Convince me I need a Pizza Oven! ;)

[jfmorris]

Ok, after last night's pizza experiment, shown over in "Show us what you're BAKING", Yvonne gave me a solid endorsement for considering the future purchase of an outdoor pizza oven. Especially when I told her I could crank those pizzas out in 90 seconds or so in such an oven.

I spent the better part of an hour preheating the oven to 550F along with preheating my Lodge CI pan. I could have probably spent the same hour getting the SNS Kamado up to 600-700 degrees. And I may have had better results with the kamado, without resorting to tricks like I had to with the electric oven, such as switching the broiler element on for the last 3 minutes of a 6 minute bake. But, lets face it. The fact is that it takes an hour to get the kamado to those temperatures, and if I wanted to invite my pastor over to enjoy some Neapolitan style Margherita pizza - his absolute favorite pizza as evidenced by me trying to keep up with him while eating pizza in Italy - I need a way to stage and crank out 6+ pizzas in rapid order.

So, I am thinking I would be best served by a propane powered pizza oven. The question is what options out there will not bust a limited budget, and will work in my outdoor space. I am thinking this will also drive me to add improved LED spot/flood lights to my outdoor cooking area by the pavilion next to the swimming pool. Something that has kept me from cooking much in this "dark season" that is upon me with the time change (sunset is now before 5pm!!!!!). So the lighting may also influence me to cook more on the kamado and Camp Chef flat top this Fall/Winter as well. Last year I pretty much shut down on weeknight cooks other than on the Genesis, due to the cold and dark.

Any advice is appreciated. I kinda would prefer something that could be on its own cart, with a cover, since it will be outdoors. I can roll it up under the pavilion roof if I need to use it on a rainy day. Table top is an option, but the only tables I have out there are old wrought iron style tables with an expanded metal style top. Or the stainless flat cover that is on top of the Camp Chef FTG900 griddle. It doubles as a table if I pull the cover off the grill.

I am convinced propane is my friend here. Cooking a pizza fast at 900 degrees means not much time for smoke to add flavor. And while I've done some nice 600-700+ pizzas on the kamado, I feel I almost burned the gaskets off my kamado with the flames that were shooting up the sides too, when doing so...

Guide me in MCS! I imagine anything I do will be my "Christmas" gift from Yvonne.... If I do anything at all beyond window shop that is. Right now our Christmas gift to each other is supposed to be a $5500 per person trip to Israel in March, to check off another item on her bucket list.

[barelfly]

So which one did you order this morning to open on Christmas Day

my buddy in the Tampa area bought an outdoor pizza oven prior to last year’s hurricanes, he never got it set up and doesn’t plan to now that all that went on. Instead he got an Ooni Koda 2 Max Gas. He has really enjoyed it as well. He used to own a pizza restaurant back in the day before I knew him and he said this thing can put out some great ‘za! He’s got his dough recipe just about dialed in for the temps he uses on this Ooni.

either way, enjoy the window shopping and can’t wait to see what you might end up with and the pizzas you are cranking out!

[captainlee]

I'm doing pizza tonight in the Yoder insert, I'll post if it works out. Definitely fun and it does a great job on pizza. Also there are lots of other meals to cook on it too. We've done chicken dishes and even lasagna. You will definitely enjoy it.

[Panhead John]

Jim, I ain’t much of a pizza expert but this one should work well for your needs….

https://www.acitydiscount.com/Bakers-Pride-Pizza-Oven-Il-Forno-Classico-Gas-Oven-66inW-x-44inD-FC-816.0.27333.1.1.htm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=cse_goo&ppcid=22&link=27333&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=221975648&gbraid=0AAAAAD_hALwegDhDhD1hYcSlHYmjtKjDk

[RonB]

Hey Jim - if you are lucky, John will be your Secret Santa, and he can buy it for you.

[Hulagn1971]

jfmorris c'mon man, payments are only a low, low, low $6322 per month!

[Alan Brice]

Shop now before the price increase on Jan 01, 2026. Owwwie Scamooowwie!

