Pizza oven conversion apparatus for kettle barbecue

A conversion apparatus for converting a barbecue into a pizza cooking oven, wherein the barbecue includes a bottom bowl for a heat source and a removable cover for covering the bottom bowl to create a cooking chamber above the heat source, and wherein the bottom bowl has a top rim having a top rim configuration, the conversion apparatus comprising:

• a bent wire door frame defining an opening through which a pizza or other food item is inserted, a portion of the bent wire door frame forming side posts,
• vertical side panels pivotally attached to the side posts of the door frame, wherein the side panels are adjustable to different pivot positions on the side posts of the bent wire door frame,
• the side panels having a top edge, a bottom edge, a front edge and a rear edge opposite the front edge, wherein, when the side panels are extended rearward of the door frame, the bottom edges of the side panels provide a support base for supporting the conversion apparatus at the top rim of the bottom bowl of the barbecue and the top edges of the side panels provide a top support rim for supporting the cover of the barbecue in an elevated position above the bottom bowl of the barbecue, and wherein the elevated cover of the barbecue creates an expanded cooking chamber above the heat source of the barbecue, and further wherein the door frame to which the side panels are attached provides access to the expanded cooking chamber, and
• a support member attached to the inside wall of each of the side panels', the support members having a bend that allows the support members to flex when the vertical side panels pivot on the side posts of the bent wire door frame, the support members being configured to support a cooking plate when the conversion apparatus is supported in an operative position on the bottom bowl of the barbecue.

A conversion apparatus for converting a barbecue into a pizza cooking oven, wherein the barbecue includes a bottom bowl far a heat source and a removable cover for covering the bottom bowl to create a cooking chamber above the heat source, and wherein the bottom bowl has a top rim having a top rim configuration, the conversion apparatus comprising:

• a door frame formed by vertical side posts, a horizontally extending top frame element, and a horizontally extending bottom frame element, the side posts and horizontally extending frame elements of the door frame defining an opening through which a pizza or other food item is inserted,
• vertical side panels having a top edge, a bottom edge, a front edge and a rear edge opposite the front edge, the vertical side panels being pivotally attached at their front edges to the vertical side posts of the door frame, wherein the side panels are adjustable to different pivot positions on the vertical side posts of the door frame, wherein, when the side panels are pivotally adjusted to extend rearwardly of the door frame to a position in correspondence with the top rim configuration of the bottom bowl of the barbecue, the bottom edges of the side panels provide a support base for supporting the conversion apparatus at the top rim of the bottom bowl of a barbecue and the top edges of the side panels provide a top support rim for supporting a cover of a barbecue in an elevated position above the bottom bowl of the barbecue, and wherein the elevated cover of the barbecue creates an expanded cooking chamber above the heat source of the barbecue, and further wherein the door frame to which the side panels are attached provides access to the expanded cooking chamber,
• a rear insert panel,
• one or more downward pointing retainer clips detachably securable to the side panels for securing the conversion apparatus to the bottom bowl of the barbeque,
• one or more upwardly pointing retainer clips detachably securable to the side panels for securing the conversion apparatus to the cover of the barbeque,
• wherein the side panels can be pivoted between a first position where the, rear edges of the panels engage to form a ring enclosure of a first size and a second position where the rear edges of the panels are separated by a gap, and wherein the rear insert panel is attachable to the rear edges of the side panels to form an extended ring enclosure of a second size when the side panels are pivoted to their second position,
• wherein the bottom edges of the side panels lay in a horizontal plane and the top edges of the side panels each taper from a maximum height at their front edge to a minimum height at their rear edge, wherein the top edges of the side panels provide a top support rim for supporting the cover of the barbecue at an inclined angle above the grill of the barbecue, and
• wherein the rear insert panel has a top and bottom edge defining the height of the rear insert panel, the bottom edge laying in a horizontal plane and the top edge being curved so as to continue the taper of the top edges of the side panels.