Time to get serious about a new pizza oven

[Jeff Lebowski]

Anyone have an Ooni? I'd like a pizza oven and love the idea of a wood pellet oven since I already have pellets and looks like it can get over 800 degrees in 15 minutes. Seems like a pain to have to rotate the pizza on your own but I guess that's typical unless you spend more money.

https://ooni.com/collections/ovens/products/ooni-fyra

They seem pretty cool. I don’t think rotating would be that big of a deal.

[beefytee]

They seem pretty cool. I don’t think rotating would be that big of a deal.

Yeah. You probably don't need to flip it around more than once. Not that bad.

The toughest thing is getting it in there when it is still dough if you didn't use enough flower in the dough or didn't put enough cornmeal down to prevent it from sticking. The dough hardens up some by the time you rotate it.

[ERCougar]

I got an Ooni Fyra for Christmas and have now done 4 or 5 cooks on it. On the plus side, it's really portable, and you could take it camping or on a picnic really easily. The rolling fire inside is fun to watch and gives it a backyard wood fired feel. There's a bit of a learning curve to getting the pellets going and the hopper full but not too full too quickly, and I feel like I have that down. In cold wet temps last night, it took about 25 minutes to get to 900 degrees--that probably goes faster at lower elevation and higher temps. And the pizza is fantastic--if nothing else, the dough recipe they include is the best combo of ease and goodness that I've found.

On the other hand though--it has a hard time keeping temps up. As the pellet tray fills up with burned and partially burned pellets, it's hard to keep a good rolling flame going and the temp high. By the fifth pie last night, it was in the 600s. Still good enough for good pizza, but it's really a different cook then, with a different ideal dough (and at that point, I can do it in my indoor oven, so what's the point?). And the whole production can get pretty smoky.

So I took advantage of their return policy and turned it in. I think I may go for the koda or the roccbox. Wood-fired is fun and cool, but I think propane is just more practical.

Anyone else playing around with an outdoor oven?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Still loving my blackstone oven. Did five pizzas last night and they were all perfect.

[Northwestcoug]

I got an Ooni Fyra for Christmas and have now done 4 or 5 cooks on it. On the plus side, it's really portable, and you could take it camping or on a picnic really easily. The rolling fire inside is fun to watch and gives it a backyard wood fired feel. There's a bit of a learning curve to getting the pellets going and the hopper full but not too full too quickly, and I feel like I have that down. In cold wet temps last night, it took about 25 minutes to get to 900 degrees--that probably goes faster at lower elevation and higher temps. And the pizza is fantastic--if nothing else, the dough recipe they include is the best combo of ease and goodness that I've found.

On the other hand though--it has a hard time keeping temps up. As the pellet tray fills up with burned and partially burned pellets, it's hard to keep a good rolling flame going and the temp high. By the fifth pie last night, it was in the 600s. Still good enough for good pizza, but it's really a different cook then, with a different ideal dough (and at that point, I can do it in my indoor oven, so what's the point?). And the whole production can get pretty smoky.

So I took advantage of their return policy and turned it in. I think I may go for the koda or the roccbox. Wood-fired is fun and cool, but I think propane is just more practical.

Anyone else playing around with an outdoor oven?

I don't have the Ooni per se, but a very similar looking oven from a Traeger offshoot company. I've made decent pizzas twice, but I can't keep the temp above 700 and it drops quickly. Mrs. NWC got it as a father's day present, but she's seen the hassle it is trying to keep a stable temp. Maybe I can nudge her this year for a better one...

[Jeff Lebowski]

You guys need to monitor your local Craig's List for a Blackstone pizza oven. Still rocking fantastic pizzas with mine. Works beautifully.

[BigPiney]

local craig's list, lol

[Donuthole]

Did Blackstone ever publish why they discontinued production?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Did Blackstone ever publish why they discontinued production?

They said they were working on a new model. Then a year or so ago they started selling them again. Looked exactly like the one I have but the price went from $275 to $400+. Then recently they stopped selling them again. It is a grand mystery.

[MartyFunkhouser]

The wife has decided she wants to buy me a pizza oven for my birthday. I've been looking around at options. Not sure if anyone has experience with them other than the Dude's Blackstone pizza oven, which is not available. Looks like they do have some options now though.

I looked into the pellet or wood fire options and it just seems too complicated and I doubt that I would use it much. With the propane option, I think that I would use it pretty frequently to make pizzas for the kids. I'm also looking for something that is small and portable. It would need to be convenient to carry from the garage to either the porch or my balcony.

I've been looking around and I'm really thinking about this one
https://ooni.com/products/ooni-koda?...IaApHNEALw_wcB

I think with this one that I could do a pizza night letting everyone top their pizzas and cook them up pretty quickly.

