Pizza

[miguelb]

Anyone ever smoked/grilled pizza on the Traeger?

Yes. Many times with a pizza stone.

 

[Scott_R]

Hello!

I just bought a Pro 575--literally so, it's still in the box. Among other things, I was hoping to do pizza in it (my oven is ancient and a replacement would be difficult to find, so I look for ways to sidestep using it).

I have a Fibrament baking stone for bread and pizza in my oven, but apparently you're not supposed to directly use it on open flame; the company sells "barbecue grill baking stones" that come with metal flame diverters, though the latter aren't made to fit the stone I have, so I might have to start over.

I was thinking about getting a baking steel, but I was reading about the Red Stag oven here. Any feedback on this compared to the steel? I tried to look up the company but didn't find much. The writing on their FaceBook page makes me think they're a Chinese company with no US support--e.g., they describe themselves as "Professional Company for valuable quality outdoor BBQ products," and a promotion from a while back: "We are initiating an activity TRY TO TEST, to offer 2 free Reg Stag pizza oven units, to who is intereting in cooking pizza on pellet smoker grill."

I make pizza from scratch--dough, sauce, and (sometimes) the mozzarella. I can't call myself an expert, but I was a little puzzled over some of the talk here and elsewhere about temperatures. My search has been for higher temps than my oven can reach--I almost bought the Ooni oven--but I keep seeing talk about dialing the Traeger temps down instead.

 

[traeger860]

Hello!

I just bought a Pro 575--literally so, it's still in the box. Among other things, I was hoping to do pizza in it (my oven is ancient and a replacement would be difficult to find, so I look for ways to sidestep using it).

I have a Fibrament baking stone for bread and pizza in my oven, but apparently you're not supposed to directly use it on open flame; the company sells "barbecue grill baking stones" that come with metal flame diverters, though the latter aren't made to fit the stone I have, so I might have to start over.

I was thinking about getting a baking steel, but I was reading about the Red Stag oven here. Any feedback on this compared to the steel? I tried to look up the company but didn't find much. The writing on their FaceBook page makes me think they're a Chinese company with no US support--e.g., they describe themselves as "Professional Company for valuable quality outdoor BBQ products," and a promotion from a while back: "We are initiating an activity TRY TO TEST, to offer 2 free Reg Stag pizza oven units, to who is intereting in cooking pizza on pellet smoker grill."

I make pizza from scratch--dough, sauce, and (sometimes) the mozzarella. I can't call myself an expert, but I was a little puzzled over some of the talk here and elsewhere about temperatures. My search has been for higher temps than my oven can reach--I almost bought the Ooni oven--but I keep seeing talk about dialing the Traeger temps down instead.

I have a baking steel and love it. Works great for pizzas but you can use it for lots of other things too. Smash burgers, eggs, searing steaks, etc.

 

[Gary]

Cast iron skillet, Baking Steel Grill Grates.
Its not an open flame so maybe your stone would work fine.
I have used all three of the above excellent results.

 

[MidwestSmoker]

I make pizza from scratch--dough, sauce, and (sometimes) the mozzarella. I can't call myself an expert, but I was a little puzzled over some of the talk here and elsewhere about temperatures. My search has been for higher temps than my oven can reach--I almost bought the Ooni oven--but I keep seeing talk about dialing the Traeger temps down instead.

Think about the Traeger this way: it is really meant for low temperature (less than 300 degrees) cooking, but it can handle an occasional high temperature cook. For example, you can mostly use it for briskets and pork butts, and occasionally grill a steak. But if you are primarily planning to cook steaks and burgers, you are better off with a standard gas grill. This forum is full of posts with people disappointed with their attempts to grill steaks and burgers on Traegers.

That goes for the pizzas as well. I am guessing that you are planning to use the Traeger primarily for pizzas and I think you may be disappointed. The Ooni ovens are designed for pizzas and are perfect for it. I make my pizzas from scratch as well, and that's why I have an Ooni oven in addition to my Traeger. It can get to 950 degrees quickly for a Neapolitan pizza without any problem. Sometimes you need to invest in the right tools for each job.

 

[Scott_R]

Think about the Traeger this way: it is really meant for low temperature (less than 300 degrees) cooking, but it can handle an occasional high temperature cook. For example, you can mostly use it for briskets and pork butts, and occasionally grill a steak. But if you are primarily planning to cook steaks and burgers, you are better off with a standard gas grill. This forum is full of posts with people disappointed with their attempts to grill steaks and burgers on Traegers.

That goes for the pizzas as well. I am guessing that you are planning to use the Traeger primarily for pizzas and I think you may be disappointed. The Ooni ovens are designed for pizzas and are perfect for it. I make my pizzas from scratch as well, and that's why I have an Ooni oven in addition to my Traeger. It can get to 950 degrees quickly for a Neapolitan pizza without any problem. Sometimes you need to invest in the right tools for each job.

Thanks for the insight. Actually, the pizza question was an ex post facto value-added idea, not my prime motive. But good to know about the rest. I wasn't planning on doing steaks on the grill at all.
I once actually had an Ooni on order but cancelled it for various logistical reasons.

 

[ieattrolls08]

450-500f, pizza stone, 15 minutes
perfect every time

 

[Scott_R]

450-500f, pizza stone, 15 minutes
perfect every time

Is that a thick crust? I do thin crusts in my ancient little oven in less time than that.

 

[imjustabill1970]

It’s the Red Stag off Amazon- with stone. Have the pro 22 and it fits right in - pizza done in 5 min at 350 setting

So, you just remove the grate, the drip pan tray and the deflector?

 

[RayClem]

I cooked a frozen pizza (square, thin crust spinach and mushrooms with white sauce) by Freschetta. I cooked it at 400 F on the bottom rack using a perforated steel pizza pan. It turned out OK, but I am not a fan of square, thin crust spinach and mushrooms pizzas with white sauce, so it left something to be desired as far as I am concerned. My wife bought it, so I cooked it and ate it.

Next time, I will try a rising crust supreme pizza with red sauce. Some brands of frozen pizzas are pretty good, some are not.

I have tried making pizza from scratch years ago, but I just cannot get a uniformly thick crust.

We used to have a Papa Murphy's near me that sold premade pizzas to cook at home. Here in Chicagoland, folks are mighty particular about their pizza, so it did not last long. There is only one store left in Northern Illinois. It is too far away from me to be helpful.

 

[Philb252]

Greetings, just received a GMG pizza oven attachment for my Pro780 from Prime days/Amazon and it fit right in perfectly (no mods needed). The build quality and packaging was very good. I see in the instructions that the heating up time can be shortened by closing the lid but once up to operating temp do you cook with lid open or closed? I did also pick up an ir temp gun.

##update## Results of first cook experiment….lid closed preheat and during cook..had to set T to 400 for 650 deg stone temp..scratch made dough pie took 6 mins, 3-rotate-3….

 

[ac7ss]

I have tried a Papa Murphey's once, (so far) on a stone.
You really need to make sure the stone is preheated, I rushed it, and it wasn't as crisp as I like. I will try again next week.

 

[RayClem]

A few days ago, I cooked a Palermo supreme rising crust pizza. I cooked it on the Traeger on a perforated pizza pan. I preheated to 400 F and cooked it until the crust was nicely browned and the topping was bubbly. It turned out great. The Palermo frozen pizza cooked on the Traeger was better than some of the pizzas I have gotten in pizzerias.