Gunfighter

Do you cook right on the heat shield? Pizza stone on the grill grates? Something else?

* The threshold for beating restaurant pizza can be pretty low if you take the kiddos to Chuck E Cheese or Cici's. I'm the hamburger king with my kids. because frozen beef patties from Sam's Club are gourmet compared to McDonald's

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BCan

Papa Murphy on a pizza stone, that’s on the plate sitter (upside down) with ceramic spacers. The gotcha is you have to let the pizza stone get hot before putting the pizza on, like sitting for 45min in the heat for the crust to be perfect. You don’t need to remove the papa Murphys off the paper plate, just throw the plate and pizza onto the stone. I’ve tried just the plate sitter and just the pizza stone on the grate…it burns the crust. Plate sitter-3/8 inch ceramic spacer-pizza stone…that’s the ticket.

I’ve found anything baked is awesome on an egg.

DryClutch

CiCi's, good stuff. A slice at Costco is actually incredibly tasty.

So first off, I always work with fresh dough for these things. I get the 1lb ball's from the Publix bakery.

The "stack" in the smoker from bottom to top, is the ceramic deflector on first, feet down. Then the flat steel cooking grate laying directly on the deflector. Then a second steel grate with feet, on top of the flat grate. (This is all in the attempt to get the pizza as high in the dome as possible). Then I sit the pizza stone on top of that setup. Like Bcan said above, helps to let the stone sit in there and get nice and hot as the grill is coming up to temp.

Next im rolling out the dough, making a complete mess on the counter, getting it all dressed up. I haven't found an elegant way to get a raw pizza dough all done up from my kitchen out to the backyard, so I put the rolled out dough on a wire-mesh pizza screen plate, then get it all done up.

Then after temps are right, I take the pizza out sitting on the pizza screen and put it right on the stone. I let it go for 10 minutes +/-. Then I go out and use the wooden peel spatula, and remove it from the pizza screen, and put it right back on the stone to finish out the last 12 minutes or so. Seems to work ok for me.

Sputnik

I have had huge problems with transferring pizza to the stone. Will try the pan, good idea.

When I get bored, I'll smoke burgers for 20-30 min before.cranking temp up and cooking them. Huge thumbs up from family

freezingflyboy

A little fine ground cornmeal or polenta will usually do the trick and make your pies slide on and off the stone easier. Just be careful not to use too much or let it build up on the stone cause it can burn and impart an off, "burned popcorn" smell/flavor.

DryClutch

Yea i've heard mention of the cornmeal thing too. I think I tried it once and was unsuccessful? I'm just thinking how do I get a raw dough dressed up pie from my countertop, which its now completely sticking to, onto a peel and out to the stone 50 feet away out the backdoor?

Gunfighter

Lots of flour on the counter is essential, maybe even spring for a Tupperware pastry mat. A wooden pizza board or a nonstick cookie sheet work for counter to oven transfer. I'll second the cornmeal technique. I worked my way through college at a small, family-owned pizza place. We placed the rolled out dough on pizza boards with cornmeal, then applied sauce, cheese and toppings. We transferred directly from the board to the oven. A metal pizza peel was the removal tool of choice although a few brave souls could retrieve with a pizza board.

Stan446

So should I buy a Treager or Big Green Egg based on the OP market outlook for the next five years?

DryClutch

Oh you're way above my level with actual time in kitchen! Yea my countertop is def covered in flour. It's just my poor technique the first few times I tried to Xfer a heavily laden raw pie someplace else. (We didnt have pizza that night(s) )

fishforfun

Depends if your wife will let you have your purse back.