I’ve Been Using the Super-Popular Outdoor Pizza Oven That *Everyone* Got Last Summer — Here’s My Honest Review

This piece is a part of our Out of doors Pizza Celebration collection. Learn all the tales — together with a pattern report and loads of recipes — here.

I used to strive making pizza at house, however finally needed to put a cease to it. The pizza was by no means pretty much as good as I needed it to be. As a result of, nicely, my oven simply didn’t get sizzling sufficient (even with a baking stone). The crust was all the time flabby, the middle was constantly underdone — my goals of selfmade pizza had been dashed on the common. That’s, till I bought an Ooni.

Final summer time, it felt like everybody I knew was getting an Ooni. It wasn’t simply in my head, both: The corporate’s gross sales elevated by 150 percent and the ovens had been continuously promoting out. I might not get one. I even tried getting one off Fb Market, solely to be outbid. However this yr I assumed forward: I bought my Ooni within the very early spring, when making pizza outdoor was simply starting to really feel like a whisper of a chance.

Let me again up for a second. Ooni is the corporate behind the transportable, yard pizza ovens you’ve (in all probability) seen by now. They’ve been round since 2012 with a transportable pellet pizza oven and, since then, have come out with several different types of ovens. There are gas-powered Oonis (like this and this!), hardwood pellet-fueled Ooni ovens, and the multi-fuel Ooni ovens that will let you use wooden, charcoal, or fuel (like this and this!). All of them use actual, open flames to cook dinner your pizza, and are available in two completely different sizes (for 12- and 16-inch pizzas). And whereas loads of different outside pizza ovens do exist, Ooni has actually dominated the market due to their varied choices, aggressive value factors, and efficiency. And websites like America’s Test Kitchen, Wired, and Serious Eats have reviewed Ooni ovens extremely favorably.

So, I wanted to strive one for myself … lastly. I ended up going with the Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven, which, in line with the corporate, is their hottest mannequin. Right here’s my sincere evaluation.

The Ooni arrived practically completely assembled, which is extremely refreshing, contemplating I as soon as spent 5 hours placing collectively a grill. As soon as I added the oven’s stone baking board and linked it to my propane tank, it was able to go. Straightforward!

If you’ll be able to make the funding, I do recommend that you simply purchase a table particularly for the Ooni. It’s a security factor (an oven shouldn’t be positioned on, say, plastic), however having your Ooni perched on one thing increased up additionally means you don’t to crouch or bend down a lot so as to add, rotate, and retrieve pizza. Plus, the tables that Ooni sells have wheels, which makes your life a lot simpler if that you must roll the oven into and out of, say, a cupboard space or round a patio.

After I was able to get cooking, I turned on the fuel and the oven (there’s somewhat ignitor button). After about 20 minutes, I temped it with my infrared thermometer and noticed that it was hovering round 950°F — similar to Ooni mentioned it might (which is the temperature wanted to cook dinner a pizza in 60 seconds). I added my pizza and frolicked shut by, rotating it each 20 seconds or so.

The Ooni mannequin that I’ve options an L-shaped burner that’s situated on the again left of the oven, it’s the most well liked proper by the burner and has a number of warmth zones (with the best spot being within the higher proper nook — the farthest away from the warmth supply). Due to these warmth zones, it took some trial and error — and a few critically charred pizza crust — earlier than I felt like I had a greater grasp on utilizing the oven. However, by the third pizza I made, I used to be pulling out pro-level pies! Critically! I used to be making the very best pizza I’d ever cooked, with a wonderful, bubbly high and brown spots on the crust and the pizza’s underside. The important thing: Flip your pizza typically, because it sits in there, in order that it cooks evenly. (Be aware: This blog post from Ooni contains some Very Useful Pizza Pointers.)

The Ooni oven additionally has a super-wide opening, which makes it extremely straightforward to entry. It’s lots spacious and simply capable of match a pizza peel in when including, turning, and eradicating pizza. I do recommend shopping for one or two of their pizza peels: I used the bamboo one for including the pizza and the metal one for retrieving and rotating the pizza, as per this tip.

Sure! Sure, you’ll be able to. Ooni even sells cast iron cookware to make use of of their ovens and the ovens include a recipe guide that features a few non-pizza choices. I’ve bookmarked the roast pork chops and a fruit crumble, however I’m actually excited to strive some “wood-fired” greens in my Ooni (broccoli, beets, and cauliflower come to thoughts first).

You need to wait 1 1/2 hours earlier than touching, transferring, or making an attempt to wash the oven, in line with its instruction handbook. It’s extremely sizzling, in spite of everything! This oven brush (or the same one) is useful for dismissing extra flour post-cooking and scraping off any burnt-on, extra meals.

So far as storage goes, the oven’s legs fold, which makes it way more compact. And whereas the Ooni isn’t precisely delicate, it must be housed indoors for longer durations when not in use and through harsh climate situations (snow! Rain!). And, as with every grill, I’d advocate getting a cover to assist defend it. I actually wish to defend mine as a lot as doable. In any case, I waited nearly a yr for it.

Merely put: Should you make or wish to begin making pizza at house, sure. Having solely used the gas-powered possibility, that’s the one I’d recommend, as wooden needs to be chopped to suit contained in the gasoline chamber and charcoal could be messy and/or finicky. (After all, should you’re up for these challenges, go for a multi-fueled oven!) There’s additionally a version that uses wood pellets, which I’ve heard good issues about from fellow Kitchn editors.

The gas-powered Ooni oven that I examined is extremely straightforward to make use of and makes pro-level pies. Whereas it’s not cheap, it’s not less than half the worth of different choices on the market and a strong funding that you should use year-round or, on the very least, summer time after summer time.

Do you’ve gotten an Ooni? Tell us within the feedback!