Yes, you need a pizza oven. Buy the right one, and it's not overstating the point to say that you may never order another takeout pie again.
Crafting pizzeria-style pizzas at home, while camping or tailgating doesn't have to cost you a mortgage payment, either. You can easily buy an excellent oven for under $300. And the pizzas you bake at home will cost far less than the soggy bottomed stuff that lands on your doorstep.
Unlike your conventional oven, a pizza oven can get much hotter -- faster -- thus reducing the cooking time by at least half or more. And because of the intense heat level, you end up with a restaurant quality pizza.
Selecting the ideal pizza oven depends on your needs, and there are plenty of models available, so you should have no trouble finding the perfect match.
Camp Chef Italia Artisan pizza oven
If you've dreamed of an authentic brick oven that turns out pizzas on a par with the best in Italy but balked at the daunting prices or the valuable real estate they eat up, then consider the handsome and versatile Italia Artisan from Camp Chef. This portable model features heavy duty stainless steel construction, and it's fueled by a one-pound disposable propane tank or a traditional 20-pound tank -- your choice depending on where you want to use the oven. In fact, it includes a regulator and a five-foot hose to adapt to the standard bulk propane tank if you're not planning on moving the Camp Chef for a while.
The oven's curved double-layered roof allows for heat retention, and the powerful 17,000 BTU burner can get the heat level above 700 degrees in only 15 minutes. The pizza stone measures around 12 inches by 20 inches, so you can easily bake two 8-inch or so pizzas at one time. This powerful oven cranks out pizzas in a flash, so if you need multiple pies in fairly quick succession, it's not a problem.
The Camp Chef is not a one-trick pony.
"The first thing I would consider when buying a pizza oven would be the versatility. You want to be able to cook at high heat -- 750 degrees -- for some recipes, but you might want to tone it down -- maybe in the 450-degree range -- for other recipes. Versatility also means that you could put food directly on the stove or, depending on what you're cooking, you might want to use cast iron cookware, too," says Ryan Neeley, marketing manager, Camp Chef.
So, if after days of perfect pizzas, you decide that you'd like to venture elsewhere, you can throw some salmon on a cedar plank and cook it on the Camp Chef or pan fry the perfect rib eye on your heirloom cast iron skillet -- in the pizza oven.
The oven weighs in at just under 50 pounds, making it easy to take on camping trips or have it star at the next tailgate party.
Go ahead and spring for the accessories kit. Each piece is sturdy and well made; there's nothing flimsy about Camp Chef gear.
The Camp Chef Italia Artisan pizza oven is priced at $299.99 on Amazon, and the list price is $374.99 on www.campchef.com. You can watch a video of the pizza oven here.
Pizzacraft PizzaQue portable outdoor oven PC6500
PizzaQue offers an affordable bare bones oven capable of turning out good pizzas. And, let's face it, pizza ovens are hardly complex to begin with, so PizzaQue does exactly what it's supposed to do without fanfare. The mobile, propane-fueled oven boasts a simple black steel kettle-like design.
What's important to note is that this little oven preheats and is ready to go in 15 minutes. It's easy to use and heats up to more than 700 degrees, turning out a wood-burning style pizza in about six minutes on its 14-inch stone. PizzaQue has stabilized feet that make it ideal to sit comfortably on a picnic table or a tailgate. At 31 pounds, it makes for an ideal travel buddy. Note that the oven is built with a fairly narrow mouth, so PizzaQue isn't designed to cook a variety of foods. But if you want stellar pizzas from a bargain oven, consider PizzaQue.
PizzaQue is available for $169 at Home Depot; $279.99 through Pizzacraft.
You can check out a video of PizzaQue here.
Breville Crispy Crust pizza maker
Ideal for those without any outdoor space and who don't plan on taking their pizza oven on the road, the Breville Crispy Crust pizza maker performs its chores on the kitchen counter.
The electric pizza maker's design brings to mind a waffle iron with its dual heating elements on the bottom and lid. It features a 12-inch ceramic pizza stone that heats up to 660 degrees for a crisp crust each time.
The lid has a dial that allows you to select from thin, medium and thick crust settings. Crispy Crust turns out a thin crust pizza in about five to six minutes while a thick crust is ready in eight to 10 minutes. A small window on the lid lets you peek in on your pizza's progress. The pizza maker also features a keep warm setting to hold your pizza at ideal serving temperature.
While Breville Crispy Crust is designed specifically to bake pizzas, it will do double duty to warm up some flat breads and tortillas. A word of caution: Kids love to get involved in the process of baking their own pizzas, but the Breville gets quite hot, so don't let young children get too close without supervision.
The pizza maker weighs just under 14 pounds and bakes pizzas up to 11 inches in diameter. It comes in silver or cranberry red and is available for $149.95 at Williams-Sonoma. Check out the Crispy Crust in this video.
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