Just ordered my Father's Day gift: Ooni Karu

[pknj]

I just had to post this to people who understand how excited I am for this. I have been making pretty good pizzas on my WSCG for a few years now, but it is such a waste of charcoal to get that beast up to temp for a pizza or three. Burns a LOT and needs a lot of refilling, so this is going to make Friday night pizza a lot easier. Can't wait to get her started, make some mistakes, and then get her dialed in!

[Andrrr]

Congrats! I love making pizzas on my WSCG too but more often than not I just use the oven. The time it takes to get to temp just feels prohibitive given that I'll only be cooking 2 pizzas for 15 minutes total. For that reason (and seeing so many others here playing with them) I've had my eye on a pizza oven too. Really I'm just debating between a 12" and 16" model.

[Panhead John]

hoovarmin Good call, except you left out he should also get the most expensive one made. That’s what a true Pit Member buddy would say…..🥸 And to really add to his MCS, let’s include a link to the one he should get. 😂

https://fornopiombo.com/products/palazzo?variant=40667782447298&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjw14uVBhBEEiwAaufYx9JlwZVDc7QQWhyJRIk-1zd3Dt4Zbr47Xgg52coGrje6drADX-UlCRoCVC8QAvD_BwE

[Andrrr]

Panhead John Perfect! I'll pick one up for you right away.

[Panhead John]

Andrrr What a pal, I’ve always really liked you! Thanks. Please ship to:
PANHEAD JOHN
69 Loser Lane
Houston, Tx.

[RonB]

Congrats. My wife asked me if I wanted one. I said yes, but that I'm not gonna get one, (subject to change ), because she doesn't like me cooking pizza anyway - not healthy...

[pknj]

I am actually giddy about this thing. When was the last time I was giddy about anything? Feel like a 6 year old again. Middle-aged me is going to live this summer, damn it!

[Panhead John]

I was a little giddy about gettin off parole….

[pknj]

Which time you got off parole? Or giddy each time?

[Panhead John]

I was giddy each time, but you know the old sayin…”There’s no gettin off parole like the first time!”…. [sounded good in my head anyway😂]

[rlozinak]

Congrats!

[bbqLuv]

Of course, you will post a picture of it after it arrives.
Pizza and PBR go well together.

[jfmorris]

I can see getting one of these one day down the road. I get great success on my SNS Kamado, but you are right that you burn a lot of charcoal, and wait quite a while, getting that cooker to 700 degrees or so, only to cook pizza for 10-15 minutes total. A propane or wood pellet fired dedicated pizza oven would do it much more quickly and efficiently.

That said, I need to start making pizza more than 5-6 times a year to justify getting a dedicated pizza cooker I imagine.

[pknj]

We have started doing pizza every Friday night - kids love it, it goes with beer, easy clean up for me, and it goes with beer! But I spend more on lump then I do beer these days.

[pknj]

So, first cook on Father's Day and it went better than expected. Knowing how important quickness and turning are I think saved me, so thanks for others posting their earlier attempts. . Probably a 7/10 or so, but that is better than I was expecting for my first go.

I am impressed with this little thing - heats up fast, easy to keep at temp, but you do have to kept it fed to stay at max temp after a few pies. I used lump as my coal bed and a few little pieces of wood for the top flame right before (about a minute) before the pies went on. I will play with it a bit to get the timing right, as it seems the top cooked a little faster than the bottom, but no accidental calzones (although I need a smaller peel, as current one is too wide, so had to use a cutting board) or anything too burned.

Also has to let the oven cool overnight as three hours after the cook it was still too hot to put away, so seems well insulated. And uses a lot less fuel then my WSC!

[pknj]

I was really torn on the 16" - I don't have a spot to keep the oven out and I was worried about portability, so went small, but the upgrades on the 16" look awesome.

For propane, I have a nat gas line out to my gasser and they don't currently make a nat gas burner for the Ooni. Once they do, I think I might have to get one....

[Sid P]

Ooni sells a $49.99 natural gas upgrade kit for : https://ooni.com/products/ooni-natur...44ef5309&_ss=r

[pknj]

Thanks Sid, I will check it out!

[mrteddyprincess]

Sorry to revive this thread but I'm just now getting on board with the idea of a pizza oven. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a 12 inch Ooni Karu. Any final thoughts before I go for it?!?

[shify]

If it’s in the budget, I’d suggest going for the 16 inch. That is my only regret. I got the Koda as I was only interested in cooking with propane.

Other than that, I love it. Make sure you have at least two peels. The metal perforated peel is great but it’s hard to use for both launching and pulling after the first pie as it get a little warm which makes the dough more likely to stick. I don’t have a turning peel yet but really should as you have to turn it every ~20 seconds to avoid burning

[pknj]

I have been really enjoying mine. I only use wood or lump charcoal, but I can get a pizza done in 60 seconds consistently. Super easy to use, fun, and I only burned the crap out of myself once!

For size, the 16" is better, but it is a lot bigger and more expensive, so I couldn't justify it (or find a place). No regrets, though.

[mrteddyprincess]

Thanks for all your input! I think I've resolved to make multiple 12 inch pizzas rather than fewer 16 inch pizzas. The sticking point there is that the 16 in is twice as much money and there does not appear to be twice as much material in the bigger model...I appreciate all your input and look forward to posting pizza pics soon!