Brooklyn Pizza Maker Nino Coniglio on Coal Oven Pizza at Lucky Charlie's

The Historic Coal Oven

• 🍕 Lucky Charlie's is the steward of the oldest coal oven in New York City, dating back to the 1890s.
• ⚠️ Operating this oven requires custom tools and a unique approach due to its intense heat and size.
• 🔑 The oven's thermal mass and distinct heat zones allow for precise control, moving pizzas from hotter to cooler areas to achieve desired crispiness and char.

Crafting the Dough

• ⏳ Dough for pizzas is prepared 72 hours in advance, utilizing both warm and cold fermentation for complex tasting notes.
• 🌀 An Empire spiral mixer is used to develop gluten without generating excess heat, which is detrimental to the dough.
• 💡 The dough is allowed to bench rest for 20 minutes after mixing to build strength before shaping.

Sicilian Culinary Roots

• 🍝 The menu features anali, a traditional Sicilian baked pasta made with small spaghetti-like shapes, pecorino, kachikavalo, eggplant, and peas.
• 🇮🇹 Another specialty is canalone, a handmade egg pasta resembling a "man of gut," prepared with fresh eggs and imported flour.
• 🍆 Eggplant is a prominent ingredient in Sicilian cuisine, often featured multiple times in dishes like lasagna.

The Art of Pizza Making

• 🎯 Nino Coniglio, a world champion pizza maker, emphasizes a hands-on approach, even pressing out the dough to minimize the crust.
• 🌟 The menu is intentionally limited to three pizzas: the classic, the red, and the white, designed to be cooked in the coal oven.
• 💥 Pizzas are cooked at varying temperatures within the oven, achieving a balance of crispiness, char, and a well-cooked bottom, avoiding the "soggy mess" of extremely high-temperature cooking.
• 💡 A unique method involves using panko breadcrumbs on a hot metal surface to keep the pizza crispy and absorb excess grease, a technique inspired by Maria Kono of Lucalli's.

Service and Philosophy

• ⏰ Service begins around 5:15 PM, with the team working to fulfill orders efficiently.
• 👨‍🍳 Coniglio maintains a close watch on every pizza, even checking the undercarriage of customer pies to ensure quality.
• ❤️ The restaurant's philosophy is encapsulated by "Bond viva futini. Eat, drink, and who gives a about anything?"