I've been using the air gap set up for the last 4 pizza cooks and the result has been brilliant - no burnt crusts. Really nice results cooking on 500 - 550F, 10 minutes each pizza, turning it around every 3 minutes. The dough is home-made by my wife (Berni) to a recipe given to her by a friend and has a lovely thin crust.
Made your dough recipe last night, it was so easy to make and delicious, so easy to work with. Thanks so much for sharing it. Cooked my (3)at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes . Best dough ever. Thanks!!!
16:44 - You are doing awesome here. But I want to say, the only reason they turn the pizza in a wood fired 900+ degree oven is because the wood source is pushed to one side. With the Kamodo, you have even super hot heat all around it, so absolutely no need to turn the pizza - other than it feels authentic and frankly it's fun. Great work here!
Awesome. I've been making home made pizza for at least 5 years and I am still learning things; this video is a prime example. I've had mitigated success (no failures, mind you) cooking on the Joe, mainly due to loss of temperature after a few pies. This video will help in my technique. Thanks a bunch for putting this together.
Jean-Marc Vandemeulebroecke were you able to associate your heat loss to anything on the joe? At the higher temps, I feel like my temps spike high if I don’t watch it. Never loose the temp. Sometimes I can’t control how high it gets.
22:00 great explanation about hydration level and cooking time, always wondered about the trade offs of a lower vs higher hydration dough. Btw making dough is easy and rewarding. I mix it on day one, then use it the next day or a couple days later. Waiting gives it character. Look up no knead pizza dough 👍
Thanks for the advise. My pizzas were constantly having burn crust with toppings not done. Making a small adjustment (the air gap) has made such a difference that it is amazing. Crust is now as good as a pizzeria ( I use 00 flour at 59% hydration)
thank you so much for yet another great and clear video. after 25 years as a cook, it is now 10 years ago. I have had the kamado for a year and am only really starting to use it. Also because you still need good tools and this is not cheap. So now I've slowly put all my tools together and it's getting more fun to cook outside. I had already started pizza indoors in the oven. my oven reaches 350 degrees so for freshly made pizza that's a good temperature. I really bought a rock for the outdoors. So next week I'm going to put your advice into practice.
Glad I found your video before doing it for the first time. Thank you so much! Bought a store bought dough that I need to cook at 475. I actually have a cast iron pizza pan instead of a stone. We'll see how it goes!
Hey! I was looking into doing this and I think that the spacer is a great idea but I am fairly certain that black iron is toxic when heated to high temps. Stay safe everyone and enjoy your pizza!
Since this video is 5 years old, if you have the X-Accessory rack, you can put that on the bottom position, put your heat deflectors on that, and then the grates with the pizza stone on top of that to keep an air gap and not have to go buy some cast iron plugs like he used in the video.
Thank you for this informative presentation. I have been thinking about buying an Ooni or Roccbox, and then when finances allow getting the Kamado Joe. I’m going straight for the Joe now 😁
16:53 Note, how thick is coal chunks for the high temperature cooking. If you buy cheap coal with small chunks you may not go above 500 F due to restricted air flow.
Great video! I recommend using 1 1/2" kiln posts to elevate the pizza stone above the heat deflector stone. Kiln posts can be purchased from most ceramic stores or online and typically cost around $1.00 to $1.50 each, depending on the size. The posts tolerate temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees F and do not off-gas any toxic fumes. However, they are fragile and will break if dropped.
Appreciate all your work to spread the Gospel of the great Kamado Joe. I've had my Kamado for close to 10 years and have enjoyed fish, fowl, pork, beef and pizza. For the money, I don't know how you can get a better Kamado. I would have liked to see how your crust looked on the slices. Was the dough cooked through, still wet or dry in the middle of the dough. One of my favorite dishes on the Kamado Joe is called, "Chicken under a Brick". First, your marinate a whole chicken that you split on the breast side and spread out. Then you grill it without burning it because you leave all the skin on. You put a tin foil covered brick on top of the chicken to keep it flattened out and it's out of this world. Keep up the good work.
The Publix pizza dough works great if you let it rest for a couple days in the refrigerator, ball should expand in fridge and fill bag, and then let it rise in a covered and oiled bowl for at least 4 hours at semi warm room temperature. I use this dough often and no longer have issues with snap back like I had in the past using it directly from the store. Another Publix tip is that they keep these frozen and set out thawed balls, you can normally ask for and purchase balls still frozen and keep them in your freezer ready to thaw and rest in fridge before allowing to rise at room temperature.
