Best pizza ovens for your backyard
There's nothing better than a piping hot slice of pizza, especially if the pie is homemade. As summer approaches, a pizza oven is the perfect addition to your backyard barbecue. After rigorous testing, these models from Ooni and Halo came out on top among all pizza ovens.
WHAT Ooni Koda 12
THE COST $399
AVAILABLE FROM ooni.com
The versatile gas-powered Koda is portable, weighing just 20 pounds, and it's easy to operate. It ignites in seconds and reaches the coveted 900 degrees Fahrenheit — the optimal temperature for cooking killer pizzas — in less than 15 minutes. The smaller cooking chamber delivers fast results: this oven turns out crispy, thin pizzas in less than 2 minutes.
Ooni's Koda is simple to set up and a pleasure to use. The temperature controls are responsive and accurate, and the gas fixture takes just a few seconds to screw in and out.
WHAT Halo Versa 16
THE COST $499.99
AVAILABLE FROM halo-pg.com
The Halo Versa 16 is pricey, but it has two advantages that make it worth the cost: The rotating pizza stone eliminates the need to manually adjust your pies and the unique liftable lid provides unparalleled access for cooking and cleanup.
The hot stone in the oven is heavy and needs at least 15 minutes to preheat. Once it's ready, a homemade pie takes just five to six minutes. When it's cooked you can lift the lid and easily remove the pizza. The open top also allows you to clean the stone more regularly without removing it from the oven. The Versa is heavy (44 pounds), but compact (25 inches in both width and height).
WHAT Ooni Karu 12
THE COST $299
AVAILABLE FROM ooni.com
Wood pellet pizza ovens tend to be a bit cheaper than gas-powered ones, but they also require a bit more manual labor. The Karu is similar in size to the Koda but weighs about 6 pounds more due to a smoke chimney — a necessary feature, as pellet-powered ovens produce more smoke than gas-fired models. The chimney helps to corral it and keep it out of your face. The results are comparable to those of the Ooni's gas model.
Pellet ovens such as the Karu take a little longer to heat up and the temperature control is less precise, but that's typically not a problem when you're making pizza as long as you're keeping a close watch.
The following CNET staff contributed to this story: senior editor David Watsky and copy editor Jim Hoffman. For more reviews of personal technology products, visit cnet.com.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
