Emile Henry Flame Top 14.5" Ceramic Pizza Stone for Oven & Grill, Burgundy

Why it's worth it

Emile Henry's Flame Top handles direct fire on a gas, charcoal or wood grill up to 900°F, which no ordinary cordierite stone is rated for. The glazed top also cleans with soap and water, and you can cut pizza right on it.

This is the stone to buy if you cook outside. Most ceramic stones are oven-and-indirect-heat only. This one is rated for direct flame up to 900°F on gas, charcoal and natural wood grills, which turns a covered kettle grill into a passable pizza oven. It's also broiler-safe indoors, so you can blast the top of a pie while the bottom finishes.

The glaze changes the ownership experience more than you'd expect. Bare cordierite can't touch soap and stains permanently. This surface is dishwasher-safe on top, scratch-resistant enough to cut on, and doesn't hold onto grease or odors. Owners who've been through several stones tend to mention the cleaning as the thing that finally stuck.

From our review of 8 pizza stones and baking steels, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +This is the stone to buy if you cook outside
• +The glaze changes the ownership experience more than you'd expect
• +The micro-crazed glaze is Emile Henry's answer to the moisture problem — it's textured rather than glassy, so it still crisps a…
• +At 5.7 pounds with molded handles, it's the easiest surface here to move in and out of an oven

What to know

• –Grilling on it takes practice
• –Cleanup is easier than bare cordierite, not effortless
• –It's expensive for a ceramic stone, and if you never plan to grill on it, you're paying for a capability you won't use