Hammered KK

[Jon B.]

11 hours ago, golfpro2301 said:

 Planning on first cook next week sometime. 

After you win the Masters Tournament ?????  

[Steve M]

Those before and after pics really tell the story. Finished it up in good time too.

[5698k]

I've been watching this from the beginning. When I saw the before and after pics, that really put it in perspective. Really nice job! I see you've already figured out how great a kk is as far as control, so I say get after it!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CeramicChef]

+1^.

What Rob said.  This is one very impressive restoration.  CONGRATS!

[Garvinque]

Congrats on the restore, it looks great!

 

Garvin

[golfpro2301]

So took a weekend off before TPC week here in Ponte Vedra next week. Its busiest time year for me. Sitting around and decided pizza on KK sounded good for dinner. This will be my first attempt and could use some help. Looking thru other posts I know one thing for sure and that is to put stone high up into lid. I see most cook around 550 but some at 700+. If anyone has good thread to look at please let me know. My main questions are below.

Heat to cook at?

How to get thin crust?

Cook time?

What to use to get pie to slide off spatula?

Dont want to fubar my first time in front of family

[tony b]

Charles (ckreef) is the Pro here for all things pizza. So look for some of his pizza cook threads and dough recipes. There are others here that are wise, as well.

I'm no expert, but can offer a couple of tips.

First,  most important, heat soak your grill for at least an hour once you reach your desired cooking temp. That stone takes a long time to heat up to match the dome thermometer temp. If you have an IR heat gun, use it to check the stone temp to ensure it's at the cooking temp you want. Also, when using the KK stone on the upper grate, there's no need for an intermediate heat deflector - it just slows down the heat-up process. It can handle the direct heating. 

Cooking temp depends on the style of crust and dough recipe - hence, the reason you're seeing the big range. Really hot temps (>550F are for Neopolitan style). Most regular style pizza cooks just fine at 450 - 500F. Deep dish styles do best at lower temps 350 - 375F. 

Cook times also vary with style and dough recipe - really thin crusts at high temps will be done in a matter of a couple of minutes, which is why it's essential to cook up near the dome to get the top done at the same time as the bottom. Regular styles take around 8 - 12 minutes. Deep dish go for 30 - 45 minutes.

Parchment paper - my go to for getting the pie off the peel onto the stone. It barely affects the browning of the bottom crust; but if it bothers you, wait about a minute then, you can slide the peel between the crust and parchment and easily remove it once the crust starts to brown. I like it because it works, first of all; and second, you don't get any scorched flour or cornstarch flavor on your pizza. 

[golfpro2301]

Thanks Tony. I have been reading a lot about not using a diffuser on the bottom but some use it. What are pros and cons of it?

[MacKenzie]

Con, it takes a lot did I say a lot longer to heat up the grill if you use the diffuser. I do not use mine! It is not a good substitute for a KK pizza stone either.

[cschaaf]

I don't use my diffuser as a diffuser, There's really no need on the KK. I do. however, use it as a pizza stone. And I have the baking stone.

Most of the pizzas I do are thinner crust and I like the diffuser for those. The baking stone, I think Dennis even said, is better for bread and thicker crust pizzas.

[ckreef]

What tony b said is spot on. Definitely start out using parchment paper. When you find a dough recipe you want to try cook at the recommended temperature. Not all doughs can handle high heat. Go easy on the toppings. With thin crust more is less in the toppings department. I would count on 2 hours for fully heat soaked. 

[tony b]

23 hours ago, golfpro2301 said:

Thanks Tony. I have been reading a lot about not using a diffuser on the bottom but some use it. What are pros and cons of it?

I'm not sure that there are any Pros? As MacKenzie attested, having in there just really slows down the heat-up process. I think some initially use it out of "an abundance of caution" because maybe they had bad experiences with cheap, thin pizza stones that will crack easily (I've done it!); but don't worry about the KK pizza stone. Dennis designed it with the proper materials and thickness to where that just isn't going to happen. 

[ZooBeeQ]

On 1/10/2017 at 8:35 PM, golfpro2301 said:

Ok so I just picked it up. The porch door to my trailer was a 1/2" wider than the grill so I was able to get it inside and secure it against a wall. Along with the Rack on the side of the grill in the pick there were wo other racks as well as two pizza stones. 1 large baking stone which I believe came with the grill. And a wood chip box that I will never use. The only part missing is the Plug for the bbq guru. One quick question the lid raises very easily but does not stay up. Are they supposed to stay up when opened all the way? I talked with Dennis today and he was extremely helpful with the process I am about to go thru to get it back to normal.  I plan on starting the rebuild Thurs when I am off work. I plan on first counting all the broken tiles so I can give Dennis an accurate number for replacements. I am going to remove all broken tiles and prep surface under neath for new when they arrive. The rutland refractory cement came in the mail today so I will fill in all deep cuts and level them to the cotour of the lid.

The one piece of information I haven't included so far was the price I paid for it. I wanted to wait until I actually had it in my possession. I paid $250 for everything. 

I didn't read all 10 pages but to whom  did you hand over the cash??

LOL

Hell hath no fury etc. . . . .

But still made me clench to see the poor thing all banged up. You will love it and it will love you i'm sure .

Zo0-

[golfpro2301]

Hello Everyone. Feels like forever since I have been on here and even longer since used the Hammered KK. Last time she was fired up was in May I think. Had a questions about the gaskets. I added the 2nd gasket using an rtv sealant that cures rock hard. The gasket isnt sticking to it and coming off in places. I plan on removing the new gasket and cleaning out the material . I have always used silicone on previous cookers but wondering if that is a bad idea due to heat. Are there any soft cure sealants to use on the gasket that will work best.

Decided to do the Thanksgiving bird in the KK so want to get everything buttoned up before then. To be honest this may be my last cook on it. Expecting my first child in April and may need to sell for the $$$. I have no idea what the value is but I know will be tough decision to sell. Please someone talk me out of it.

[5698k]

Ok, what ever you do, don’t sell it!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tony b]

After all this poor KK has been through, you CAN'T sell it. 

Also, there's high temp silicone sealants out there. Remember, the area around the gasket doesn't get nearly as hot as the interior of the KK, so you really only need something rated up to like 500F. 

[MacKenzie]

Better to give up time on the golf course that to give up the KK after all that work.

[Jon B.]

You might lose your electric power and have no other way to heat up the baby food or warm the milk bottles...................................................

[Aussie Ora]

Oh no would be a shame if you had to sell it after all the effort you put in

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

[Chefin]

Nicely done!