Brilliant video. At last somebody outlining the differences between pizzas. Personally I’m a fan of the Napoli style and it was very interesting to learn about the water content. Also that sugar maybe in store bought dough And how this will affect cooking. Something I will definitely look out for if not making myself. Would of liked to seen the Napoli in style pizza slightly thinner especially around the edge. But nevertheless I would’ve scoffed that right down regardless, and enjoyed every slice. Great work looking forward to more like this and the day I get my Kamado Joe 🤘🏽🦞
In particular for the last Neopolitan pizza you should use semolina flour for the roll out, and remove all excess flour before putting filling on top. That will significantly reduce the black on the underside. Br Stephen
Learnt from this .. In my learnings I found to do a stone set up exactly the same. Get the environment two thirds hot. Oil stone 2 minutes before pizza goes in. Ensure your base of pizza is lightly dusted with flour before placing it on the stone. Pop it on for 5 seconds then give 1/4 turn. Shit and cook for two minutes. Open and half turn. Shut and cook for four minutes. Open.... Sit away for one minute. Cut... Serve... You're welcome ❤️🙏✅
Thanks for this video. I wish I had watched it before I made pizza last night. I had the heat deflectors on the bottom and although the fire box was scorching, the temperature in the dome was not. Could you use two pizza stones on top of the deflector shields instead of spacers?
Your tip on the metal caps under your pizza Stone was dead on. I used a metal pizza grill platter instead of a pizza stone and they turned out awesome .
I wish I found your video before I made my pizza. Used that same publix dough and had a lot of trouble with it. Ran my pizza stone too hot also which totally blackened my crust within a few minutes. Great video!
No it doesn’t! This is an American thing. No where else that I’ve traveled do the cooks use semolina. It’s burns and creates a bad taste. This guys knows his shit! He knows how to make pizza!
Thanks for this John. Regarding the yeast, you use 1g for 500g of flour, while it is recommended to use 7g (as per package instructions). Is there a reason why would you not follow the manufacturer’s guidance? Thanks!
Thanks for this very interesting video. The crust @ the highest temp seems fantastic and really as the pizza we have eaten in Napoli... But it looks like fresh onion rings are not cooked in 4 minutes... (actually there is no onion rings in the Margherita pizza 😀)
John, I’m going to pick up some of these pipe plugs for myself. Before I do, is there any concern of the black paint causing fumes when exposed to the high heat? Would galvanized plugs be better? Thanks.
Great video. Is it possible to make the dough a day or two ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until the cook? Maybe just refrigerate the dough balls and take out for the final rise a couple of hours before the cook? Thanks!!
Compliments for the Neapolitan pizza. As an Italian I can tell you that you can take it off even after a minute. Two questions: 1) how long does it take to bring the kamado with the stone inside to 450°C? 2) how much does the temperature of the kamado drop after a batch? Thank you.
Any experienmenting with 24-48 rise time with your homemade dough? I find that gives the perfect fermented, almost sweetness to the dough, not to mention getting rid of that "raw" taste that comes along sometimes with homemade doughs.
Flour will burn, semolina you can use less and get more slide. Use less yeast, quarter teaspoon, and longer, cold overnight fermentations in the fridge.
John, did my 1st one last night the Home made crust. I’ll say it was not a totally success or complete failure. The 1st crust got too soft on our large cutting board and stuck to it. So we did the 2nd one directly on the pizza stone - I know it’s to be hot but we didn’t know how to safe this one. It turned out very good. We sit directly on the deflectors on the grill we were around 525-550. Oh more experience a rookie in training. I just got my KJ classic a few weeks ago - bought it from my sister she moving out of town. I love the KJ after years of Weber cooking. I also love your channel. But you made class 101 look easier than it really is? I guess I have to retake the class not ready for 201.
