Ooni Pizza Oven Cast Iron Skillet
Exterior pizza ovens are ending up being quite popular and it’s not difficult to see why! They provide a simple as well as quick means to obtain that wood-fired pizza taste right in your very own backyard. They’re as practical as a timeless grill however incredibly flexible because they can get to such a heat and cook all sort of foods.
We ‘d been desiring an Ooni pizza oven permanently as well as lastly obtained ours simply a couple of months back. I know you’ve wondered regarding whether I assume it’s worth the hype or not so I’m right here to share my suggestions, thoughts, and also methods – AND whether I think the Ooni deserves the financial investment!
Ooni pizza oven on a steel table outside on a deck
Full disclosure – Ooni gifted me this pizza oven. As always, all thoughts and also point of views are my own.
THE OONI PIZZA OVEN
The Ooni is a portable, exterior pizza oven. It warms up to about 950 degrees in 20 mins and also can prepare your pizza in 60 secs. It has a pizza stone inside that gives you that scrumptious, crispy crust of a typical wood-fired pizza oven.
DIFFERENT MODELS
Ooni has several models to select from, which suggests there’s most likely one that will fit your demands as well as budget plan. They provide 12″ or 16″ ovens that are either timber pellet or gas-powered or make use of both wood as well as gas. They vary in rate from $299-$ 799 depending on the size and also specifications you select.
We opted for the 16″ Koda due to the fact that we suched as the convenience of being able to utilize gas as well as also desired a larger size to ensure that we had the choice to prepare bigger pizzas or other points like fish, steak, etc.
AN INVESTMENT
At $299 for their base model, the Ooni pizza oven is certainly an investment. Adding a pizza oven to your outside location might truly stimulate some delight for you and also make pizza evening a lot more exciting!
Additionally, this is a durable, quality food preparation appliance that is mosting likely to last for several years as long as you take care of it. So while it is a little bit spendy, in my opinion – if you’re going to use it at the very least a couple times a month or more – it’s totally worth it!
Expenses shot of a pepperoni jalapeno pizza on a wood pizza peel
ASSEMBLY
The Ooni comes almost entirely put together out of the box. All you need to do is unfold the legs and placed the pizza rock in it!
You will require to acquire a 1 pound or a 20 pound propane container if you’re getting a gas-powered Ooni. Locating that propane storage tank and also having it filled up might have been the hardest part of the whole setting up for us! I’m not exactly sure why, however here on the West coast, we had a hell of a time discovering a gas container, and afterwards when we located one we had to discover a area to get it filled up. Thankfully, our local equipment shop had one left, as well as the gas station down the street can fill them so we didn’t have to take a trip much, but I called a TON of locations prior to I can even find one.
HOW TO USE THE OONI
Using the Ooni pizza oven is less complicated than you may assume! It was most definitely easier than I anticipated it to be. Once you connect the propane storage tank, you simply turn it up to high as well as allow it warm up for 20 minutes. Reduced the heat, toss your pizza in, and let it cook for a couple mins. My partner as well as I were both pleasantly stunned at how easy the Ooni is to use and also how enjoyable it is to watch the pizza cook!
The good part is that the oven only has flames on the back as well as left side, so the front right side is the great area which provides you a lot more control over just how the pizza is cooking. The 16″ Koda gives you a lot of space to relocate the pizza around and likewise a good distance between the pizza and also the flame itself in case it begins to prepare as well promptly.
COOKING TIME
Ooni’s specialty is that it can cook a pizza in 60 secs – which it completely can. Nonetheless, for beginner pizza cooks like ourselves, we discovered a couple YouTube video clips that claimed turning the warm to low and also cooking it awhile longer at a lower temperature may be simpler. With that said stated, our favored food preparation method is to:
- Warm the oven on high for regarding 15-20 minutes.
- Decrease the warm to reduced and add a pizza to the oven.
- Prepare the pizza, turning it every 20-30 secs or so for about 2-3 minutes depending on the dimension of the pie and the amount of garnishes
Goat cheese as well as tomato pizza entering into an Ooni pizza oven
THE LEARNING CURVE
I will certainly claim I was a little bit worried concerning the learning curve of cooking with the Ooni. I assumed it was going to be a little complicated to get the heat just right as well as maintain it relocating. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly amazed to find that after simply a couple pizzas you actually begin to get the hang of it!
Honestly, we kept our Ooni in the box for a couple of weeks because I simply wasn’t fairly prepared to tackle what I thought was going to be a hard cooking procedure. Utilizing the pizza oven is incredibly simple and I wish we would have opened our Ooni the day we got it!
FOOD PREPARATION TIPS
- Gently powder the job surface area where you’re making the pizza. And also lightly flour the pizza peel. This will make it much easier to move the pizza to the pizza peel and transfer it to right into the oven. I’ve heard semolina flour works best, however we make use of all-purpose without any problems.
- You’ll have to set up the pizza, after that move it to the pizza peel, as well as after that run it off the peel and also right into the oven. The smaller sized your pizza, the less complicated it is to do. The larger the pizza, the a lot more most likely it is you’re going to finish up with a mangled mess.
