Pizza on the Deck - Devices

[drholly]

The recent spate of posts about pizza made me start looking (again) for the ultimate outdoor pizza making device. While I know (and really, really want) an outdoor wood fired oven - it is somewhere after a new driveway, finishing the basement, ..., buying groceries on the list.  :'(

I do make passably (and much better than locally available) pizzas on almost all of my cookers. But they all seem to lack the magic I am looking for. To me it's about the crust. I prefer a thin crispy yet chewy crust. It should have a good char on the bottom (not burnt of course) and the edges with nice air pockets, but still have a good chew. Go to New York - you'll know what I mean.

I've tried the Kettle Pizza device for the Weber 22.5" charcoal grill. It works pretty well, but is kind of a pain to get set up and maintain. I've done the crusts (homemade and store bought) directly on the grates of all my grills as well as on a pizza steel and various pizza stones.

So far, I like either directly on the grate or the pizza steel the best. As I was wasting some time today, I came across an interesting device - https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JohnLewis/posts/fX2euRxUK8s?cfem=1 - made by Weber for the Weber. Unfortunately, it seems to be only available in Europe at this time.

At the same time I found a forum that might be interesting for anyone really into pizza - http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,24677.0.html

I'd enjoy reading about anyone else's journey into the magic of creating pizzas.

Cheers

[pz]

We're really into making pizza, and I wholeheartedly agree with you about the crust.  I'm creating a post (with pics of course) of one of our pizza parties - should be done as soon as I can link my Picasa photos

Thanks for the links; they will make good reading

[pz]

... I came across an interesting device - https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JohnLewis/posts/fX2euRxUK8s?cfem=1 - made by Weber for the Weber. Unfortunately, it seems to be only available in Europe at this time.

At the same time I found a forum that might be interesting for anyone really into pizza - http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,24677.0.html

I'd enjoy reading about anyone else's journey into the magic of creating pizzas.

Cheers

Although we're not that good yet at making pizza on our wood or charcoal fired devices, we have been making pizzas with interesting toppings for quite a while, and would love to share our stories and perhaps get input from others regarding their experiences.

Would you consider a standard pizza stone?  They are quite cost effective, and appear to make excellent pizza as we discovered with our tiny charcoal grill (below)

We purchased a Big Green Egg - Mini a while ago to take with us on RV trips.  At Amazon, they have tiny pizza stones available that just perfectly fit the mini, and the last time we went to Vegas, we tried it, and it made tasty pizza.
Click to zoom, click again to dismiss

The Big Green Egg - Mini is great for trips, but would be hard pressed to cook for more than two people.  Luckily, my sweetie and I are empty-nesters and travel with only our toy poodle.
This was a simple pizza, with little more than mozzarella, feta, fresh tomato slices, and topped with a runny yolk egg. I did something really stupid here - the pizza stone was hot and I put on the painted surface of the picnic table - stuck to it like glue.  While I did eventually get it off, I broke the pizza stone in the process.
We actually baked this pizza at home using the tiny pizza stone - it did a great job, and the crust was perfect.
One of my favorite methods to get a really crisp crust is to grill it.  My wife will grill one side of the crust until it is done, and then flip it.  As the second side is cooking, quickly place the toppings on so they heat and the cheese melts.
... almost done
I personally like my crust almost cracker crisp, with only a little chewy bite.  My wife likes the crust slightly more crisp than New York style.
Must have a dry rose on this hot day!
This is probably a bit crisp for most people's tastes, but I really like it as something different.