We’ve been reviewing pizza ovens at IndyBest since 2018 and in that time, not only have we seen plenty of advances in the ovens on offer, but also a significant improvement in our outdoor cookery skills – particularly during 2020’s lockdown, when we really threw ourselves into our work.
Design is so important when it comes to pizza ovens, from the size of the base that will dictate how big a single pizza can be, to the size of the opening - determining how easy it is to manoeuvre your pizza within the oven, so you have more control over its cooking process.
Nowadays, many of these outdoor ovens can produce so much more than pizza, and can actually make a range of meat and fish dishes. That’s why, when testing, we also looked at how well these gadgets could cook a rib-eye steak and roast a whole chicken.
How we tested
We used the same dough throughout our testing to make a classic Neapolitan pizza. We were looking for a pie with a nice crispy base and a slightly chewy texture to the crust. We also paid close attention to how quickly and efficiently the oven got up to the high temperatures needed to cook delicious pizza, and how well they retained that heat (their insulation) to take the hassle out of wood-fired cookery.
With our steak, we were looking at how easy it was for us to get the meat medium rare and how moist and juicy our roast chicken came out of the oven.
So, after spending plenty of time marrying food to flame, we were left with a line-up that could turn any Neapolitan newbie into a professional Pizzaiolo in no time.
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The best outdoor pizza ovens for 2023 are:
- Best overall – Ooni koda 12: £349, Ooni.com
- Best Neapolitan pizza oven – Gozney dome: £1,799, Gozney.com
- Best for multiple munchers – Lifestyle Verona pizza oven: £799, Firepit.co.uk
- Best portable pizza oven – Gozney roccbox: £399, Gozney.com
- Best multiple fuel oven – Ooni karu 16: £699, Ooni.com
- Best for camping – Vango camp chef pizza oven: £190, Vango.co.uk
- Best design – Delivita berry hot oven: £1,395, Cuckooland.com
- Best for table tops – Auplex kamado pizza oven: £310, Kamadogrill.co.uk