[CaptainMike]

I have done the pizza-making journey from oven to WSCG and finally to the Gozney Roccbox. I really like the results from that little cooker.

There is a not-too-steep leaning curve with it, but I know you'd have no trouble with that. It still takes 45 minutes or so to get to temp, but that is unavoidable with any apparatus and you want that floor to get and stay hot.

There are other brands and configurations out there, and I'm sure they work equally as well, but the Roccbox is the one I chose. It's limited to a 12" pie, but it's so fast that a good assembly line can crank out a lot of pizzas in a very short amount of time. It is very portable and I've done quite a few pizza parties while camping with friends. That is a huge hit!

Tooling up is pretty straight forward: oven, peel, and turner. I do like their peel, but I adapted a long grill spatula that works great for a turner. Gozney does periodic sales events, and Black Friday is coming up.

I'm looking forward to your choice and experience.

[CaptainMike]

...I can host a pizza party anywhere I can drive, and I have. Bottom line for me is the Roccbox conveniently and consistently turns out a better pizza. Again, there is a learning curve, but it's not a difficult one, and there are tons of resources to help us learn. I believe one of the common traits we all have here is the satisfaction of pleasing our dinner guests, and we all enjoy the kudos and WOWs of our friend's pleasures. A bitchin' little pizza oven tends to wow folks, and that's cool.

[jfmorris]

Ok - just saw that this is made by Gozney, just like the one Richard uses. Also appears the Roccbox is dual fuel, with a 12" pizza capacity. It is certainly one I will consider.

[Mosca]

Thanks!

[Skip]

No question that you'd use one a lot. I usually only make one pizza at a time so my BGE works ok for me but you have Family close by. Hopefully you get some ideas on which one to get in the next couple days from some Pit Pizza Experts. Order now and use it right away so by Christmas you are comfortable with it. Wrap the box with an inexpensive pizza accessory and all is good. Some of your Family Christmas Celebration will enjoy "Jim's Pizza Extravaganza" . Besides, the first thing you wrote was that Yvonne said to go for it!

[ecowper]

we have a Blackstone Pizza Oven that we bought about 10 years ago, still going strong. There's a newer version of it out that gets pretty good reviews. We find that traditional pizza takes about 3 minutes to cook. Prep 3-4 pizzas, pre-heat the oven, and everyone is eating in less than 15 minutes :-)

[jfmorris]

I like the fact they make that as a standalone cooker that presumably has a cover available. The rotating pizza stone means no need to use a peel to turn the pizza either. Definitely one I will be looking at!

[OC Sandy]

I've only used my Camp Chef pizza oven on my two burner camp stove. Works well and it's fun to play with. That said, I have zero experience with all of the other options out there so I'm no help there. What I do want to mention, though, is that only certain types of pizzas can successfully be cooked at the 900F degrees you mentioned. The dough has to have just the right moisture content, and it has to be fairly thin. Also toppings have to be very minimal. Many people use a standard pizza dough and load it up with toppings then slide it into their TOO HOT pizza oven only to find that by the time the toppings have heated/cooked the crust is overdone and dry. Not a pleasant pizza. So, while it's fun and not overly difficult to use an outdoor pizza oven, there is a mild learning curve.

[jfmorris]

This is a good point, and in fact, I found that one of my crust recipes does great in the 500-600 range but burns before the toppings are done at 700+. I will definitely want an oven that can dial down to temps around 550-600 for recipes that need it.

[Richard Chrz]

I love my Gozney, if I can answer any questions, let me know,

[Richard Chrz]

So, regarding free standing etc, or cart…

One thing I did not think about was wind, and wind can definitely blow out a fire inside one of these, so, being able to move or turn it directionally for straight on winds etc is a pretty nice on the days you want to, I put mine on a stainless cart and just wheel it out when using, keep it covered when not.

[jfmorris]

Richard, what is the temp range you've used on the Gozney? Does it dial down pretty accurately, if I had a pizza dough I felt needed 600 versus 900, for example?

