Pizza

[CheezWizHed]

 

For my pizzas I bought one of these and I love it! I use either charcoal or wood mostly wood. You can also get an older version that just does propane or wood pellets for cheaper. I haven't used one of the older models though.

 

https://ooni.com/products/ooni-karu-16

 

Very nice! I assume you have it on a patio or something? I want one of those at some point in my life.

 

I've done frozen pizza over a campfire (tripod grate with a weber cover on top) and if you can get the distance right, it is incredible.

 

One thing I've not done much of in my Chargriller 980 grill/smoker is pizza. I did one time with pre-made crust and it was good, but not something to keep going back to. I want to try homemade crust one of these days. The grill will go up to 550 closed or 700 open, so plenty hot enough for pizza.

[MrTPlush]

 

For my pizzas I bought one of these and I love it! I use either charcoal or wood mostly wood. You can also get an older version that just does propane or wood pellets for cheaper. I haven't used one of the older models though.

 

https://ooni.com/products/ooni-karu-16

 

Very nice! I assume you have it on a patio or something? I want one of those at some point in my life.

 

I have an old model that does charcoal/wood (and can get a propane attachment). Charcoal and wood is fun to play around with…but propane is probably a no brainer if you need to churn out quite a few pizzas or like simplicity.

 

It is kind of an art to use. It takes awhile to figure out a good dough recipe, figure out how to do the temp right, figure out how to dry out cheese, figure out how to get the pizza in and out.

 

If you like Neapolitan pizza it is incredible. I have made pizza that rivals even the fanciest Italian restaurant I have ever gone to. If you don’t like Neapolitan pizza these little pizza ovens don’t really make much sense. You can mess around and make Detroit style etc. in it…but just use your normal oven at that point.

 

I bought mine when it was $300 for the Karu 12…or course COVID related issues have skyrocketed the price to $400.

[GAME05]

There are lots of different designs out there for making a brick oven. I've always wanted to make one, but I'm not in a permanent house yet. But it isn't something super-difficult.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm just not crazy about having a device that is pretty much just a single use item like that.

 

Of course, last night I spent a bunch of time reading on amazingribs.com about grilling pizzas. Looks like I'll be making some dough during my holiday break.

[nate82]

I'm just not crazy about having a device that is pretty much just a single use item like that.

 

Of course, last night I spent a bunch of time reading on amazingribs.com about grilling pizzas. Looks like I'll be making some dough during my holiday break.

 

I have made some bread in the one I have and some pasties.

[Joseph Zarr]

 

Very nice! I assume you have it on a patio or something? I want one of those at some point in my life.

 

Yes on my patio and also serves as a heater during the cold winter nights here in AZ when outside.

 

So jealous. When I first saw those my jaw dropped. They looked so efficient and convenient. So glad to hear it is enjoyable for you.

[Joseph Zarr]

There are lots of different designs out there for making a brick oven. I've always wanted to make one, but I'm not in a permanent house yet. But it isn't something super-difficult.

 

Agreed. I made a nice little pizza oven when I lived in Northern New Mexico. Made the bricks myself. Bought the fire bricks for the interior. Designs are readily available. There is nothing quite like a wood fired clay brick oven pizza. The only 'inconvenience', really, is knowing it has to be under cover for fear of rains. In N. New Mexico this wasn't really a big concern but it has delayed my building one where I currently reside.

[MrTPlush]

I'm just not crazy about having a device that is pretty much just a single use item like that.

 

Of course, last night I spent a bunch of time reading on amazingribs.com about grilling pizzas. Looks like I'll be making some dough during my holiday break.

 

You can do other things in it...but it is just kind of dumb. An oven or normal grill...both of which are 10x easier to use can do it better in 99% of cases or just as well. Every time I see a post about doing a steak in it I just shake my head, some people really try to rationalize it as more than a pizza oven by making life more difficult.

[nate82]

 

You can do other things in it...but it is just kind of dumb. An oven or normal grill...both of which are 10x easier to use can do it better in 99% of cases or just as well. Every time I see a post about doing a steak in it I just shake my head, some people really try to rationalize it as more than a pizza oven by making life more difficult.

 

Home made bread is better in a pizza oven than in an oven. Not sure you could get the right temperature in a grill for bread.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm just not crazy about having a device that is pretty much just a single use item like that.

