The stainless Akorn kamado pizza ring turns a Char-Griller Akorn 22 into a real pizza oven: it sits between the grill body and the dome lid and creates a front opening, so you slide pizzas in and out without ever lifting the lid — keeping 600°F+ dome heat exactly where you need it. If you own an Akorn and want blistered, wood-fired-style crust in your backyard, the Akorn Kamado Pizza Ring in stainless steel is the single most useful add-on you can bolt onto that grill.

What is the Akorn kamado pizza ring?

A pizza ring is a stainless steel insert sized for the full-size Char-Griller Akorn 22 kamado. The ring drops into the grill body, the dome lid rests on top of it, and the slot in the front becomes an oven mouth — just like the opening on a brick pizza oven. You launch and retrieve pizzas on a peel through that slot while the lid stays closed and the heat stays trapped.

Stainless steel is the right material for the job. It shrugs off rain and humidity without rusting, tolerates repeated 600–700°F heat cycles without warping or flaking coatings, and wipes clean with nothing more than soapy water. There's no paint or seasoning to burn off at pizza temperatures.

Why cook pizza on a kamado instead of in your kitchen oven?

Your kitchen oven tops out around 500–550°F, and every time you open the door it dumps heat. A kamado running on lump charcoal cruises well past 600°F, and the ceramic-style dome radiates heat down onto the top of the pie while the stone crisps the bottom — the same two-sided attack you get from a wood-fired oven. The result:

How do you set up the pizza ring on an Akorn 22?

  1. Fill the firebox with lump charcoal. Lump burns hotter and cleaner than briquettes — it's the right fuel for pizza night.
  2. Light it and open both vents wide. Pizza is a wide-open-throttle cook; you want maximum airflow.
  3. Set the ring in place and rest the dome lid on top of it.
  4. Place your pizza stone on the cooking grate and let it preheat for 20–30 minutes. A stone that isn't fully heat-soaked is the #1 cause of soggy-bottom pies.
  5. Check the stone surface with an infrared thermometer. You're chasing stone temp, not dome temp (more on that below).
  6. Launch the pizza off a peel dusted with semolina or flour, straight through the ring opening.
  7. Rotate a quarter turn every 20–30 seconds with the peel or tongs — the back of the oven runs hottest, and the slot makes rotating easy without lifting the lid.
  8. Pull the pie at 2–4 minutes, when the crust is blistered and the cheese is bubbling.

What temperature is best for kamado pizza?

Measure the stone surface, not the dome thermometer — the dome always reads hotter than the deck. Targets by style:

If the bottom burns before the top browns, your stone is hotter than your dome — pull a few coals or shorten the preheat. If the top chars while the bottom stays pale, the stone needs more time to catch up. Balance the two and every pie after that is easy.

Five tips for crisp, blistered crust (not burnt)

For a deeper dive into kamado pizza science and dough technique, the free resources at AmazingRibs.com are well worth a read.

What else can you cook through the ring opening?

Any cook where quick access beats lifting the dome: calzones and flatbreads, cast-iron seared steaks, blistered shishito peppers, wings you want to flip every few minutes, or a tray of vegetables. Think of the slot as a pass-through window — you tend the food without bleeding off your heat.

Pizza night vs. low-and-slow on the same Akorn

Pizza is a manual, vents-wide-open cook — fan-driven temperature controllers are built for the low-and-slow range, not 650°F searing heat, so leave the controller in the drawer on pizza night. Where automation earns its keep is the other end of the dial: holding 225°F for an overnight brisket on that same Akorn without 3 a.m. vent checks. That's exactly what the TempMaster Pro from BBQube does — set the target, walk away, and let the fan do the babysitting.

How do you clean and store a stainless pizza ring?

Let the ring cool completely before handling. Brush off ash and baked-on bits, then wash with warm soapy water or a stainless cleaner and dry it before storage. Never quench hot steel — or a hot pizza stone — with water; thermal shock can crack a stone in half. Stored dry, stainless will outlast the grill around it.

FAQ

Does the pizza ring fit the Char-Griller Akorn Jr.?

No — this ring is sized specifically for the full-size Char-Griller Akorn 22 kamado. The Akorn Jr. has a smaller body diameter, so it's not the intended fit.

Do I need a pizza stone with the ring?

Yes. The ring creates the oven mouth and holds the lid; you still bake on a pizza stone (or baking steel) sitting on your cooking grate. Choose a stone sized to fit your Akorn's grate with a little airflow room around the edges.

What temperature do you cook pizza on an Akorn kamado?

Target a stone surface temperature of 550–650°F for most round pizzas — measured with an infrared thermometer, not the dome gauge. At that range, pies finish in 2–4 minutes with a crisp, blistered crust.

How long does the Akorn take to preheat for pizza?

Plan on 20–30 minutes after the lump charcoal is fully lit. The grill will hit temperature faster than the stone — wait until the stone surface itself reads at your target before launching the first pie.

Can you use a temperature controller for pizza?

It's not the right tool here. Automatic controllers like the BBQube TempMaster Pro are designed to hold low-and-slow temperatures (225–275°F) for hours. Pizza runs wide open at 600°F+, which you manage manually with the Akorn's vents.