With the huge variety of foods that you can cook in the Big Green Egg why not give pizza a try? You’ll be glad you did when you taste how well this incredible grill cooks it. We show you how to cook pizza on the Big Green Egg including how to set it up and we share a great pizza recipe.
Setting Up The Big Green Egg To Cook Pizza
As one of the most versatile outdoor cooking systems available the Big Green Egg is perfect for cooking a delicious pizza.
Clean The Egg
First clean out your Egg so that there is nothing in there that will affect the cooking and flavor of your pizza. It is also important to keep the ash receptacle clear to allow good airflow beneath the fire grate. Also check the vent holes in the fire box to make sure they are clear.
Start The Egg
You now need to load your lump charcoal into the firebox and add your charcoal starters. Open the draft door at the base of the Egg and fit the dual function metal on top in place of the ceramic damper. Now you can light your charcoal. Close the lid and let it heat up.
For a pizza you will want the Egg to be around 425-450 degrees.
Setting Up The Egg For Pizza
For cooking pizza the set-up of your Egg needs a good space between the charcoal and the cooking platform. For this you need to use the conveggtor or plate setter. This needs to be placed with the legs facing up as you will be putting the cooking grid on top.
It is possible to purchase a conveggtor basket for ease of handling. Now place the cooking grid on top followed by a pizza or baking stone. If you wish you can raise the baking stone above the cooking grid by using balls of aluminum foil or even fire bricks.
Heating The Pizza Stone
Before making your pizza you need to put the conveggtor, grill and baking stone set-up into the Big Green Egg. You will want the stone to be heated as if it goes in cold to a hot Egg it may crack under the high heat.
Gradually heating the stone is much safer and will also thoroughly cook your pizza. If it is not pre-heated the top of your pizza will cook, but the base will remain uncooked. When you put the baking stone in you will notice the temperature in the Egg will drop, let it come back up to your desired temperature. This may take 10-15 minutes.
Cooking A Pizza On The Egg
Now you are ready to get going with your pizza so let’s take a look at some of the ingredients you need and some that are optional.
Dough
Pizza dough can be freshly made, or you can use store bought dough. If either has been kept in the fridge take it out a couple of hours before you’re going to use it to let it warm up and relax. This will make stretching it out a lot easier.
Work the ball of dough out from the center, allowing it to stretch as you do. Then pick it up and holding it in your fingers along the edges, let the dough hang and stretch itself out. Or use your knuckles to spin or toss the pizza dough, whatever works for you.
Make sure that the size of the dough is not bigger than the baking stone of the edges will burn. Now sprinkle some cornmeal on our pizza peel and place the dough on it.
Sauce
Using a basic tomato sauce spread it on the dough. Don’t over-sauce the dough as it will make the pizza soggy. Start in the middle and work your way out but leave a border around the edges. You can also lay some fresh tomato slices on top of the sauce. Lay them on paper towels first and pat them dry to remove any excess moisture.
Cheese
Now add some slices of mozzarella to the pizza, spacing them out evenly and making sure they are not too close to each other or the edge of the pizza.
Herbs
You can use whatever herbs you like on your pizza, but a good accompaniment to a margarita pizza is basil. Put some fresh basil leaves on top of the cheese and tomato slices. For bigger basil leaves, tear them up, don’t chop them.
Meat
If you want to add meat to a pizza, always make sure it is cooked first, don’t ever add raw meat to a pizza. You can choose pepperoni, chorizo or sausage to add to your toppings.
Vegetables
You can add your choice of vegetable to your pizza for cooking in the Big Green Egg. As with the tomato slices it is a good idea to let them sit on paper towels and dab them to remove any extra moisture. Or you can cook your veg before adding it to your pizza. There are no hard and fast rules in pizza making. What you like should go on your pizza!
Putting The Pizza In The Egg
With your prepared and loaded pizza on the pizza peel it’s ready to go into the Egg. Before you put the pizza in you will need to burp the Egg. This means you partially open the lid to allow the rush of hot air to come out before you put any food in.
Now fully open the lid and slide the pizza from the pizza peel onto the hot baking stone. Close the lid and leave to cook. Check the pizza after 10 minutes or so and spin if necessary. After 20 minutes your pizza will be done. Garnish with some fresh basil, grated Parmesan and garlic oil. Enjoy!
Final Thoughts
We hope you have enjoyed our guide on how to cook pizza on the Big Green Egg.