View Single Post
  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.food.equipment
theron theron is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 516
Default That baking stone thing.


"Moka Java" > wrote in message
...
> Chemiker wrote:
>> Anybody use their baking stones on their outside grills, over
>> a wood fire? I have bought one of those Japanese-style
>> circular grillss/ovens that look like giant ginger jars. I have a round
>> pizza stone and have been toying with the idea of
>> making a pizza over an apple wood fire, outside.
>>
>> Alex

>
> I tried it with my Weber gas grill. A dismal failure. The problem seemed
> to be that the stone got plenty hot but the air above the stone lost all
> of it's heat when the grill cover was opened. Raw top, burnt bottom. The
> crust stuck to the stone. Big mess. At least I didn't get burned. I see
> on Amazon that there are setups for use on gas grills that have a metal
> base to raise the stone above the grill level. Dunno how that will work.
> Your Kamodo grill may have better/different heat retention properties than
> my Weber. I've seen fancy outdoor kitchens with built in pizza ovens.
>
> Why bother with apple wood? It's pretty subtle in the flavor department
> and the pizza cooks very quickly. Save your apple wood for slow cooking
> pork or chicken thighs.
>
>

I've had the same failure on the Weber Genesis until:
I put a thin Walmart pizza stone[about fifteen bucks] on a 16" pizza pan,
heat it to 600F for 30 minutes. and bake a thin crust Margharita pizza
topped with tomato and cheese and nothing else. Mist the pizza with a water
spray when you put it on, leave it for 5 minutes. Then take it off and eat!.
I think what really helped with this was to buy cast iron grates for the
grill. That holds the heat. The steel grates that come with the Genesis and
the stainless steel grates that come with the more expensive grills are
worthless. Also important is to make a thin crust, minimal fresh tomato,
cheese, and nothing else. Add no meat unless you want to add proscuitto or
something similar after it comes off.
Hope this helps,

Theron