What's in the Box?
Here's what you should expect when you purchase the Ooni Karu 16" online:
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The oven's main body
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ViewFlame glass door
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2 pieces of cordierite pizza stones
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Chimney and chimney cap
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Burner tray and grate
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Draft defender plate
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Fuel hatch
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Digital thermometer
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An assembly manual, essentials guide and warranty
For the price, this list misses quite a lot of items compared to other competing pizza oven brands. If you're just building your homemade pizza kit, you'll probably need to purchase a pizza peel, a turning wheel, a cutter and an infrared thermometer with a laser pointer separately.
Note that the built-in thermometer measures the temperature inside the oven and not the temperature on the surface of the baking stone. You'll need an infrared thermometer to gauge the temperature of the baking stone to ensure consistent results.
Also, while the Ooni Karu is a multi-fuel pizza oven, it's quite a shame that you have to buy the gas burner separately.
Luckily, Ooni stocks most of these accessories on their site. But keep in mind that you're looking at an additional cost of well over $200.
Assembling and Setting Up the Ooni Karu 16 Pizza Oven
The Ooni Karu 16 is straightforward to assemble and set up. We reckon most people should be able to get it ready for use in 20-30 minutes.
Here's how to assemble the Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven in a few minutes. Once you've removed all the packaging materials from the components;
- Step 1: Unfold the 3 legs from the oven's main body.
- Step 2: Attach the thermometer bracket underneath the main body (washers and screws included).
- Step 3: Insert the batteries into the thermometer, attach them to the bracket, and plug them in.
- Step 4: Slot in the baking stones.
- Step 5: Install the fuel tray and grate to the rear of the oven, making sure it sits on its deck.
- Step 6: Install the front door by popping it in the brackets and securing it using the included screws and alley key.
- Step 7: Install the smokestack and pop the fuel hatch in its place.
- Step 8: Install the deflection plate on the back and tighten the screws using the Allen key.
If you wish to use gas, you only need to remove the smokestack and replace it with the included stopper. Next, replace the back grill with the gas burner.
Dimensions and Portability
One of the perks of a residential pizza oven is enjoying a great pizza without leaving your home or dialing a delivery. Pizza lovers also appreciate the added advantage of cooking their pizzas at home, at campsites, at tailgating parties, and even on the beach.
The Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven is 33 by 32 by 16 inches in size and weighs around 63 pounds. With a cooking surface of 16.7 inches by 16.7 inches, the Ooni Karu 16 lets you bake one 16-inch pizza or two 8-inch pizzas simultaneously. This will prove really sweet when you have an enormous group of pizza lovers to feed and don't want to keep them waiting. Its spacious cooking surface makes it possible to bake deep pan pizzas and bread, adding to its versatility and value for money.
Is the Ooni Karu 16 portable?
One may argue that the Ooni Karu 16 is not precisely designed for portability owing to its massive size and weight. This may be true, especially for pizza lovers who move around often. But we must appreciate that the Ooni Karu 16 has foldable legs. The chimney can also be removed in one easy twist and it actually fits nicely inside the oven.
That said, we think it should be easy for most people to store and move around with the Ooni Karu 16 in their trucks and RVs.
All in all, Ooni also offers a 12" version of the Ooni Karu if portability tops your list of considerations. The Ooni Karu 12 measures 28.7 by 15.7 by 26.6 inches and weighs around 26.4 inches. This model has a cooking surface of 13.2 by 13.2 inches, making it ideal for pizzas up to 12 inches in size. This model is considerably tinier than the Ooni Karu 16. But it rocks if it will mainly cook pizzas for one or two people who don't mind smaller pizzas.
Build, Design and Features
The build is another area that stood out for us when making this Ooni Karu 16 review. The Ooni Karu 16 is a beast in the world of outdoor pizza ovens. It looks and feels solidly built right out of the box.
The shell is made of carbon steel and is fully insulated for maximum heat retention and increased efficiency. Additionally, the exterior features a high temperature-resistant powder-coated finish to make it weather resistant. Of course, you'll want to purchase a cover to protect it from the elements if you intend to leave it outdoors when not in use.
