How to Select the Perfect Outdoor Pizza Oven
There are many varieties of great outdoor pizza ovens to choose from, but how do you decide which one is the perfect one for you?
Should you pick one that burns wood, gas, charcoal, or maybe a combination unit?
Do you select a pre-assembled stainless unit, or a DIY brick kit?
What about portability, do you frequently travel and want to have a unit you can take with you?
What about living space, do you live in an apartment with small balcony or do you have a large outdoor patio and are wanting to add a pizza oven to your outdoor kitchen?
Let’s narrow it down for you, so you can make the best, informed choice in selecting a Great Outdoor Pizza Oven that you will use faithfully and will serve you reliability for many years to come.
Identify Your Lifestyle
When we say identify your life-style, there are two areas to think about.
- What is your current living situation: do you live in an apartment, a townhouse, a RV, a single home with a small patio, or a larger home with a large patio?
- Why do you want a pizza oven: are you a foodie that enjoys delicious home-made pizza but will mostly only use it for yourself, your spouse or family; or will you be entertaining guests frequently as you gather around the hot embers of the fire, enjoying adult beverages while serving up great pizza and accompanying dishes?
Brick and Pre-Cast Ovens vs Metal Ovens
Once you have identified your current lifestyle conditions, selecting the next criteria becomes somewhat easier.
Brick Ovens: these ovens have not changed much since ancient times and are made of super-duty refractory firebricks and high temperature mortar. A bottom Firebrick Cast is used for the floor and is NSF Standard 51 certified, meaning it’s safe for use in food contact and makes a durable solution for the cooking surface.
Covering the dome is an additional layer of insulating fabric that contains the heat inside yet is cool on the outside. Then a custom finish is used to weather proof the oven, such as stucco or tiles.
Pre-Cast Ovens: similar to their brick oven cousins, this type of oven comes in separate or assembled pre-cast molds and maintains much of the same features as a brick oven with less assembly.
Metal Ovens: designed for a more modern, elegant look, metal ovens maintain the same insulating factors of a brick oven, allowing for high heat, but are more light weight and come pre-assembled and many have optional carts, some with wheeled-casters to allow mobility.
Still, which one is right for your life-style?
If you’re more of a traditionalist, who is creating an outdoor kitchen area and the appeal of having a traditional wood fired brick oven appeals to you, then the choice is obvious. The DIY (do it yourself) kits we sell at the Great Outdoor Pizza Ovens are easy to build and come with everything needed to assemble. They make for a fun weekend project and you’ll have pride in building it yourself but not by yourself.
Or perhaps you desire a more elegant look of a metal oven where you would like just an oven head placed on the countertop. We have many styles, colors and sizes to choose from. Look at the dimensions to see which one fits best for your outdoor kitchen area.
In both categories, a separate pizza oven island added to your patio will make for many enjoyable and entertaining evenings with friends and family.
One thing to consider if you own your home, is that having a built-in pizza oven will add value to your property, but the permanency means you can’t take it with you if you move.
Selecting a Fuel Type
Depending on the size of your oven and where it will be located can have an impact on whether you can use a wood or gas fueled oven.
Most portable ovens, like those used in apartment or townhouse dwellings usually are better suited for small propane fuel, though some models like the small WPPO brand sold at Great Outdoor Pizza Ovens can use wood pellets.
Wood fired ovens are by far the most commonly used in outdoor pizza ovens because they typically burn the hottest. The disadvantages of wood ovens are they typically take 1-2 hours to pre-heat, you must have an amble supply of wood and you have to clean (brush) out the ash the day after use.
Still many prefer wood, because the smoky flavors of the various woods that can used impart directly into the food, giving it a superior taste.
A gas oven, on the other hand, can use either propane or natural gas as a fuel source. These ovens are easy to use, more convenient and still deliver the heat and taste. Some allow wood chips to be added to give that smoky flavor without sacrificing the wait to preheat.
Selecting a Quality Oven
The Great Outdoor Pizza Ovens Company takes pride in only carrying the finest ovens in the industry. We evaluate each oven and inspect the company, the workmanship, where it is sourced and warranties and parts available. You can rest assured we have done the hard work for you to bring you the best quality for the best taste!
The majority of our ovens are hand made or contain DIY materials Made in the USA or Italy. A select few of our portable ovens are designed in the USA, UK or Italy but are outsourced to high-quality controlled company owned factories overseas. Again, we have evaluated every oven and feel each one we carry will give you many years of superior performance.
Selecting Quality Ingredients
If you desire the best taste, then you not only need the best quality oven, but you need the best quality ingredients, especially the flour.
The flour is what makes the pizza, the simpler the better and it all starts with the flour. In fact, a traditional Neapolitan pizza crust uses only Tipo 00 pizza flour, superb water and yeast, topped with light sauce, mozzarella di bufala (water buffalo cheese) and basil.
When heated to 600-800 degrees F, it takes less than 90 seconds to bake, at 400-500F will take about 2 minutes.
Never use pre-made pizza crust, learn how to make and store your own, its fresher, tastier and you’ll be renowned as the family great pizzaiolo (pizza chef)!
Contact Us and We Will Help You Decide
Contact us with your questions and living style and expectations and we will help you pick the PERFECT PIZZA OVEN!
Ciao!