Fantastic video and good comparison between different pizzas. Also I do love your idea of lifting the pizza stone up to avoid overheating and in turn burning the pizza base. Great job thanks mate
Well done. Love your in depth tips/tricks here. You are right on about having that air gap. A question: Knowing that an air gap between the deflector plates and the stone is a good thing and that you said putting the plates on the accessory rack is a valid option, could you just avoid the stand offs you purchased and instead place the accessory rack in the lower rack position and then place the stone on the main grate to provide that gap? This is what I do when I do use a stone (I sometimes skip the stone entirely. I have a couple videos on not using a stone at all, but I digress.). I also sometimes place the stone on the main grate and the stone and pizza on the expander rack up higher. Both have given great results for up to 3 large pizzas in a row.
quick question: do use flour or corn meal on top of your pizza peel to help the pizza slide off the peel onto the pizza stone ? Appreciate the video and the tips.
I will be doing this today with a DiGiorno to see how it goes. I will be filming it as well. I don't have a KJ stone (yet), but I do have a regular one and I will pick up some plugs like you have. I will link to this video in the description.
You don't need those plugs. You really only need one pizza stone on top of the racks. It's not gonna burn the bottom as you gotta keep turning it, but it gives a nice crust on bottom. This guy's pizzas are not even cooked on bottom.
@@desertweasel6965 actually it was cooked perfectly on the bottom when I did it. You are correct, the plugs are not needed, they only allow for air flow under the pizza. It works either way.
I would be interested to know if one were using a Frozen store bought like a Dejorno pizza, if you should thaw it out prior to putting it on your heated stone. Not sure if a Frozen pizza hitting a 500 stone would cause the stone to crack.
Hey John, great video. I'm a self proclaimed pizza connoisseur and have been making pizza in the oven at home for years. Until recently have I began cooking pizza on the kamado and your video has been very helpful... prior to watching had a couple fails. The burning question I have is (pun intended) what is the secret to getting the kamado up to 900 degrees? How full do you fill the box? I filled mine full. Does the size of the lump matter? Do you create the biggest fire you can? How long to you leave the lid open while the fire heats up and grows? I haven't tried it without the heat deflector and stone, but it seems like these items may be impeding the air flow and keeping my kamado from heating up to 900. Best I had was just under 600. But I struggled with being patient since we were hungry and only heated up the grill with the lid open for 20-25 minutes... I assume it takes much longer?
I have a Classic 2, I believe sometimes the grill surface is much higher than the dome. That said, extremely high temps we may need a blower in the bottom vent, like a Thermoworks Billows, or something like that.
@@cowboyup545 yeah, looking at my original reply, I should have said to get the blower attachment, without good ventilation you won’t get up to those super high temps..
@@johncspine2787 I used my blower with the fireboard 2, went to 400 degrees pretty quick plus used the timer at 18 minutes Man please it was beautiful. Thanks again.
John, can you do one where you use parchment paper? When I cook pizzas, I prepare 6-9 pizzas and I cook them all in 1 night. Without pre-making them on parchment paper, I find that it is way too difficult to get that many pizzas made and safely placed onto the pizza peel.
Last one is scorched/burnt and it seems the dome temp wasn’t as hot as the stone. Would’ve been a better cook at around 700-800 degrees. Great comparison video.
"Burning" is a subjective term when it comes to cooking a lot of things. What you say is "burnt" is a desired flavor to others; especially when we're talking about Neapolitan pizza.
This is my favorite video on TH-cam for kamado-style smokers and making pizza. I watched two dozen. Thank you sir!
Watching this at 1.25x, just perfect.
😂 its the southern way buddy
😂😂😂😂
Spot on.
I've been using the air gap set up for the last 4 pizza cooks and the result has been brilliant - no burnt crusts. Really nice results cooking on 500 - 550F, 10 minutes each pizza, turning it around every 3 minutes. The dough is home-made by my wife (Berni) to a recipe given to her by a friend and has a lovely thin crust.
Can you elaborate on air gap?
@@Yoris670 at 3:00 in this very video.
Love this guy. He is so thorough and specific.
Made your dough recipe last night, it was so easy to make and delicious, so easy to work with. Thanks so much for sharing it. Cooked my (3)at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes . Best dough ever. Thanks!!!
The level of technical knowledge here is amazing.
16:44 - You are doing awesome here. But I want to say, the only reason they turn the pizza in a wood fired 900+ degree oven is because the wood source is pushed to one side. With the Kamodo, you have even super hot heat all around it, so absolutely no need to turn the pizza - other than it feels authentic and frankly it's fun. Great work here!