 

Of course, last night I spent a bunch of time reading on amazingribs.com about grilling pizzas. Looks like I'll be making some dough during my holiday break.

 

It's actually not. You can make dozens of things in them. When I originally got mine it was $200 though so it was much easier to accept I'd just use it for pizza. I have the pellet model and use it nearly every weekend. I'll second that it definitely has a learning curve, sometimes a steep one. I've had random weeks where I mess the dough up or over-flower and burn it...it can be an exact science. However when you nail it, the results are incredible.

 

if you eat a lot of pizza and want to take the time to make great pizza they are very cool to have. I've never had delivery since I got mine.

[MrTPlush]

 

You can do other things in it...but it is just kind of dumb. An oven or normal grill...both of which are 10x easier to use can do it better in 99% of cases or just as well. Every time I see a post about doing a steak in it I just shake my head, some people really try to rationalize it as more than a pizza oven by making life more difficult.

 

Home made bread is better in a pizza oven than in an oven. Not sure you could get the right temperature in a grill for bread.

 

I mean, I have seen many people make bread in a normal oven. I’m not much of a bread maker myself, but I am pretty sure a normal oven can do it just fine.

 

I have seen people do some nice pizza types that aren’t Neapolitan (usually Detroit style)…but again, pretty sure it would be easier and better to just do it in a normal oven. Neapolitan though, isn’t really possible in a normal oven.

 

I love the vibe of using the Ooni though. It’s kind of like grilling, sitting there on the patio on a summer night cooking pizzas just hits the spot.

[OldHeidelberg]

Totinos isn't it and I have never been able to find the TV dinner pizza suggested so took a shot at the recipe below that claims to be from the government school cafeteria recipe. We stuck pretty much to the recipe, used 1 Lb ground beef but spiced it with garlic salt, italian seasoning, and fennel seed while browning. I used Walmarts Great Value pizza sauce, ending up using a bit more of that and mozzarella than the recipe suggested since I had so much meat and it seemed to need it. The result? The crust was at least 2x thicker than the pizza I had in my grade school cafeteria, it turned out more like a Rocky Rococco crust. The flavor and texture was right though so I think the recipe is correct just need to adjust the amount of batter next time I guess. It actually turned out pretty tasty even if not what I was after, I had too much meat but ground beef is the right call and it turned out more like a meat pie but without the grease that a similar amount of sausage or pepperoni would. The fennel adds a nice flavor but not sure if that is what they used in the cafeteria or is a flavor of another of my childhood favorites, Tombstone Sausage.

 

https://www.plainchicken.com/school-cafeteria-pizza/

[CheezWizHed]

I came across Motor City frozen Detroit-style pizza at Costco. Two pizzas for $13. Great pizza and a great price.

 

The sauce is a bit sweet like Pizza Hut. Obviously, a thick bready crust, but not doughy like Rocky Rococo's. Nice crispy edges.

[homer]

I came across Motor City frozen Detroit-style pizza at Costco. Two pizzas for $13. Great pizza and a great price.

 

The sauce is a bit sweet like Pizza Hut. Obviously, a thick bready crust, but not doughy like Rocky Rococo's. Nice crispy edges.

 

if you have a Jet's Pizza nearby you should give it a try

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I came across Motor City frozen Detroit-style pizza at Costco. Two pizzas for $13. Great pizza and a great price.

 

The sauce is a bit sweet like Pizza Hut. Obviously, a thick bready crust, but not doughy like Rocky Rococo's. Nice crispy edges.

 

I was buying these a lot last year but found that I eventually got kind of sick of it. If someone wants a frozen pizza that's different, more bready, it's a good change of pace. I'd agree they're good, but not one that I can have routinely like a Jack's.

[LouisEly]

Had a Lozza Mozza pizza last week. It was on sale for $6.99 so I thought I'd give it a shot. Thought it was OK but nothing special. The sauce was good, could hardly taste the pepperoni, and the crust tasted like cardboard with a dusting of flour. Plenty of cheese, but I find mozzarella to be kind of bland. I'd rather have a Jacks and put half of a package of shredded gourmet cheddar cheese on it. If you haven't put mixed cheddar cheese on a pizza, it really adds flavor to it. $2-$2.50 for a package of Roundy's brand mixed sharp cheddar, so it only adds $1 or so to the cost of a Jacks.

