Do you love eating outdoors? After setting up your barbecue grill, the next appliance you can get is an outdoor pizza oven. If you can’t order a pizza and you don’t like microwaveable ones, then a great alternative is home-cooked pizzas!
Not only does it taste better than microwaveable pizzas, but you can also customize it to your liking. It’s also a fun activity to do with your family and friends - cooking a pizza with your own hands and eating it during a sunny afternoon or under the stars. Nothing also beats eating a hot cheesy pizza that is fresh out of the oven.
If you’re worried that it would be difficult to make, there are dozens of guides, video tutorials, recipes, and cookbooks online that you can turn to. What’s going to be more difficult is finding the right pizza oven for you. There are different kinds and brands of pizza ovens that vary in their functions and features, so it can be overwhelming to choose. The market has ovens of varying power source, style, portability, size, and more.
To help you out, here are some of the different types of pizza ovens as well as recommendations for the best outdoor ovens on the market.
Different Types of Outdoor Pizza Ovens
For this section, we will be talking about some of the different styles of pizza ovens such as stationary, portable, and barbecue conversion box.
Stationary Pizza Ovens
This commonly refers to brick pizza ovens, which are stationary, meaning you can’t or it would be difficult to move. These are usually customized and built into your yard, so you can design it any way you want and choose the right size for your home.
You can hire someone to build the entire oven or you can try it yourself. There are also guides and tutorials online on how to build a pizza oven, such as this video:
Another option is to buy a pre-assembled kit or build the base and just buy a premade pizza oven. It’s up to you to determine which one to get based on your preference. Now, let’s see the pros and cons of getting a stationary pizza oven:
- Temperature: Using a wood-fired method allows you to reach the optimum temperature.
- Cooking ability: With this setup, you can also cook more than just pizza.
- Customization: You can design this pizza oven any way you want it - style, color, shape, and size.
- Size: The size can be adjusted to fit the outdoor area space. If you’re not going to get a premade oven, you can also adjust the cooking surface to accommodate the preferred food serving.
- Taste: Most stationary pizza ovens are powered by wood, and this way of cooking brings a nice and unique flavor to the pizza.
- Design: For some, the rustic touch a brick oven brings is an advantage.
- Permanent: If you suddenly need the space or want to hide the pizza oven, it’s usually a permanent structure that you cannot store.
- Convenience: It’s more complicated to cook with than portable pizza ovens.
- Space: Even if you can customize it to a smaller size, it will still take up a large amount of space in your yard.
- Portability: Most of these are stationary so you cannot move to a new spot or transfer to a new home.
- Expensive: Since it is constructed or customized, this is not as budget-friendly as other types.
Portable Pizza Oven
For those who prefer being able to store their pizza ovens, then you can get a portable one. Instead of being made out of bricks, a portable pizza oven is usually made out of metal and uses gas from a propane tank as a power source.
But some models can be both portable and powered by either wood or electricity. There are portable pizza ovens where you can get the same type of power as a brick oven while having the ability to move it around. This means you can also cook other meals besides pizza.
So what about the pros and cons of a portable pizza oven?
- Temperature: This type can maintain the temperature more reliably and reach the optimum temperature faster.
- Speed: Faster to cook meals with portable ovens since there is less preheat time.
- Portability: This type can be stored and easily transferred when you want to use the space for something else.
- Space: Doesn’t take up as much space as brick or stationary pizza ovens.
- Features: It offers more features such as having a convection motor that can rotate the pizza stone.
- Convenience: Easier to cook with than brick ovens, and lower chances of burning the pizza.
- Price: It is less expensive than brick ovens.
- Limitations: Some models are not extremely portable where you can take it on a camping trip.
- Size: Most models can only accommodate one pizza, sometimes even limited to a smaller-sized pizza.
- Cooking time: It may take longer to cook the pizza with portable pizza ovens.
BBQ Pizza Oven Box
Fortunately for those who already have a barbecue grill, you can also use it to make pizzas! Although you can cook pizza directly on the grill, it will be difficult because the grill may not reach the optimum temperature. You might also not like the outcome of the pizza, so it is not highly recommended to cook the pizza the same way you do for a barbecue.
Instead, you will need a device that will allow you to cook pizza in a barbecue grill, which is a barbecue conversion pizza oven box. It’s a box made out of pizza stone, which is a material that can hold high temperatures, allowing the pizza crust to cook immediately. This is somewhat similar to how pizzas are cooked in a brick oven.
It’s also fairly simple to use; you just need to place the box on top of the barbecue grill. Now, you can reach the optimum temperature with this box, making it easier to cook the pizza and produce a better result. Most models also fit the standard grill such as a 3-burner gas grill.
- Temperature: It can reach the optimum temperature quickly, which helps you cook pizzas faster.
- Flexibility: There are models that you can use for charcoal-powered barbecue grills or other types of grills.
- Features: Comes with additional features such as a temperature gauge, making it easier to cook.
- Size: It doesn’t have a huge cooking surface.
- Taste: Doesn’t produce the smoky taste that brick ovens create (but you may get a similar taste when used on a charcoal grill).
- Maintenance: It can be difficult to clean the pizza box.
- Limited: This can only be used to cook pizza.
Gas vs. Wood Fired vs. Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven
Another way you can choose your pizza oven is based on its power source. A pizza oven can run on gas, wood, or electricity - let’s find out what the pros and cons of each are:
Gas Pizza Oven
- Temperature: It can reach the optimum temperature faster.
