You've Been Cooking Pepperoni Pizza WRONG on Your Kamado Grill
The Ultimate Pepperoni Pizza on the Kamado
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Introduction
A Loaded Pepperoni Pie at 500°F, No Cornmeal Required
What's up BBQ fans! Today we're making what I'm calling the ultimate pepperoni pizza on the Komodo Kamado 38. Can you get any more pepperoni on a pizza? I don't think so. I've been making pizza on kamado-style cookers for years, and it never disappoints. Let's get into it.
The Setup
I'd just finished cooking a dry-aged tomahawk, so the dome was already sitting at 450°F with a little lump left in the basket. I added more lump, using about three-quarters of the basket, and hit it with the GrillGun (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) to light a wide area.
Cook up in the dome. The Komodo Kamado comes standard with a raised top rack, so the pizza sits high and all that radiant heat comes down on it. You just add the baking stone.
The 38's stone is two pieces, with a smooth side and a rough side. Rough side down, rounded flat edge toward the back. Wear gloves if your hands are sensitive to heat.
Heat-soak everything. From a cold start, I run it at 450 to 500°F for about 20 minutes with all the grates in, then add the stone and give it another 30 minutes. Cold grates soak up a lot of heat energy.
Vents: it ran up to 550°F, so I dialed it back to three turns open on top.
You Don't Need 900°F
One of the big misconceptions about pizza is that you have to cook it at 700 to 900°F. Some styles like that, and I make Neapolitan pies in my wood-fired oven. But for a traditional pie, somewhere between 475 and 550°F is a great spot on a kamado, and you're looking at a 7 to 9½-minute cook.
Get an IR temp gun. It's the one tool I'd tell you to invest in for pizza, and a $30 to $40 one is close enough. After 20 minutes with the dome at 500°F, the stone read 417 to 424°F in the middle and only 325°F on the side away from the fire. That's the difference three-quarters of a basket makes. I wanted the deck at 450 to 475°F, so it took about 30 minutes total. If you're making two pizzas at once, fill the whole basket and get it burning as evenly as possible.
The Dough, Sauce and Cheese
Dough: I didn't feel like making dough, and I'm sure lots of you are in the same boat. Go to your local pizza joint. Most smaller shops will sell you a dough ball for about $5. Chains won't. Don't bother with grocery store dough. It's terrible by comparison.
Put it in the fridge right away and use it the next day, pulling it out 1 to 2 hours before you cook. Mine sits in a cold beer fridge, so I go the full 2 hours.
Freeze a spare. Move it to the fridge 24 hours ahead, then pull it 2 hours before.
Sauce, in about 5 minutes, no cooking:
A can of good whole peeled Italian-style tomatoes (San Marzano style). If yours are watery, drain some off.
About ½ tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
A couple tablespoons of olive oil
A few chunks of fresh basil
Pulse it in a blender and you're done. It keeps in the fridge four or five days, or freeze the rest. If you're making a tomato pie or a Detroit-style pizza, you might want to cook it down, but for a traditional pie, this fresh sauce is all you need.
Cheese: grate your own mozzarella. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents, and it's not nearly as good. Cheap cheese and cheap meat are why pizza gets greasy.
Building the Pie
No cornmeal. If your pizza sticks, your stone isn't hot enough.
Drop the dough in a wide bowl with a little 00 flour, or any flour, and coat both sides.
Push the air from the center out to form the crust. Pop any big bubbles, or they'll burn. Don't make the crust too wide, or it'll puff up and be all crust.
Stretch from the center, not the edge. Hold it on your hand, stretch, flip it over, and keep turning until it's the size you want.
Don't oversauce it. I'm a saucy guy, but too much sauce makes it soggy. Push it out to the edges.
About 8 oz of mozzarella. I'd have used a little more.
The star: pepperoni. I bought 2 lb and got 40 pieces on this pie.
The Cook
Dust a big pizza peel with flour and make sure the pizza slides before you launch it. If it doesn't, put a plate or second peel on top, flip it, flour the bottom, and flip it back.
Dome at 550°F. Launch it toward the back, let it touch, and pull back.
Don't touch it for 4 minutes. Adjust it early and you'll make a mess.
At 4 minutes, rotate it 180 degrees. Nothing stuck.
Another 4 to 5 minutes. When the cheese starts getting brown spots, it's overcooked in my book. I went 8½ minutes total, an extra 30 seconds for a crunchier bottom.
Rest It on a Rack
Pull it onto a wire rack, not a flat surface, so steam doesn't build up and soften the crust. Let it cool about 5 minutes. It was the longest five minutes ever, but it really does improve the pie.
Pro tip: get a rocker-style pizza slicer. A wheel drags your toppings around, and when my wife and I split a pizza, I don't want my meat and onions pushed onto her vegetables.
Taste Test
Freaking delicious. Tons of pepperoni, an airy crust, and a crispy bottom. The pepperoni spread apart a bit, and I got ripped off right at the edge, but overall it was on point.
Final Thoughts
If you haven't made pizza on a kamado yet, it's your turn. Heat-soak the stone, check it with an IR gun, buy your dough from a local pizza shop, and don't touch it for the first 4 minutes. Once you start making pizza like this at home, you won't order out anymore.
Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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