Home cooks generally buy a portable pizza oven to supplement their outdoor grill for one overriding reason: They want to be able to make a great Neapolitan-style pizza any day of the week.
No company has done better at scratching that pizza itch over the last decade than Ooni, which claims to have launched the world’s first portable wood-based (pellet) pizza oven via Kickstarter in 2012—and has pretty much dominated the market ever since.
Originally spelled Uuni—the Finnish word for oven—the company based in Scotland has sold millions of pizza ovens in more than 100 countries over the last decade, many of them during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were suddenly stuck at home and tasked with daily cooking and/or obsessed with dough-making.
And the quality just keeps improving with updated models in multiple price ranges. Food & Wine earlier this month declared Ooni’s tabletop Koda 16 Pizza Oven, which runs on gas and retails for around $600 on Amazon, as the best overall pizza oven in 2024.
But maybe you don’t want to dig that deep into your pocket. The Ooni Karu 12 pizza oven, which can be fueled with either charcoal or wood and also makes a restaurant-quality pizza in as little as 60 seconds, can be had for as little at $240.
While chef Anthony Taglieri has years of experience cooking pizza in commercial wood-fired ovens, last fall was the first time he got his hands on an Ooni—three of them actually. He quickly fell in love with how easy it was to cook in them. He also realized the value pizza-making skills would bring to the 24 students he currently instructs as Bidwell Training Center’s senior director of culinary arts and enterprise, especially for jobs outside a typical schedule.
“I have [chef] friends who get hired to do pizza parties and take their Ooni to guests’ houses,” he says.
As a result, pizza-making is now included in the school’s curriculum. Students also cooked in the tabletop appliances at the center’s first-ever community block party on May 23, which drew more than 400 people.
Yet pizza is just the start, says Taglieri, and not just for future chefs like Alissa Green of Turtle Creek, who recently helped Taglieri demonstrate how to bake a crumble-topped apple dessert pie in one of Ooni’s 16-inch, multi-fuel Karu ovens. That oven is the first and only pizza oven to be endorsed for domestic use by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the famed international authority on true Neapolitan pizza.
Virtually anything you can make on a grill, you can make in an Ooni, Taglieri says. That includes not just steak, fish or an entire chicken, but also vegetables, artisanal breads like focaccia, and a wide variety of desserts including cookies. You just have to adjust the temperature.
In fact, the only thing that won’t work well in the high-heat ovens, says the 34-year-old Shaler chef, are dishes that are heavily sauced or messy, because the high-quality cordierite stone that lines the oven is porous.
Part of the appeal of an Ooni is that the ovens get really hot, really fast. And that makes for a really quick cooking time, Taglieri says.
Domestic ovens max out at about 550 degrees—not nearly hot enough to achieve a Neapolitan crust that’s pillowy on the inside and charred on the outside, or sear a steak to perfection without overcooking the center. A pizza oven, however, can reach temps between 800 and 1,000 degrees, especially if it’s powered with propane.
“You’re replicating a Peter Luger-style broiled steak at home,” he says. “The high ambient temperature and the flame above the steak allow for an extremely quick sear in of all the juices and can create a crust that adds to the dining experience.”
Get Social
Because pizza ovens burn so hot and so fast, there’s a definite learning curve for novice users. One way to become more proficient and gain confidence is to watch others prepare pizza and other meals in videos on YouTube, TikTok and other social media channels. Ooni also includes how-to videos on its website.Use the Right Tools
As with traditional kitchen cooking, the right tools and equipment are essential not just for food prep and cooking, but also to prevent injury. Because you’re working near intense heat and want to avoid burns, something to protect your hands is essential.A good pair of oven mitts or gloves certainly works. Taglieri prefers a supply of regular cotton bar towels because they’re super cheap and you can simply throw them away if they get too dirty or singed. Whatever you choose, make sure you keep it dry. If it’s damp, you'll get a “really good burn instantly,” he says.
Also crucial: a quality pair of metal tongs for grabbing and moving food and pans around in the oven. They should be at least 12 inches long to keep your hands out of the oven and not tipped with silicone; the oven is too hot.
If you’re making a regular or dessert pizza, you also will need a quality pizza peel to place the pies in the oven without disturbing the toppings. Taglieri prefers one with a perforated bottom that makes shaking off excess flour and semolina easy. A pizza spinner to rotate the dough in the oven is another smart idea, especially if your oven is compact. It will help you turn your pie to assure even browning.
Steaks, seafood and vegetables, meanwhile, are easier to cook and/or char in a metal sizzle plate or carbon steel pan. They’re easy to grab with tongs and keep any juices intact. Just remember no enamel or wood handles, as they can catch fire.
Preparation is Key
Because food cooks so quickly in a pizza oven, you need to have all your ingredients chopped, portioned, seasoned and generally ready to go within easy reaching distance before you begin cooking.Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
You’re bound to burn a pie or two on your first couple of tries, or overcook a rib-eye, but that’s OK. With practice, you'll soon become a pro!“There might be some trial and error,” says Taglieri. “But there’s so much stuff you can do.”
Broiled Steak, Arugula Salad and Twice-Baked Potatoes
PG testedServes 2.