- Heat distribution: There’s a lower chance of burning your pizza.
- Convenience: You can easily control and maintain the temperature since most models come with a gauge.
- Usage: Easier to cook with than other power sources as well as faster to preheat.
- Taste: Doesn’t have the same smokey wood taste.
Wood Fired Pizza Oven
- Taste: Imparts a unique smokey flavor to your pizza.
- Temperature: It burns the hottest compared to other power sources.
- Convenience: Preparation such as pre-heating, and it’s more difficult to cook with this type.
- Preheat time: Takes longer to preheat.
- Cooking ability: There’s a higher chance of burning the pizza, so it needs to be watched carefully.
- Post-cooking: It takes longer for the oven to cool down.
- Cleaning: You will need to clean the ashes.
- Portable: It can be used on the go, such as on a camping trip or even for businesses such as food trucks.
- Convenience: Simply plug the pizza oven and turn on to use.
- Temperature: Easily adjust the temperature.
- Power source: No need to refill or worry about not having enough gas or wood.
- Taste: It won’t have the same flavor as wood-fired or gas-powered pizza ovens.
- Indoor use: Most ovens that run on electricity are only suitable for indoors.
Recommended Outdoor Pizza Ovens
- Power source: Wood
- Weight: 1,200 lbs
- Cooking surface: 31.5 inches
- Made out of oven bricks
- Insulated
- Comes with a chimney and brick arch
- Durable: It is made out of quality materials.
- Design: The chimney and brick arch makes it more stylish than other ovens.
- Heat distribution: It is made out of materials that allow even cooking.
- Flexible heating: It can be run at different temperatures.
- Taste: The pizza it produces has a nice wood-fired taste.
- Smoke distribution: With the chimney, the smoke doesn’t spread as much.
- Big: It can fit a 30-inch pizza.
- Temperature: It would take time to learn how to manage the temperature.
- Convenience: You will need to manually rotate the pizza.
- Heavy: It weighs more than a thousand pounds which will make it difficult to move around.
- Price: It is an expensive model.
- Power source: Wood pellets
- Weight: 27.6 pounds
- Maximum heat: 932ºF
- Portable
- It comes with a custom-made cordierite stone baking board
- Weight: Lightweight and portable.
- Heat speed: Ready to cook in 10 minutes.
- Cooking time: It can cook pizzas in 1 minute.
- Cooking capabilities: It can be used to roast meat such as chicken, turkey, beef, as well as fish and vegetable dishes.
- Taste: Produces an authentic smokey taste.
- Smoke dispersion: It comes with a chimney.
- Price: Less expensive than other models.
- Cooking surface: It can only accommodate a 13-inch pizza.
- Temperature: Difficult to control or maintain the temperature.
- Setup: Setting up can be challenging, especially with the pellet grate.
- Power source: Gas
- Weight: 26 pounds
- Temperature: Reaches over 700ºF
- Black enamel-coated steel body
- Dual-layer and interlocking cordierite pizza stone with a heat-diffusing hollow core
- Heat-containing visor and a stainless steel reflection plate
- It comes with a thermometer, 48-inch gas hose, and a standard regulator for Type I Fitting
- Used with standard 20-pound liquid propane tank
- Head distribution: It has a heat-diffusing hollow core that ensures an evenly-baked crust and a reflective heat shield to cook the toppings at the same rate as the crust/
- Preheat speed: Preheats in only 10 minutes.
- Setup: It is portable, lightweight, and safe to place on any surface.
- Easy to use: It can be started without a match.
- Extended usage: It can be used for 2 hours on a 1-pound propane tank with an adapter.
- Vent: It comes with a moisture vent on top to prevent sogginess.
- Cooking surface: It is only suitable for 12-inch pizzas or smaller.
- Temperature: It has a lower maximum temperature compared to other models.
- Convenience: It has a narrow opening, which may make it difficult to insert or remove pizzas.
- Cooking method: You will need to turn the pizza manually.
- Cooking time: It can cook a pizza in 5 minutes, which is slower than other models.
- Tank: Propane tank not included.
- Power source: Gas or Wood
- Weight: 62.9 pounds
- Temperature: More than 932ºF
- Has an inbuilt thermometer and retractable legs
- Detachable dual-fuel burners
- It comes with a free wood burner worth a hundred dollars (limited time only)
- Easy to use: Click the switch to start cooking.
- Power source: Dual-fuel as it can run on either gas or wood.
- Cooking time: It can cook a pizza in one minute.
- Safety: Body insulation and has an outer silicone skin to prevent burns.
- Heavy: It weighs more than 60 pounds.
- Preheat time: It takes 30 minutes to preheat.
- Price: It’s more expensive than other models.
- Weight: 28.2 pounds
- Temperature: 600 ᵒF to 800 ᵒF
- Suitable for most 3-burner or larger gas grills
- Uses convective, conductive, and radiant heat to bake a variety of foods
- Cooking capabilities: It can be used in cooking fish, roasting and searing steakhouse quality meats and vegetables, as well as baking bread and desserts such as cookies.
- Cooking time: Bakes pizza in 2 to 4 minutes (depending on the grill and other factors).
- Heat retention: It has a double-wall ceiling for heat retention.
- Preheat speed: It takes around 20 minutes to preheat.
- Durability: It is only made out of ceramic, which may crack.
