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

[Tatoosh]

J-Rod,thanks for pointing that out! I missed that because I was so enthralled with some of the other photos. It is a very cool modification.

Trumpstylz, for the charcoal and wood crowd, either the Kettle Pizza insert with the Serious Eats hack or something similar to Moose's modification would work but no cutout and propane ... only wood and charcoal, just not for quite the same duration. It will need to be reloaded with fuel and wood after a few pizzas.

[stl-rich]

WOW I am almost motivated to get off my a$$ and build one - but wifey isn't a pizza fan, so ...

[Pyle's BBQ]

Originally Posted by ---k---

Propane!?!?!

What do you think all the deep dish pizza are cooked with. The gas oven in pizza place have stone bottoms to cook on.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by Garyclaw

One concern of mine is, does the kettle seem solid enough on the burner? I mean, when you're putting pies on and off, does the kettle want to wabble at all?

That's a good question, actually. The kettle doesn't wobble at all - when you include the extra weight of the stone on the kettle, it stays put nicely. One could weld the propane burner to the kettle, but I like that I can disassemble the unit and put it away for easy storage.

One thing I should have added, although it should be evident by the pictures, is having some kind of base for the burner so the kettle is at a convenient height. I used an old little end table...works just fine.

[FashionBiff]

That is too cool and thanks for the write up. My heart is still weepy over the older Weber being cut up....so sad.

[Moose]

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.

[colonel00]

Nice work Moose 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.

[---k---]

Originally Posted by Moose

Do you have a better idea that somehow I've overlooked? By all means, please enlighten me. I'm all ears...

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.

[azken]

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

[Moose]

Originally Posted by ---k---

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.

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!

[VoodoChild]

Awesome ...Thank you very Much ..Going to Have one sooner than later/.

[TravelingJ]

How many pizzas do you get out of a tank of propane? That's the standard size tank for grills, correct?

[NorthwestBBQ]

That is some sexy pie!

[TinyMike]

Now that is awesome!

[Al Czervik]

Great post Moose! Thanks for putting it up...