Atleast on my kamado back of the grill gets a bit hotter so i have to turn my pizza.
False, kamado gets hotter on one side because the bottom vent is on one side only
Awesome. I've been making home made pizza for at least 5 years and I am still learning things; this video is a prime example. I've had mitigated success (no failures, mind you) cooking on the Joe, mainly due to loss of temperature after a few pies. This video will help in my technique. Thanks a bunch for putting this together.
Jean-Marc Vandemeulebroecke were you able to associate your heat loss to anything on the joe? At the higher temps, I feel like my temps spike high if I don’t watch it. Never loose the temp. Sometimes I can’t control how high it gets.
Dude you nailed it! So many people muck up cooking pizza! You know what you’re doing! It’s the subtle details that you use that make a great pizza!
Excellent video, I've been watching a lot of videos on pizza. This was the best, so informative. Thank you
Thanks for another great video. Going to make Pizzas today on my classic, hope they come out as good as yours'
Thank you for the information. You really cleared up the temperature and dough differences for me.
Thanks a ton! Adjusted my technique and added the 1.25 inch black pipe plugs.....pizza turned out perfect!
John, I have watched many of your videos. This is one of your best! Thank you.
Love the video. Would use corn meal at the bottom of the dough to help it slide on the stone. Old trick from a pizza restaurant. Keep cooking!!
22:00 great explanation about hydration level and cooking time, always wondered about the trade offs of a lower vs higher hydration dough. Btw making dough is easy and rewarding. I mix it on day one, then use it the next day or a couple days later. Waiting gives it character. Look up no knead pizza dough 👍
Made the Pizza last night with the same black iron fittings. Absolutely perfect.
Thanks for the advise. My pizzas were constantly having burn crust with toppings not done. Making a small adjustment (the air gap) has made such a difference that it is amazing. Crust is now as good as a pizzeria ( I use 00 flour at 59% hydration)
Dude is a pizza temp-control genius! ... Thanks for sharing this tip.
Thanks for this mate. I really like the way you present these. Really helpful.
Very informative. Thanks for making the video. I am still going to try a take and bake at high temp to see what it does though.
thank you so much for yet another great and clear video. after 25 years as a cook, it is now 10 years ago. I have had the kamado for a year and am only really starting to use it. Also because you still need good tools and this is not cheap. So now I've slowly put all my tools together and it's getting more fun to cook outside. I had already started pizza indoors in the oven. my oven reaches 350 degrees so for freshly made pizza that's a good temperature. I really bought a rock for the outdoors. So next week I'm going to put your advice into practice.
Beautiful video! I really enjoyed and appreciated them how you organized the content of topics you wanted to discuss. Well done!!!
You really went into pizza grilling with 4 types of pizza and the varied water content. I'm going to try it out!
Really appreciate your very informative video on pizza on the kamado joe. Followed your tips handmade a great pizza!
2:02 grill Setup
3:00 Spacers 1.25". Black Iron Pipe Plugs for 1" pipe
5:21 Frozen pizza
8:34 Publix dough
13:37 Homemade dough
15:23 High Temp Neopolitan dough
18:16 Conclusion, Summary, bullets
Glad I found your video before doing it for the first time. Thank you so much! Bought a store bought dough that I need to cook at 475. I actually have a cast iron pizza pan instead of a stone. We'll see how it goes!
Hey!
I was looking into doing this and I think that the spacer is a great idea but I am fairly certain that black iron is toxic when heated to high temps. Stay safe everyone and enjoy your pizza!
Since this video is 5 years old, if you have the X-Accessory rack, you can put that on the bottom position, put your heat deflectors on that, and then the grates with the pizza stone on top of that to keep an air gap and not have to go buy some cast iron plugs like he used in the video.
Thank you for this informative presentation. I have been thinking about buying an Ooni or Roccbox, and then when finances allow getting the Kamado Joe. I’m going straight for the Joe now 😁
The investment is worth it, we promise!
Instead of using so much flour on the bottom you should try cornmeal dusting the bottom it doesn’t stick and you won’t have that burnt flour
Great video. I appreciate the detail and the explanations of why you do certain things!
16:53 Note, how thick is coal chunks for the high temperature cooking. If you buy cheap coal with small chunks you may not go above 500 F due to restricted air flow.