The Ooni Karu 16 comes with a pair of 15mm cordierite pizza stones. Cordierite stones are slightly more expensive than their ceramic alternatives. That's because they can crank out pizzas at high temperatures year after year without breaking.
Another interesting feature of the Ooni Karu 16 is its hinged door. When assembling the oven, you'll realize that this door feels really heavy-duty due to the insulation. This door opens by dropping down, offering easy access while minimizing excessive heat loss. The door also has a thick glass through which you can monitor the pizza.
Its three legs are foldable for compact storage and have non-slip feet for added stability on different surfaces. Also, the Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven has a built-in thermometer that monitors the air temperature inside the oven. As mentioned, an infrared thermometer will be a nice addition to monitor the temperature of the stone.
Functionality- Cooking With the Ooni Karu Pizza Oven
The Ooni Karu 16 is a multi-fuel pizza oven, meaning you can bake your items using wood, charcoal or gas. With the gas kit on, the process is as easy as pressing and twisting the dial and then allowing the heat to build up to 450 degrees C.
On the other hand, you'll want to stick with the burner tray and grill if you wish to impart your pizzas with aromatic flavors.
While you could use wood or charcoal, some people prefer using a mix of both for a good reason. Charcoal creates a good base, which keeps the temperatures high, while wood helps create the raging flames that roll over the oven's roof to cook your pizza toppings.
To light the wood-fired Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven, pop enough charcoal, hardwood and natural firestarters into the burner tray. Slide the tray to the back of the oven and light the fire. When the charcoal catches, close the back and front door, open the chimney valve, and wait for the oven to get up to temperature. After catching, the Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven takes 15-20 minutes to heat up to 450-500°C.
Once up to the perfect cooking temperature, open the front door and slide in your pizza. The Oonie Karu 16 pizza oven cooks pizzas in 60 seconds with excellent temperature management and timely rotations. It’s crucial to use flour or cornmeal on the base of the pizza, so it gets on and off the peel easily.
How Well Does the Ooni Karu 16 Pizza Oven Cook?
Having reviewed several residential pizza brands, we can confidently say that the Ooni Karu 16 has one of the crispiest crusts. Thanks to its top-notch insulation, the toppings cook well and the cheese melts nicely each time.
However, like other wood-fired pizza ovens, there will be a learning curve before you begin pulling the perfect pizza with the Ooni Karu 16.
There's no single perfect way of cooking pizzas with this oven. For instance, while some advise cooking with the front door open, others say this leaves them with charred and black pies. Still, some advise turning the pizza every 10 seconds while others wait for about 15 seconds.
All in all, everyone agrees that turning the pizza mid-cook is necessary because the fire tray sits at the back of the oven. Beyond that, you'll need to experiment with a few pizzas to determine what works for you.
Ooni Karu 16 Pricing and Policies
Ooni ovens are made in China. In the US, Ooni has warehouses in Nevada, New Jersey and Kentucky from where they ship their products. That's to say there are no import taxes and customs duties for US buyers. At the time of this Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven review, this model costs $799 before discounts and ships in 5 working days.
Ooni offers free deliveries for its pizza ovens and other products above $35. When you purchase the Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven from Ooni.com, you get it with "The Ooni Great Pizza Guarantee." Basically, Ooni allows you to return the pizza oven for free if you can't make great pizzas within the first 60 days. However, you'll need to have had the oven for at least 28 days and made at least 5 attempts to cook the great pizza before claiming under this guarantee.
What Current Users Say
Going through Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven reviews online, it's evident that this model is a favorite among pizza connoisseurs. Most users online report that Ooni Karu 16 pizzas taste notably better than pizzas from a standard home oven. They add that the wood-fired model produces pizzas with a unique flavor and texture and a light crispy crust that most cheap ovens cannot recreate.
Most users also note that putting up the Ooni Karu 16 is really easy and beats building a traditional brick oven.
On the not-so-good side, some users lament having to buy the gas burner and other vital accessories separately. The location of the built-in digital thermometer has also been criticized because it makes transporting the oven a bit harder.