@ngeLCD Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 I'm in the early stages of an outdoor kitchen design and have been trying to at least home in on what equipment I'll want at the end of the day. I always figured I'd want a smoker and a propane grill and a pizza oven, however once I stumbled across the KK a year or so ago, I've rethought that. I'd hate to go through the time and expense of building a pizza oven if the KK can make brick oven style pizza. I've seen the numerous tasty pictures of pizza on this forum, so clearly good pizzas come out of the KK. However I know a typical brick pizza oven will run at a dome temp of 750-800 ("pizza hot") to make that "real" 2-3 minute cook pizza. I've read Dennis's post regarding dome temps vs lower grate temps as well as at least one other post here that discussed making pizza at brick oven temps in the KK and had a question. It appears Dennis's temp test was done with just open grates. If the KK were used to do a pizza cook once a week, where I was taking the dome to ~775 or so, but with the pizza stone in there, does anyone think that would facilitate the bottom of the grill getting even hotter than in Dennis's tests? I'm an electrical engineer, so a bit out of my element with thermodynamics, but it seems that getting a ~775 dome temp with a direct unblocked path from the fire to the thermometer would be different than getting a ~775 dome temp with the pizza stone in the grill with the direct radiant energy of the fire blocked from the thermometer. In essence, I'm wondering if it would be safe to regularly use the KK at brick oven pizza temps. I've also considered the fact that with the elevated pizza stone in the KK, the pizza would be closer to the dome surface than in a brick oven, so maybe that puts the effective "pizza hot" dome temperature lower than ~775. Anyway, any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Personally once I started cooking on a KK I no longer wanted to cook on any other kamado style cookers or on the gas grill so sold them all. I am pretty sure that if I had a wood fired pizza oven that I would still have that. I have made lots of pizzas on the KK and love them but will admit that they do not taste the same as a pizza made with 00 flour and cooked in a wood fired pizza oven. The flour is not easy to find in my area and to have it shipped in makes the price unreasonable due to shipping costs. I like, correction, I love my pizzas and am very happy with doing them on the KK, with regular flour and temp. around the 500 F mark. Hope this helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie mac Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 2 hours ago, MacKenzie said: Personally once I started cooking on a KK I no longer wanted to cook on any other kamado style cookers or on the gas grill so sold them all. I am pretty sure that if I had a wood fired pizza oven that I would still have that. I have made lots of pizzas on the KK and love them but will admit that they do not taste the same as a pizza made with 00 flour and cooked in a wood fired pizza oven. The flour is not easy to find in my area and to have it shipped in makes the price unreasonable due to shipping costs. I like, correction, I love my pizzas and am very happy with doing them on the KK, with regular flour and temp. around the 500 F mark. Hope this helps some. I have not made pizza in the KK but had made many pizza on my other kamados I usually throw in couple of oak chunks to get the wood flavor the wood burns up pretty fast but the crust absorbs the smoke quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Search out ckreef's tutorial on pizza crusts - different styles cook at different temperatures and on different levels within the KK. He's experimented more than anyone here with pizza cooks and I consider him to be the Yoda! Don't get me wrong, MacKenzie and others make outstanding pizzas, as their pics will attest, but Charles has been more of a guide for many of us here. Don't sweat the "high" temp pizza cooks of 750F in the dome. Dennis just frets when folks shoot for 900F +. Then, the firebox is screaming hot (>2000F) and doing that frequently can lead to some long term damage. The dome thermometer is sensing the air temp around it, and isn't affected much by infrared (direct heat from the fire). Adding the pizza stone just increases the soak time is all - by a lot! Plan at least an hour at temperature if you're doing more than one pizza (a well heat soaked stone will shorten the rebound time between pizzas.) If you have an infrared temperature gun, it's a great way to tell if your stone is up to temperature and ready for cooking. (btw - I'm a Mechanical Engineer with a specialty in heat transfer.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@ngeLCD Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Thanks all. At the very least I think this gives me a reason to buy a KK first, see what she can do, and then build the kitchen around it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Do some searches on the Forum, as several others have built ODKs around their KKs. Lots of good ideas already floating around, plus some pitfalls to avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KayJab Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 I've been down this road for a while, and finally decided on an outdoor kitchen with napoleon wood fired pizza oven, gas hob /side burner for success etc and 22TT KK built in. I'm building it under an oak gazebo. Pics to follow... Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Looking forward to your ODK pixs, KayJab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@ngeLCD Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Can't wait to see it. My plan was to build a "pompei oven" like the one from Forno Bravo's site, with a Weber Summit as my "don't have time to start the charcoal" grill, probably a side burner as you noted, and then of course a KK (I was thinking a 32BB). Unfortunately I think I have to get my wife a pool first, and then it will be my time for all theses goodies. However an early purchase of the KK seems like its a good option as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrus Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 I had the other oven {ceramics] for cooking and was at the same crossroad you were at considering an efficient pizza oven. Should I build one of vermiculite myself and have a stationary oven in an area for all time or buy the KK which offers the same features plus so much more. The option of moving my oven to any location reasonably well was also important to me and the KK fulfilled that requirement. The answer was quite obvious to me for many reasons, it does pizzas and everything else you throw at it, an easy decision for me. I've made two pizza's this week with regular flour, nice and even crust on the bottom and no burn on the top. A 3 minute pizza is fast, expect a longer cook time on the KK, but the results will please. Oh, use the parchment paper. If I recall my conversation with Dennis he mentioned the vermiculite was the component outside the refractory, that kinda sold me because it was all I needed. Of course we all look down the road and think to ourselves just how long will this last, well for me, I'm a happy owner. On this site there are people with a wealth of knowledge and have owned their KK's much longer than me, and from reading this sites history I expect the same destiny for myself. If your looking for a quality piece, pick a color, start cookin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