There is this Blackstone one. Rotates, which might be a big benefit.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackston...sRedirect=true

This is the third one that I'm looking at.
https://solostove.com/en-us/p/pi-pri...urce=1&gclid=*

[Jeff Lebowski]

The wife has decided she wants to buy me a pizza oven for my birthday. I've been looking around at options. Not sure if anyone has experience with them other than the Dude's Blackstone pizza oven, which is not available. Looks like they do have some options now though.

I looked into the pellet or wood fire options and it just seems too complicated and I doubt that I would use it much. With the propane option, I think that I would use it pretty frequently to make pizzas for the kids. I'm also looking for something that is small and portable. It would need to be convenient to carry from the garage to either the porch or my balcony.

I've been looking around and I'm really thinking about this one
https://ooni.com/products/ooni-koda?...IaApHNEALw_wcB

I think with this one that I could do a pizza night letting everyone top their pizzas and cook them up pretty quickly.

There is this Blackstone one. Rotates, which might be a big benefit.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackston...sRedirect=true

This is the third one that I'm looking at.
https://solostove.com/en-us/p/pi-pri...urce=1&gclid=*

That Blackstone on you linked is a small, portable one. You don't want that.

They do make essentially the same one I have, but with a fresh design:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackston...3?athbdg=L1600

This is the same thing but with a nicer stand I guess. Doesn't seem worth the extra money.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackston...sRedirect=true

All of these have a rotating stone like mine does. A little bit of a learning curve on how to deftly slide the pizza on the stone, but you can easily master it.

I know quite a few people with the Ooni and they seem to like it. We love our Blackstone. I would be the same thing again with zero reservations. Heats up in 10-15 minutes. Even heat. Pizzas cook in 3 minutes.

If you get one, give me a call and I can give you a bunch of tips to get you started.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Here is the nicer one, still in the box for $600.

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/75858560

But honestly, I still don't get why it is more. The extra cover on the bottom?

[MartyFunkhouser]

That Blackstone on you linked is a small, portable one. You don't want that.

They do make essentially the same one I have, but with a fresh design:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackston...3?athbdg=L1600

This is the same thing but with a nicer stand I guess. Doesn't seem worth the extra money.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackston...sRedirect=true

All of these have a rotating stone like mine does. A little bit of a learning curve on how to deftly slide the pizza on the stone, but you can easily master it.

I know quite a few people with the Ooni and they seem to like it. We love our Blackstone. I would be the same thing again with zero reservations. Heats up in 10-15 minutes. Even heat. Pizzas cook in 3 minutes.

If you get one, give me a call and I can give you a bunch of tips to get you started.

Portable is a big deal right now for whatever that I'm buying. It will be kept in the garage and I will use it either on the porch (first floor) or the balcony (second floor) when I want to use it. I guess it is possible that I could keep something permanently on the porch, but I may have HOA issues with that. Maybe I will check on that.

I like the Blackstone one with a stand and probably would get it if my situation was different. I already have on my balcony a Blackstone griddle and a patio set. There isn't really a great place for something larger and I don't want to be hauling it up/down the stairs every time we want to use it.

I think the Ooni or the Solo is probably what I'd go with.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Portable is a big deal right now for whatever that I'm buying. It will be kept in the garage and I will use it either on the porch (first floor) or the balcony (second floor) when I want to use it. I guess it is possible that I could keep something permanently on the porch, but I may have HOA issues with that. Maybe I will check on that.

I like the Blackstone one with a stand and probably would get it if my situation was different. I already have on my balcony a Blackstone griddle and a patio set. There isn't really a great place for something larger and I don't want to be hauling it up/down the stairs every time we want to use it.

I think the Ooni or the Solo is probably what I'd go with.

Gotcha. That makes sense.

The Solo looks cool, but the stone and opening seem really small. The Ooni is a 12 inch and the Blackstone is 13 inch. I would go with the larger one if I were you. But honestly, both of these seem really small. You would only be able to do small, personal-size pizzas. Ours is about 16 inches (the opening) and we do 13 inch medium-size pizzas which is perfect for a home oven, IMO. You might want to pay a little more and get this one:

https://ooni.com/products/ooni-koda-...40170656432225

[MartyFunkhouser]

Gotcha. That makes sense.

The Solo looks cool, but the stone and opening seem really small. The Ooni is a 12 inch and the Blackstone is 13 inch. I would go with the larger one if I were you. But honestly, both of these seem really small. You would only be able to do small, personal-size pizzas. Ours is about 16 inches (the opening) and we do 13 inch medium-size pizzas which is perfect for a home oven, IMO. You might want to pay a little more and get this one:

https://ooni.com/products/ooni-koda-...40170656432225

The personal pizzas is kind of what I want to be able to do. I want to be able to do pizza nights where each kid gets their own pizza. However, I think maybe going larger is a good idea, because it would allow me the options for both.

The Solo I guess has a 13 inch opening and says it can make a 12 inch pizza.