[Richard Chrz]

jfmorris I generally bake in the 650 - 750 range, thin crusts though, those get baked in the 550 range. You will also learn some of this with what cheese you have, and how does it melt, at various temps,m etc all fun things to learn though. You really will enjoy it, getting your dough right, and a bit of practice, you will never go back to pizza baked other ways, I’m not ripping on a house oven pizza, they are really good. But they are better in a higher temp oven, I think a flame matters too.

[yakima]

I have an Ooni Koda 16, with a cover that keeps out occasional blowing snow and leaves, and critters.
Yes re propane as sole fuel source.
Re your metal table. Home Depot has 24 inch by 24 inch tiles which I use to surface a couple of wooden tables on my covered deck. Just lay them down, no grout or adhesive. Absent a tornado or hurricane they aren't going anywhere.
Given the speed of a cook, the 16 is plenty big enough. More important to have prep space than a bigger oven.
The boys at my favorite Ace Hardware think Gozney is better quality than Ooni. They carry both.
I am happy with my Ooni; would buy it again.

[RonB]

If you think a tabletop oven would work better, all you need is a thin piece of sheet metal to place on one of your tables that has an expanded metal top.

[jfmorris]

I prefer a free standing one to a table top pizza oven, unless I were to go electric, meaning something that could be used inside or out.

[jlazar]

I have researched a lot but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Currently using a Baking Steel Original in the oven. Problem - my oven doesnt quickly transition from high heat bake to broiler. Using a torch to finish burns too quickly.






I would probably be looking at the Gozney Arc XL or the Ooni Koda 16. Would probably go with a 3rd party cart to hold it and the utensils.

[Richard Chrz]

I have the Arc XL, the flame on the side is really a positive feature,

[jlazar]

The reason I would look at the Arc XL and Koda 16 is that same logic as when buying a smoker. I don't know anyone who has one who wishes they had bought smaller.

[dpearce]

ok, you NEED A PIZZA OVEN! Does that help? Honestly, I'm no help. I have no pizza oven for outdoors. The best I have is a pizza stone for indoors...

[jfmorris]

Richard Chrz do you have the Arc XL on one of their tables, or something else? They seem kinda proud of their tables AND covers, but getting those plus the matching cover would be a nice outdoor solution with a raincoat to protect it in inclement weather...

[Richard Chrz]

Jim, I keep mine in a stainless steel cart. The cover that covers just the pizza oven itself, is a really well made cover, very durable.

[jfmorris]

Thanks for all the fuel for the MCS fire! When SWMBO asks what I am so intently looking at tonight on my iPad before bed, you all know what it will be. I'll be curating a set of bookmarked tabs to each of the various pizza oven options, and making a pros/cons list, and comparing it to the indoor oven, the kamado, etc....

For the short term, Sunday night's pizza success, which will be reheated in a skillet and consumed with salad tonight, has inspired me to add more lighting outside and at the VERY least fire up the kamado more often for pizza. I have conduit with 14-2+GND wire in it, and a drain pipe I've put off burying since May, and a new breaker that is turned off still waiting on me to connect the pavilion end of the circuit to a new LED flood light shining down on the grills. I just gotta get off my butt and spend a couple of lunch hours with the shovel and mattock, making it a reality.

I will need the new lighting for any true outdoor pizza oven use. I'm not putting that around by the trashcans and existing flood lights, where the Genesis and Performer live...

[jfmorris]

Richard Chrz it just dawned on me too that a portable pizza oven like the Gozney ones could be used in my garage, with the main door open a foot or so, and side door for some cross ventilation, in mid-winter. That is where I brew beer as well. Pizza and beer night. Hmmm......

[Richard Chrz]

jfmorris I use mine in the winter all the time, I open the garage door, wheel the table to the opening and bake pizzas. I’ve thought about getting a lp gas detector, maybe I will this winter. Definitely not just a summer thing, or sunny day thing.

[CaptainMike]

jfmorris, When my house was framed in and weathertight I would use my Roccbox inside it. I just opened the windows enough for ventilation. I won't recommend it, but I could get away with using it in my house now. I have vaulted ceilings and excellent cross ventilation. But, the covered and wind-sheltered deck is fine, if not a bit safer.