 

I did get a few Poco's pizzas for Christmas since my parents live in that area. Brat & cheese curd, summer sausage & cheese curd, and Door County cherry pulled pork. Looking forward to having one this weekend (I've already had the Door County cherry pulled pork). Feel free to cast a vote for which one I should have and I'll report back on it (probably will anyway).

[CheezWizHed]

Given the amount of bread it in, you are probably right. But it was certainly surprisingly good for frozen pizza.

 

I think I tried Jet's pizza a while back... Can't remember exactly what it was like though. We eat frozen pizza weekly (a quick meal for one night that we need to eat and run), so this was pretty good. We eat out far less frequently (maybe once monthly or less).

[TURBO]

I came across Motor City frozen Detroit-style pizza at Costco. Two pizzas for $13. Great pizza and a great price.

 

The sauce is a bit sweet like Pizza Hut. Obviously, a thick bready crust, but not doughy like Rocky Rococo's. Nice crispy edges.

 

if you have a Jet's Pizza nearby you should give it a try

 

 

Yeah, Jet's is pretty good. Nice change of pace from the Little Ceaser's and Pizza Hut types (both of which I enjoy).

 

I've never tried Marco's but will at some point. I've heard good and bad about them.

[AKCheesehead]

Apparently this is an unpopular opinion I have. Every pizza ad I see on tv shows a pepperoni pizza.

 

In my book, Italian sausage is vastly superior to pepperoni as a topping. I know there does exist high quality pepperoni and I like it well. But the vast majority of pepperoni is basically large diameter thinly sliced Slim Jims. Good sausage brings so much more to a slice of pizza than pepperoni does.

[CheezWizHed]

I like good pepperoni, but prefer sausage myself. A good SMOG pizza is my favorite.

 

The Motor City pizza I mentioned earlier had two types of pepperoni (both flavor and cut different) and it had a really good flavor.

[TURBO]

Just so the board knows, Pothole frozen pizzas at Kwik Trip are BOGO free the day after Packer victories.

 

Not sure if that carries over into the playoffs, but for the regular season games, it is still going on.

 

Super deal on GREAT pizzas.

[homer]

If anyone is interested in making their own pizza sausage, this recipe worked well for me:

 

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16539/italian-style-sausage/

 

I substituted ground fennel for the crushed anise.

[MrTPlush]

Apparently this is an unpopular opinion I have. Every pizza ad I see on tv shows a pepperoni pizza.

 

In my book, Italian sausage is vastly superior to pepperoni as a topping. I know there does exist high quality pepperoni and I like it well. But the vast majority of pepperoni is basically large diameter thinly sliced Slim Jims. Good sausage brings so much more to a slice of pizza than pepperoni does.

 

Well, lets take into consideration what is usually on TV ads. Frozen pizza and fast food chains. You are slamming pepperoni for sucking, but every frozen pizza with sausage is equally garbage. Usually low in taste and rubbery. I don't know that I have ever had good sausage on a frozen pizza...some are okay, but rarely meaningful. The downside with sausage is when it sucks, it ruins a pizza quick. Pepperoni is rarely bad, boring maybe...but hard to ruin a pizza. Feels like most frozen pizzas and chains use the same type of sausage from the same supplier.

 

Now some premium frozen pizzas can have good sausage, but the same goes for pepperoni too. I usually try avoid sausage on a pizza unless it is an actual pizza place and it is made in house...that is good stuff and adds to a pizza.

[homer]

Apparently this is an unpopular opinion I have. Every pizza ad I see on tv shows a pepperoni pizza.

 

In my book, Italian sausage is vastly superior to pepperoni as a topping. I know there does exist high quality pepperoni and I like it well. But the vast majority of pepperoni is basically large diameter thinly sliced Slim Jims. Good sausage brings so much more to a slice of pizza than pepperoni does.

 

I can almost guarantee that is because pepperoni just looks nicer than sausage on TV. You get the red to pop on the white cheese. Looks better than brown/gray sausage.

[sveumrules]

Apparently this is an unpopular opinion I have. Every pizza ad I see on tv shows a pepperoni pizza.

 

I can almost guarantee that is because pepperoni just looks nicer than sausage on TV. You get the red to pop on the white cheese. Looks better than brown/gray sausage.

 

Yup. The pepperoni also serves as a subtle subconscious reminder that pizza, much like time itself, is a flat circle. Unless you are in Detroit or Rocky Rococo's, then it's a rectangle.