- The trick to getting that signature pizza crust is touching the dough as little as feasible. I actually lucked out due to the fact that my partner utilized to make pizzas for a living so he’s essentially a specialist. This will offer you that trademark wood fired pizza oven structure you’re looking for.
- Don’t include a lot of toppings to your pizza. One more way to ensure that your pizza chefs through, is to top it really minimally. I would certainly suggest including fifty percent of what you ‘d generally include in a pizza you’re mosting likely to cook in a regular oven. Like I discussed, the transfer of the pizza is a little difficult, as well as the even more toppings you have, the harder it is. Maintain it top and also basic gently. This is not the time to make your signature added extra cheese pizza!
- Do not get distracted. When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you desire your complete attention on that particular pizza. With the inside of the oven reaching temperatures over 900 levels, it’s essential to keep a close eye on the pie because it can go from perfectly done, to perfectly burned immediately.
Click here to check out the Ooni Pizza Oven
FLAVOR
I will certainly admit, I was hopeful but skeptical that the flavor would certainly be close to that of a wood-fired pizza oven. And holy cow – I was blown away!
The flavor is virtually the same to wood-fired pizza even though it just uses gas. You obtain those completely charred littles around, the crust is tender on the inside and incredibly crisp on the outside, and the cheese obtains ooey-gooey melty in simply minutes.
I could attempt to remain to explain exactly how delicious the pizza is, yet let me just say, you will certainly be surprised at the distinction between the pizza you may in your Ooni and the pizza you make in your oven. They just do not compare.
WHICH DOUGH TO USE
Truthfully, we utilize dough from the supermarket 9 times out of 10. They have a actually scrumptious dough that’s cost-effective as well as 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 like the 16″ pizza peel! The lengthy handle makes it very easy to place the pizza right into the oven.
- Pizza Turning Wheel – We have actually not acquired the transforming peel yet however I ‘d highly advise the pizza transforming wheel to aid you turn the pizza while it’s in the oven. We presently simply use the pizza peel to do it but it’s a little bit much more troublesome.
- Big Modular Table – The big modular table is something I went and also back forth regarding. I had not been sure if we should buy it or just search for another thing comparable online. Allow me save you some time as well as energy. There is nothing available that approaches this table for less costly. It’s the outright best dimension, includes a rack, hanging dowels as well as it’s on the wheels so you can quickly relocate to and fro. It also has brakes. For $250 you are truly getting your money’s well worth. It was also rather easy to create – or a minimum of I really did not hear my partner vow way too much while he was putting it together as well as I believe it was done in less than an hr, despite having a 5 years of age ” assisting” him.
- Wooden Pizza Peels – We obtained these charming little pizza peels off. Mainly just for convenience of having something to make the pizza on and then something to cut the pizza on after it’s baked. They’re incredibly cute and also pretty economical.
- Infrared Thermometer – We have actually not yet obtained an infrared thermometer however I’ve listened to that it’s incredibly helpful in understanding if the pizza oven has stood up to temp and also is ready to prepare!
>> Click here to take a look at the Ooni Pizza Oven <<
WHERE TO BUY AN OONI
You can discover the Ooni pizza ovens on their website, Amazon, or Williams-Sonoma. The rates are quite comparable, yet in some cases they have sales, so inspect around to see where you can get the most effective offer.
CLEANSING
One point that truly attracted me about the Ooni was that you don’t need to clean it! The temperature inside the oven obtains so hot that there’s truly no requirement to disinfect or disinfect the within of it. Certainly, you’ll need to wipe down the outside every now and then as dirt decides on it, however aside from that no cleaning is required!
STORAGE
The Ooni Koda 16″ is 25 x 25 x 20 inches. If you do not have any type of protected area to store it though, Ooni does make a weatherproof cover.
A tiny pizza cooking inside an Ooni pizza oven exterior
GOOD FOR WEEKNIGHT USE
It might appear like a great deal of job to obtain the Ooni all established up just to make two pizzas (which is what we usually do as a family of 3) yet I guarantee you, it’s actually not. You just attach the gas as well as allow it warm while you make the pizzas.
IT IS WORTH THE HYPE?
The Ooni is worth the cost for the experience that it supplies. I do say experience due to the fact that I assume that cooking as well as making food really can be an experience.
My general ideas on that Ooni are that I was expecting whatever to be a great deal even more work. In general, I am definitely elated to locate that the Ooni is in fact a actually easy, straightforward, exterior pizza oven experience. Prepping, warming the oven, as well as cooking the pizzas is rather very easy.
It’s likewise extremely light-weight and portable so I can entirely see us taking this outdoor camping with us when the wildfires aren’t raging!
IS THE OONI RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you like pizza, have a small exterior room, a little storage space to keep it completely dry, as well as appreciate having a beverage outside while you prepare dinner, after that of course – the Ooni is for you!
If you’re ready to check out the Ooni pizza oven and also choose which one is right for you – CLICK HERE!
It has a pizza stone inside that offers you that tasty, crispy crust of a traditional wood-fired pizza oven.
When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you desire your full interest on that pizza. If I’m in the state of mind for homemade though, we either use my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Wooden Pizza Peels – We got these cute little pizza peels. Mainly simply for simplicity of having something to make the pizza on and also then something to slice the pizza on after it’s baked.