Great video! I recommend using 1 1/2" kiln posts to elevate the pizza stone above the heat deflector stone. Kiln posts can be purchased from most ceramic stores or online and typically cost around $1.00 to $1.50 each, depending on the size. The posts tolerate temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees F and do not off-gas any toxic fumes. However, they are fragile and will break if dropped.
I was just about to make the same comment myself
Best pizza kamado video ever!!
Appreciate all your work to spread the Gospel of the great Kamado Joe. I've had my Kamado for close to 10 years and have enjoyed fish, fowl, pork, beef and pizza. For the money, I don't know how you can get a better Kamado. I would have liked to see how your crust looked on the slices. Was the dough cooked through, still wet or dry in the middle of the dough.
One of my favorite dishes on the Kamado Joe is called, "Chicken under a Brick". First, your marinate a whole chicken that you split on the breast side and spread out. Then you grill it without burning it because you leave all the skin on. You put a tin foil covered brick on top of the chicken to keep it flattened out and it's out of this world. Keep up the good work.
When i spatchcock chicken like that I grill skin side down first then flip. Is that when you put the brick on?
The Publix pizza dough works great if you let it rest for a couple days in the refrigerator, ball should expand in fridge and fill bag, and then let it rise in a covered and oiled bowl for at least 4 hours at semi warm room temperature. I use this dough often and no longer have issues with snap back like I had in the past using it directly from the store.
Another Publix tip is that they keep these frozen and set out thawed balls, you can normally ask for and purchase balls still frozen and keep them in your freezer ready to thaw and rest in fridge before allowing to rise at room temperature.
I use fire brick all the time to help me cook indirect and as a spacers to do level changes on any grill or kamado.
Just bought a Kamado Joe today. Will definitely listen to your great advises
Thank you so much for your effort to educate newbes like myself!
Thank you so much for these excellent tips! I also miss Publix, as I grew up in Florida and they were everywhere! 🔥
Brilliant video. At last somebody outlining the differences between pizzas. Personally I’m a fan of the Napoli style and it was very interesting to learn about the water content. Also that sugar maybe in store bought dough And how this will affect cooking. Something I will definitely look out for if not making myself. Would of liked to seen the Napoli in style pizza slightly thinner especially around the edge. But nevertheless I would’ve scoffed that right down regardless, and enjoyed every slice. Great work looking forward to more like this and the day I get my Kamado Joe 🤘🏽🦞
Fantastic video. Life saver, thanks!
Fantastic!!!! Looks soo good!!!
In particular for the last Neopolitan pizza you should use semolina flour for the roll out, and remove all excess flour before putting filling on top. That will significantly reduce the black on the underside.
Br
Stephen
I agree, and use 000 flour instead of all purpose or bread flour for making the dough.
Thank you. Found higher in the dome for pizza placement and stone at 550 is perfect.
Learnt from this ..
In my learnings I found to do a stone set up exactly the same.
Get the environment two thirds hot.
Oil stone 2 minutes before pizza goes in.
Ensure your base of pizza is lightly dusted with flour before placing it on the stone.
Pop it on for 5 seconds then give 1/4 turn.
Shit and cook for two minutes.
Open and half turn.
Shut and cook for four minutes.
Open....
Sit away for one minute.
Cut... Serve...
You're welcome ❤️🙏✅
Awesome video and great tips. thanks for all the useful info
I'm buying a Joe next week! Looking forward to making an awesome high temp pizza :D
Recipe was so simple and easy..... So much better than the store dough. Thanks John
You are the master, sir.
This is the best pizza making instructional video I've seen. Thank you .
Thanks for this video. I wish I had watched it before I made pizza last night. I had the heat deflectors on the bottom and although the fire box was scorching, the temperature in the dome was not. Could you use two pizza stones on top of the deflector shields instead of spacers?
This is great, very informative.
glad you did the store bought and fresh made pizzas!
Your tip on the metal caps under your pizza Stone was dead on. I used a metal pizza grill platter instead of a pizza stone and they turned out awesome .
Just finished supper with my first two pizza. The pluming plugs are very nice tip. I loved my pizzas. Tkhs
I wish I found your video before I made my pizza. Used that same publix dough and had a lot of trouble with it. Ran my pizza stone too hot also which totally blackened my crust within a few minutes. Great video!
