Ooni Karu Wood & Charcoal Fired Portable Pizza Oven
Outdoor pizza ovens are ending up being fairly popular as well as it’s not tough to see why! They offer a very easy and fast means to obtain that wood-fired pizza flavor right in your very own yard. They’re as hassle-free as a traditional grill however incredibly flexible given that they can get to such a heat as well as prepare all kinds of foods.
We ‘d been wanting an Ooni pizza oven forever as well as lastly obtained ours just a few months earlier. I recognize you’ve wondered regarding whether I think it’s worth the hype or otherwise so I’m below to share my tricks, ideas, and also thoughts – AND whether I think the Ooni is worth the investment!
Ooni pizza oven on a steel table outside on a deck
Complete disclosure – Ooni gifted me this pizza oven. As always, all thoughts and also point of views are my very own.
THE OONI PIZZA OVEN
The Ooni is a portable, outside pizza oven. It warms up to regarding 950 degrees in 20 mins as well as can cook your pizza in 60 seconds. It has a pizza stone inside that offers you that delicious, crunchy crust of a conventional wood-fired pizza oven.
VARIOUS MODELS
Ooni has several designs to select from, which suggests there’s most likely one that will fit your needs as well as budget. They provide 12″ or 16″ ovens that are either wood pellet or gas-powered or use both wood and also gas. They range in cost from $299-$ 799 depending on the dimension as well as specifications you pick.
We chose the 16″ Koda since we suched as the simplicity of being able to make use of gas as well as also wanted a bigger dimension to ensure that we had the choice to prepare bigger pizzas or other points like fish, steak, and so on.
AN INVESTMENT
At $299 for their base version, the Ooni pizza oven is definitely an financial investment. Nonetheless, including a pizza oven to your outside area may really spark some delight for you as well as make pizza night extra interesting!
Additionally, this is a durable, high quality cooking device that is going to last for several years as long as you deal with it. While it is a little bit spendy, in my viewpoint – if you’re going to utilize it at the very least a couple times a month or even more – it’s entirely worth it!
Overhead shot of a pepperoni jalapeno pizza on a wooden pizza peel
SETTING UP
The Ooni comes almost totally assembled out of the box. All you have to do is unravel the legs as well as put the pizza rock in it!
If you’re obtaining a gas-powered Ooni, you will certainly need to purchase a 1 pound or a 20 extra pound propane storage tank. I’m not sure why, yet right here on the West shore, we had a hell of a time discovering a propane container, and also after that once we located one we had to discover a area to obtain it filled up.
HOW TO USE THE OONI
Using the Ooni pizza oven is much easier than you may assume! It was definitely less complicated than I anticipated it to be. You just transform it up to high and allow it heat up for 20 mins when you link the gas storage tank. Lower the warm, throw your pizza in, as well as allow it prepare for a pair minutes. My companion as well as I were both pleasantly stunned at exactly how very easy the Ooni is to make use of and also exactly how enjoyable it is to enjoy the pizza chef!
The wonderful part is that the oven just has flames on the back and left side, so the front right side is the great spot which gives you a lot more control over just how the pizza is food preparation. The 16″ Koda offers you a lot of area to move the pizza around as well as also a good distance between the pizza and also the fire itself in case it starts to prepare as well promptly.
FOOD PREPARATION TIME
Ooni’s specialty is that it can cook a pizza in 60 seconds – which it absolutely can. However, for amateur pizza chefs like ourselves, we located a couple YouTube videos that claimed turning the warm to cooking and reduced it awhile longer at a reduced temperature may be easier. With that said stated, our preferred cooking approach is to:
- Warmth the oven above for regarding 15-20 mins.
- Lower the warm to reduced as well as add a pizza to the oven.
- Prepare the pizza, turning it every 20-30 seconds approximately for regarding 2-3 mins depending upon the dimension of the pie as well as the quantity of toppings
Goat cheese and also tomato pizza going into an Ooni pizza oven
THE LEARNING CURVE
I will certainly claim I was a little bit worried about the knowing curve of food preparation with the Ooni. I assumed it was going to be a little tricky to obtain the warm ideal and also maintain it moving. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly amazed to discover that after just a pair pizzas you truly begin to get the hang of it!
Truthfully, we kept our Ooni in the box for a few weeks since I just wasn’t quite prepared to tackle what I believed was going to be a tough food preparation procedure. Making use of the pizza oven is incredibly simple and I desire we would have opened our Ooni the day we obtained it!
COOKING TIPS
- Gently flour the work surface where you’re making the pizza. As well as lightly flour the pizza peel. This will make it easier to move the pizza to the pizza peel and transfer it to into the oven. I’ve heard semolina flour works best, however we use all-purpose with no concerns.
- Don’t roll the crust out also huge unless you’re extremely comfortable with the process of relocate. You’ll have to construct the pizza, then move it to the pizza peel, and then run it off the peel as well as right into the oven. The smaller sized your pizza, the easier it is to do. The larger the pizza, the most likely it is you’re mosting likely to end up with a mangled mess. Although the 16″ Koda can handle a 16″ pie, we still maintain them around 10″ -12″. I commonly separate a one extra pound round of dough in 2, and after that turn out 2 pizzas from that.
- The key to getting that signature pizza crust is touching the dough as little as feasible. I truly lucked out since my partner made use of to make pizzas for a living so he’s basically a expert. This will certainly offer you that signature wood fired pizza oven texture you’re looking for.
