve in the 26 inch kettle because of the amount of space and the need for a lot more fuel. Perhaps a baking steel is better than a stone in the kettles?
Anyone getting the perfect pizza on the 26 inch kettle? Tips/suggestion are mucho appreciated.
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