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FINALLY! By Popular Request! How To Build The FrankenWeber Pizza Kettle!

I'd like to chime in here about why I used propane.

My preference would always be to use a wood or charcoal fire, but unless you have an actual pizza oven, it is terribly inefficient. There was a review of the Pizza Kettle insert (On Serious Eats, I believe), and it took a boatload of coals to get it to temp, not to mention the fact that it can only hold those temps for a very short period of time.

I wanted something that gave me complete control over the temp with the simple turn of a knob, that was efficient, and fuss free. You will NOT get that if you use a wood or charcoal setup in a kettle, end of story. I'm not criticizing going that route, it's just not what I wanted is all.
 
Nice work Moose :thumb: I thought you did a write up a long time ago. Anyway, great to see it again.

I concur on the use of propane to maintain consistent temps. My pizza cooker uses charcoal and does a great job but it is very difficult to get and maintain consistent and constant temps. Usually I just get a bunch of hot coals and roll with it but like you mentioned, it is almost impossible to get even temps across the stone and the temps will rarely hold for any given period of time. Plus, I usually light up a chimney of charcoal to cook on which is kind of a waste if it is only for one pizza. By stocking up at the HD charcoal sales it has never been an issue but it still is wasteful and time consuming. I would also assume that propane is much faster as you don't have to wait for that chimney of coals to fully light before you can even start warming the stone.
 
Moose said:
Do you have a better idea that somehow I've overlooked? :confused: By all means, please enlighten me. I'm all ears...
Click to expand...

Sorry bro. It was a joke. One of those times when the internet confuses the meaning. I really thought that your post was great. To that extent, I added it to the Roadmap thread immediately after I posted my propane comment. Sorry i kind of derailed things. Hopefully temporary.
 
Thanks...great write up...bookmarked

I need a propane burner for outdoor chicken and fish frying so the burner will serve another need/want...now all I need is a little cooperation from Craigslist :help:
 
---k--- said:
Sorry bro. It was a joke. One of those times when the internet confuses the meaning. I really thought that your post was great. To that extent, I added it to the Roadmap thread immediately after I posted my propane comment. Sorry i kind of derailed things. Hopefully temporary.
Click to expand...

No worries...I know what you mean about how things can be taken the wrong way...it did bring up an important question which allowed me to explain the reason why I went with propane, so it actually was an opportunity. Appreciate your putting this on the roadmap, too! :thumb:
 
How many pizzas do you get out of a tank of propane? That's the standard size tank for grills, correct?
 
I really like the pizza pan in the dome. I have cooked pizza on my standard Weber and the problem has been getting the top of the pizza to cook without scorching the bottom. I ended up using less charcoal just around the edges but then it takes forever to cook at that lower temp. it works but was never exactly how I liked it. Love your build and may add this to my list of THINGS I WANT TO DO. I have actually had a few older Webers offered to me for free but they would have been "fixer uppers". A free grill would drop the cost for me and I can scavenge or beg borrow and steal some of the other parts. Hmmm. the whole family already loves my home made pizza so this would be an easy sell to the wife.
 
TravelingJ said:
How many pizzas do you get out of a tank of propane? That's the standard size tank for grills, correct?
Click to expand...

I use a standard size propane tank. Don't know how many pizzas I can get out of one tank, but it would have to be a LOT. It takes about 10-15 mins for the stone to come up to temp, and anywhere from 3-6 minutes for each pizza to cook. Since we're usually cooking two or more pies (sometimes with enough guests as many as 6) it's too hard to estimate. I think the better question is how many cooks do I get out of one tank, which is probably in the neighborhood of 20-30. Since I only open the valve on the burner hose about 1/4 turn, it probably uses about as much propane as a small two burner gas grill, I'm guessing. Hope that helps.
 
Moose, Red Sky seems to be out of business and I cannot find their D stone anywhere. Do you other suggestions for a stone?
 
mjz55 said:
Moose, Red Sky seems to be out of business and I cannot find their D stone anywhere. Do you other suggestions for a stone?
Click to expand...

Doesn't look like there's any currently available substitute for the "D" shaped stone that Red Sky used to make.

I have to admit, the Frankenweber, while it served me well, was officially retired when I got the Blackstone Pizza oven. The Blackstone delivers much more uniform results and gives you far greater control than the Frankeneber did....

I posted a review on my blog:

https://richard-sherman-e3p5.square.../1/4/product-review-the-blackstone-pizza-oven
 
Roguejim said:
How many pies can you get out of a full propane tank?
Click to expand...

From the Blackstone? Hard to say exactly, but a LOT. It runs very efficiently, so I'm guessing in the range of at least 50 or more.
 
Moose, I cannot open that link up. I'd like to see the Blackstone!!! Especially if you recommend it.
 
mnz55, click on Moose's blog in his signature. It is the second post as hiu scroll down.
 
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