- Do not add also many toppings to your pizza. An additional method to make certain that your pizza chefs through, is to cover it really minimally. I would certainly suggest adding half of what you ‘d normally include to a pizza you’re going to bake in a regular oven.
- Do not get distracted. You desire your full interest on that pizza when you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni. With the within the oven getting to temps over 900 levels, it’s vital to keep a close eye on the pie because it can go from completely done, to perfectly shed in a matter of seconds.
Visit this site to check out the Ooni Pizza Oven
TASTE
I will admit, I was enthusiastic however hesitant that the taste would certainly be close to that of a wood-fired pizza oven. And also divine cow – I was surprised!
The flavor is virtually the same to wood-fired pizza even though it just uses gas. You obtain those perfectly charred bits all over, the crust is tender on the within as well as super crisp outside, and celebrity obtains ooey-gooey melty in simply minutes.
I can attempt to remain to describe exactly how scrumptious the pizza is, but let me simply claim, you will be surprised at the difference in between the pizza you might in your Ooni as well as the pizza you make in your oven. They just do not contrast.
WHICH DOUGH TO USE
Honestly, we make use of dough from the grocery store 9 breaks of 10. They have a truly tasty dough that’s cost-effective and cooks truly well in the Ooni. We either utilize my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough if I’m in the state of mind for homemade however.
Overhead shot of a tomato as well as goat cheese pizza on a wood pizza peel
OONI ACCESSORIES
- 16″ Pizza Peel – We love the 16″ pizza peel! The lengthy handle makes it simple to put the pizza right into the oven.
- Pizza Turning Wheel – We have actually not purchased the transforming peel yet but I ‘d highly suggest the pizza transforming wheel to help you transform the pizza while it’s in the oven. We presently just make use of the pizza peel to do it but it’s a bit much more difficult.
- Big Modular Table – The large modular table is something I went as well as back forth regarding. If we should purchase it or just attempt to discover something else comparable online, I wasn’t certain. However let me save you a long time as well as energy. There is nothing around that approaches this table for cheaper. It’s the outright best dimension, features a shelf, hanging dowels and also it’s on the wheels so you can quickly relocate to and fro. It likewise has brakes. For $250 you are actually getting your money’s well worth. It was additionally rather easy to assemble – or a minimum of I really did not hear my companion vow too much while he was putting it with each other as well as I assume it was done in less than an hr, despite a 5 year old ” assisting” him.
- Wood Pizza Peels – We obtained these charming little pizza peels off as well. Primarily just for convenience of having something to make the pizza on and then something to slice the pizza on after it’s baked. They’re extremely charming as well as quite budget-friendly.
- Infrared Thermometer – We have actually not yet obtained an infrared thermometer but I’ve heard that it’s super useful in understanding if the pizza oven has stood up to temp and also is ready to cook!
>> Visit this site to take a look at the Ooni Pizza Oven <<
WHERE TO BUY AN OONI
You can locate the Ooni pizza ovens on their website, Amazon, or Williams-Sonoma. The prices are quite similar, but sometimes they have sales, so examine around to see where you can get the very best bargain.
CLEANSING
Something that truly tempted me concerning the Ooni was that you don’t have to clean it! The temperature inside the oven obtains so warm that there’s truly no requirement to sanitize the within or disinfect of it. Clearly, you’ll require to clean down the outside every now and then as dust settles on it, yet other than that no cleaning is needed!
STORAGE SPACE
The Ooni Koda 16″ is 25 x 25 x 20 inches. Then the modular table that we placed it on is 30 x 30 inches. We maintain it in the edge of our garage and it does not occupy excessive space. Keeping it out of the snow as well as rainfall will aid it last much longer. Ooni does make a weatherproof cover as well if you don’t have any type of covered room to keep it though.
A little pizza cooking inside an Ooni pizza oven exterior
GREAT FOR WEEKNIGHT USE
It could seem like a great deal of job to obtain the Ooni ready up simply to make 2 pizzas (which is what we usually do as a family of three) however I guarantee you, it’s truly not. The Ooni modular table we obtained makes it easy to wheel in and out of the garage. You just connect the gas and allow it warmth while you make the pizzas. It’s absolutely doable on a weeknight and we haven’t cooked a pizza in our oven considering that we got it!
IT IS WORTH THE HYPE?
The Ooni is worth the rate for the experience that it provides. I do state experience because I assume that making as well as cooking food actually can be an experience.
My overall thoughts on that Ooni are that I was anticipating whatever to be a lot more job. Overall, I am definitely elated to discover that the Ooni is actually a really straightforward, straightforward, outdoor pizza oven experience. Prepping, warming the oven, and also cooking the pizzas is rather simple.
When the wildfires aren’t raging, it’s likewise really lightweight and mobile so I can completely see us taking this outdoor camping with us!
IS THE OONI RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you like pizza, have a little exterior space, a little storage area to keep it completely dry, and enjoy having a beverage outside while you prepare supper, then yes – the Ooni is for you!
If you’re prepared to have a look at the Ooni pizza oven and also determine which one is right for you – CLICK HERE!
It has a pizza rock inside that provides you that tasty, crispy crust of a traditional wood-fired pizza oven.
When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you desire your complete interest on that pizza. If I’m in the mood for homemade however, we either utilize my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Wooden Pizza Peels – We obtained these charming little pizza peels. Mainly just for ease of having something to make the pizza on and then something to cut the pizza on after it’s baked.