Try semolina to stretch on and for the peel. Makes a much better crust than all-purpose flour
No it doesn’t! This is an American thing. No where else that I’ve traveled do the cooks use semolina. It’s burns and creates a bad taste.
This guys knows his shit! He knows how to make pizza!
Use 00 and check this out. www.stadlermade.com/pizza-dough-calculator/
Finally someone is addressing this issue. I have had so many pizza ruined with burned black crust before the cheese on top can even melt.
Really interesting - thank you. I do Neapolitan pizza in a wood fired oven and yours looked lovely.
Thanks for this John. Regarding the yeast, you use 1g for 500g of flour, while it is recommended to use 7g (as per package instructions). Is there a reason why would you not follow the manufacturer’s guidance? Thanks!
great video. the pizzas looked terrific.
What about the pre-maid crusts that are already baked, like a Boboli or some other brand like that? Keep it simple and follow their instructions?
Thanks for this very interesting video.
The crust @ the highest temp seems fantastic and really as the pizza we have eaten in Napoli...
But it looks like fresh onion rings are not cooked in 4 minutes... (actually there is no onion rings in the Margherita pizza 😀)
Man. I'm a chicago native and my first job was a pizza cook. You nailed it.
John,
I’m going to pick up some of these pipe plugs for myself. Before I do, is there any concern of the black paint causing fumes when exposed to the high heat? Would galvanized plugs be better?
Thanks.
Wow i ve hungry....what did used for cook the pizzas? i mean you used wood or charcoal? thank you
Great video. Is it possible to make the dough a day or two ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until the cook? Maybe just refrigerate the dough balls and take out for the final rise a couple of hours before the cook? Thanks!!
Yes, it will taste even better.
Compliments for the Neapolitan pizza. As an Italian I can tell you that you can take it off even after a minute. Two questions: 1) how long does it take to bring the kamado with the stone inside to 450°C? 2) how much does the temperature of the kamado drop after a batch? Thank you.
Any experienmenting with 24-48 rise time with your homemade dough? I find that gives the perfect fermented, almost sweetness to the dough, not to mention getting rid of that "raw" taste that comes along sometimes with homemade doughs.
I know this is an old video, but I was wondering. If you want the pizza stone higher in the dome could you place it on the Kamado extender rack.
How many pizza bases does the recipe you put up make?
Do you think you’d need the iron spacer set up using a steel pizza “stone?” Love your videos!
Thermal conductivity of steel is 20x that of stone. Makes for nice leopard spotting on the bottom. Lose the stone and make better pies.
@@medilink12 absolutely! -- I'm wondering if that air gap is necessary. I'll try it tomorrow night with the gap.
What about using the accessory adapter with diverted on the low setting and the stone on top the grate on the high? That just seems logical
Thanks for the video, made the best store-bought pizza of course I loaded it up with more stuff. Walmart's Brand for $3.28 made into a champion Pizza.
Flour will burn, semolina you can use less and get more slide. Use less yeast, quarter teaspoon, and longer, cold overnight fermentations in the fridge.
John, did my 1st one last night the Home made crust. I’ll say it was not a totally success or complete failure. The 1st crust got too soft on our large cutting board and stuck to it. So we did the 2nd one directly on the pizza stone - I know it’s to be hot but we didn’t know how to safe this one. It turned out very good. We sit directly on the deflectors on the grill we were around 525-550. Oh more experience a rookie in training. I just got my KJ classic a few weeks ago - bought it from my sister she moving out of town. I love the KJ after years of Weber cooking. I also love your channel. But you made class 101 look easier than it really is? I guess I have to retake the class not ready for 201.
Those spacers are genius, I've been balling up foil!
Fantastic video and good comparison between different pizzas.
Also I do love your idea of lifting the pizza stone up to avoid overheating and in turn burning the pizza base.
Great job thanks mate
Well done. Love your in depth tips/tricks here. You are right on about having that air gap. A question: Knowing that an air gap between the deflector plates and the stone is a good thing and that you said putting the plates on the accessory rack is a valid option, could you just avoid the stand offs you purchased and instead place the accessory rack in the lower rack position and then place the stone on the main grate to provide that gap? This is what I do when I do use a stone (I sometimes skip the stone entirely. I have a couple videos on not using a stone at all, but I digress.). I also sometimes place the stone on the main grate and the stone and pizza on the expander rack up higher. Both have given great results for up to 3 large pizzas in a row.