Six minutes might not seem like enough time to cook a 1 1/2 -inch steak to perfection, but remember—a pizza oven is hot! Two pro tips: Bring the steak to room temperature before cooking and be sure to let it rest for at least 5 minutes after cooking to allow the juices to redistribute and intensify the flavor.
“And don’t be afraid to season!” says chef Anthony Taglieri. A preheated pan will assure searing on the bottom and charring on top.
- 1 20-ounce strip steak, 1 1/2 inches thick (preferably choice quality or better)
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper
- 4 ounces baby arugula, washed and dried
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 medium sweet potato, baked until tender
- 1 medium Russet potato, baked until tender
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
Preheat your Ooni oven to about 850 degrees.
While oven is preheating, prepare peppers for the pepper salad.
Using a chef’s knife, cut away the sides of the bell pepper. You can lay the pepper on its side and roll it as you cut the sides to have all the pepper meat in one piece, or you can “box cut” the four sides away. Either way, dispose of the tops and seeds.
Lay out pepper pieces, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Put these in your oven while it is preheating. Don’t walk away, though. These will only take a few minutes, and you are looking for blistered and charred skin, but the meat should still be tender and juicy.
After removing peppers from the oven, allow them to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Then, using the back of your knife, scrape away as much of the charred skin as you can. Dispose of the skin, and slice the pepper “meat” into julienned strips.
Place baby arugula in a bowl. Add pepper strips, olive oil, balsamic glaze and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Slice potatoes in half lengthwise. You will now have four equal halves of potato. Gently scoop the insides of the potato into a bowl, leaving about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of potato on the skin. (This can take some practice. You will only need the skin of 2 halves, so if you mess up on a potato, it’s OK!)
Mash the potatoes’ insides with butter, heavy cream, pepper and salt. Fold in the crumbled blue cheese.
Spoon the filling into two potato skins. The filling should dome over the potato but still be contained. Set aside while you prepare steak.
Place a sturdy, foil-lined baking sheet or a carbon steel pan or sizzler plate in the oven for a few minutes to preheat. Place your rested steak on the baking sheet or plate and put in the middle of your Ooni oven, where you have the most heat. Immediately set a timer for 3 minutes. This will cause a sear on both sides of the steak at once and shorten your cooking time.
After 3 minutes, flip your steak and set another 3-minute timer. (For a more well-done steak, add another 30-90 seconds per side, depending on the desired doneness.) Add stuffed potato halves to your pan with the steak.
After the second 3 minutes, remove the steak from the oven and check its internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should read 120-125 degrees, which will allow the steak to hit the sweet spot for medium-rare (130-135 degrees) after resting for 5 minutes before slicing.
Turn off the gas in pizza oven, allowing the residual heat to continue cooking the potato halves for about 3 more minutes. Allowing the top to caramelize and char slightly will add a nice flavor and texture contrast.
Slice your steak into 1/4 inch pieces, shingling them on your serving plate to show internal doneness. Top steak with roasted pepper and arugula salad and a sprinkle of finishing salt. Serve alongside your twice-baked potato.
Dutch Apple Pie Pizza
PG testedServes 2-4.
When making pizza, it’s important to start with a perfectly rounded ball of dough. To roll it into a round, flour your hands and use your fingertips to press the dough into a small, flat disc. Gently pull the sides out with your fingers, then pick it up and let gravity help pull it downward into a circle. You also can use a well-floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a circle.
And if the dough starts fighting you? “Let it rest for a few minutes so it can think about who’s the boss,” says Taglieri.
While you don’t want the pizza dough to tear, the finished round should be thin enough that you can almost see through it.
Another tip: Be sure to dust the peel with a little flour or semolina before adding the pizza to prevent sticking. Give it a shake to make sure the pie’s still moving before placing it in the oven.
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 medium apples
- 8 ounces prepared pizza dough
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 2 ounces melted butter
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons caramel or dulce de leche
Preheat Ooni oven to about 600 degrees.
Wash and remove the cores of your apples, cut them in half and slice them into 1/4 -inch slices.
Stretch out the pizza dough to a workable thickness, about 1/4 inches thick. Dust the dough and pizza peel with flour to ensure no sticking.
Brush the top side of the dough with melted butter using a pastry brush. Generously sprinkle the buttered dough with cinnamon and sugar.
Place apple slices decoratively around your pizza, keeping them in a single layer. (If you are making multiple pizzas, you can partially cook your apple slices prior to building your pizza. This will keep your apple from browning.)
Sprinkle Dutch topping on top of your pizza the same way you would cheese.
Using a pizza peel, place uncooked pizza in Ooni oven and allow the pizza to remain untouched for about 30 seconds. This will allow the base of the crust to set up.
After the first 30 seconds, you can start moving your pizza inside the oven, rotating evenly to ensure even browning. For the next 60 seconds, turn pie every 20-30 seconds for an even bake.
Remove from the oven, and cut it as you would a normal pizza. Drizzle with either caramel or dulce de leche on top as a garnish.
Recipe by Chef Anthony Taglieri, Bidwell Training Center