Kamado Joe Thanks, John.
quick question: do use flour or corn meal on top of your pizza peel to help the pizza slide off the peel onto the pizza stone ? Appreciate the video and the tips.
ok you use flour....think corn meal would burn ?
You should try the Biscotto Di Sorrento-stone! No deflector needed, and you get true neapolitan-style pizza with ease!
Great content! Your high temp pizza looks amazing!
In the last pizza, looks like the lumps are huge! is that actual large wood chunks or just large charcoal pieces?
Can I use an old pizza stone as your bottom deflector? While still keeping the pizza stone on top for the actual pizza
If I don't have the heat deflector. Can the pizza stone handle the direct heat? Will it Crack?
I will be doing this today with a DiGiorno to see how it goes. I will be filming it as well.
I don't have a KJ stone (yet), but I do have a regular one and I will pick up some plugs like you have. I will link to this video in the description.
You don't need those plugs. You really only need one pizza stone on top of the racks. It's not gonna burn the bottom as you gotta keep turning it, but it gives a nice crust on bottom. This guy's pizzas are not even cooked on bottom.
@@desertweasel6965 actually it was cooked perfectly on the bottom when I did it. You are correct, the plugs are not needed, they only allow for air flow under the pizza. It works either way.
Where did you buy those spacers? What are they called? I have been looking for something like that.
I would be interested to know if one were using a Frozen store bought like a Dejorno pizza, if you should thaw it out prior to putting it on your heated stone. Not sure if a Frozen pizza hitting a 500 stone would cause the stone to crack.
Hey John, great video. I'm a self proclaimed pizza connoisseur and have been making pizza in the oven at home for years. Until recently have I began cooking pizza on the kamado and your video has been very helpful... prior to watching had a couple fails. The burning question I have is (pun intended) what is the secret to getting the kamado up to 900 degrees? How full do you fill the box? I filled mine full. Does the size of the lump matter? Do you create the biggest fire you can? How long to you leave the lid open while the fire heats up and grows? I haven't tried it without the heat deflector and stone, but it seems like these items may be impeding the air flow and keeping my kamado from heating up to 900. Best I had was just under 600. But I struggled with being patient since we were hungry and only heated up the grill with the lid open for 20-25 minutes... I assume it takes much longer?
I have a Classic 2, I believe sometimes the grill surface is much higher than the dome. That said, extremely high temps we may need a blower in the bottom vent, like a Thermoworks Billows, or something like that.
@@johncspine2787 I use the Fireboard 2 with the blower No problems at all. Hold temps like a champ.
@@cowboyup545 yeah, looking at my original reply, I should have said to get the blower attachment, without good ventilation you won’t get up to those super high temps..
@@johncspine2787 I used my blower with the fireboard 2, went to 400 degrees pretty quick plus used the timer at 18 minutes Man please it was beautiful. Thanks again.
Great tips. I want to try this I guess kettle style since I don't have a kamado. Yours turned out great though. Tks
Follow guidelines to never burn pizza: 17:45 - goes quiet after seeing almost fully burned bottom... Uhmm, it is perfect!
Great video. The high temp pizza looked a little to done for me but overall it all looked good.
Agreed, he burnt that to shit.
I thought it looked perfect.
Looked perfect to me
John, can you do one where you use parchment paper? When I cook pizzas, I prepare 6-9 pizzas and I cook them all in 1 night. Without pre-making them on parchment paper, I find that it is way too difficult to get that many pizzas made and safely placed onto the pizza peel.
Well done John.........that is all i have to say, you covered it all
Wow, that's was a difficult video to put together. Thank you!!
I'm using this trick for the first time as we speak. Any concern of the odor omitted by the pieces?
Last one is scorched/burnt and it seems the dome temp wasn’t as hot as the stone. Would’ve been a better cook at around 700-800 degrees. Great comparison video.
I use corn meal on the stone, comes out better and cook at 500, gets crisp without burning like yours.
"Burning" is a subjective term when it comes to cooking a lot of things. What you say is "burnt" is a desired flavor to others; especially when we're talking about Neapolitan pizza.
He has used corn meal on the stone in the past.
No cornmeal! It burns and gives a bad flavour! Just a little flour and the proper hydration and that’s all you need.