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Is the Halo Versa 16 Worth Buying?

Is the Halo Versa 16 Worth Buying?

With Ooni and Gozney waltzing around as the peacocks of the outdoor pizza oven industry, if you are asking “which pizza oven should I buy?,” I am betting that you are researching what they have to offer before you look elsewhere. Why wouldn’t you? Both companies were established over a decade ago and the reviews speak for themselves to paint both brands as reputable.

It wasn’t too long ago that those two brands were the only options if you were looking to create pizza from your backyard (beyond building a makeshift oven yourself, which is an endeavor rooted in costly time and research itself). Not anymore. The wonderful thing about being a consumer in the outdoor pizza oven market in 2022 is that there now exists a plethora of options.

You can make pizza using a $97 charcoal-fired Expert grill from Wal-Mart or even the big $1,699 Dome oven from Gozney. Price points vary, and because of that, and depending on how much you are willing to spend, there are options for everybody.

However, if you want to cover all your bases, you should consider looking at what the Halo Versa 16 has to offer. The Halo Versa 16 is, from my point of view, the most innovative pizza oven in the outdoor pizza oven game today.

The Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven

Halo Versa 16 pizza oven
The Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

Halo Products Group began advertising for its pizza oven, the Versa 16, in late 2021. Earlier this year, I started seeing ads for it. The Versa 16 features a rotating stone via button access (runs on two D batteries or by AC adaptor), boasts an impressive 12 minute preheat time and is capable of making 16″ pizzas with its dual burner system (one in the back and an infrared burner underneath the pizza stone).

At the time, I was uninterested. Having been gifted a Bertello pizza oven for Christmas, I was still enthralled by the act of baking an authentic Neapolitan style pizza in 90 seconds or less.

Time ensued, and two things happened: Halo Products Group began shipping the Versa 16 in March of this year, and over time I became disenchanted by being restricted to only 11″-12″ pizzas in my Bertello pizza oven, and not only that, but because the Bertello runs so hot, the user’s only option is to make a Neapolitan style pizza.

I love all styles of pizza. While I like Neapolitan style pizza, I discovered that it is not my favorite. It is too soft, and I have to wish you a great deal of luck if you like pizza with more than one topping when making a Neapolitan pie, because it is more geared towards minimal toppings with high quality ingredients to bring out maximum flavor.

Considering Ooni Over Halo?

A month ago, I started researching pizza ovens that could make a large 16″ pizza. It is no surprise that my initial search led me to both the Ooni Koda 16 and the Ooni Karu 16. The Koda 16 is $599 and the Karu 16 is $799. I didn’t even bother looking at Gozney’s offering of the $1,699 Dome, because it was (is) far out of my budget, and the portability factor is nonexistent. I also scratched the Karu 16 off my list of potential purchases, because while I concede that it is a quality oven, $799 for a door and a little bit more insulation did not tickle my fancy.

So there I was, dead set on the Koda 16. I watched a couple of videos featuring the oven on YouTube where users were demonstrating how to make a New York (my favorite) style pizza with a Koda 16. Santa Barbara Baker of YouTube was instrumental in initially influencing my decision. These days, Santa Barbara Baker uses a Karu 16 for his large pies.

The glaring issue I noticed is that, because of the burners in both the Koda 16 and Karu 16, making a large pie is tricky. Out of the box, those types of ovens are one trick ponies. They run super hot, and you have to manually remove the pizzas and turn them. If you are making a large pizza, you have to be careful not to burn the back of the pizza while waiting for the bottom of the front of the pizza to set before turning. Ooni users’ solution for this is to turn the heat setting down to ‘super low’, but even then, you have to be precise and careful or otherwise ruin your pizza. That means you will need to spend an indefinite amount of time practicing before you can confidently make a large pizza with one of these ovens.

In the grand scheme of things, the technicalities outlined above are not a big deal, but they aren’t exactly consumer friendly. Pizza is an investment of time, money and patience. A lot of people love the idea of making pizza at home, but I can personally tell you there is a steep learning curve to pizzamaking if you are new to it. By all means, if you have been making pizza in your home oven for years and you are ready to take the next step, go for it, but a lot of potential outdoor pizza oven buyers are like how I was when I first started, and with that consideration needing to be recognized, it would be wise to acknowledge the pitfalls along the way to creating the best pizza possible with the utmost adequate equipment. A willingness to patiently learn and accept imperfections along the way overcomes the trepidation of slinging a tremendous pie one right after the other. I digress.

As my Koda 16 desires started to fade, I found Pala Pizza’s YouTube review of the Halo Versa 16. To paraphrase one thing he said in the 4-minute clip: he claimed that if you are looking to make a large New York style pizza, look no further. The Halo Versa 16 is what you want. At this point, the Versa 16 had my curiosity, but that line gained my attention.

Making a New York style pizza at home had eluded me since the beginning of my pizza journey. My home oven doesn’t cut it. I tried using my trusty, old pizza stone by preheating it for an hour at 550, turning on the broiler function for 10 minutes and then launching, but the problems that persisted are that, no matter what I tried, the undercarriage of the pizza would never be properly brown despite the preheat time; what I would have to do would be, I’d bake the pizza, remove it from the oven for five minutes while turning the broiler back on, add the pizza back to the stone for a few minutes to finish the bottom with the oven turned off. This would cook the bottom of the pie to my preference, but by then the cornicione (rim of the pizza) would become too hard and my cheese would burn.

Asides from that, my oven only has one rack, the heating is overall spotty and inadequate, and it was simply a frustrating experience time and time again. Perhaps I should have tried using a pizza steel instead of a stone, but that would have been an extra $150, and I’ll explain the advantages of the Versa 16 shortly.

Pulling the Trigger on the Halo Versa 16

Halo Versa 16 pizza oven box
The Halo Versa 16 pizza oven prior to unboxing

I was hesitant to go with the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven, at first. I was so enamored with Ooni’s customer service, and I was skeptical of giving a new company a chance. For reference, I felt let down by the Stoke pizza oven, and in the barbecue side of things, the manufacturer of my favorite drum smokers was bought out and shut down, so I wanted to make sure I picked a reputable brand that I could feel connected to.

Living on a rural road, I was nervous that, upon purchase, Halo Products Group would choose an insufficient shipping partner to deliver my pizza oven and that I would not receive it without difficulty. I emailed Halo, and they responded to me within 30 minutes letting me know that they would inform their shipping manager of my preferences in regards to shipping me the oven. Lo and behold, I received my Versa 16 in two days, and I was already pleased by the customer service reception.

The build quality is downright impeccable. There is absolutely nothing that is cheap about the materials going on. The design itself was clearly well thought out and implemented. I love how the opening is vast and is big enough to accept a large peel as well as the ability to cook pan pizzas from a Chicago style deep dish to a Detroit style pie.

Halo Products Group’s Customer Service is Incredible

I cannot emphasize this point enough, although this post might begin to sound like a love letter to Halo Products Group. Upon putting the finishing touches of putting my Versa 16 together, I noticed that the rotator wheel was uneven. I was initially upset, as I had a few dough balls fermenting in my refrigerator for a cook, and I quickly reached out to Halo. Much like my previous email attempts, they replied in less than an hour and I had a new rotator wheel delivered to my door step in two days.

Not only that, but let’s discuss the warranty that comes with the Halo Versa 16: it is the best of any pizza oven on the market right now, and this point is a non-negotiable, undebatable fact. Halo Products Group stands behind their products with a five year warranty in addition to the standard one year warranty. You won’t see this same offer elsewhere.

Halo Products Group has made me feel like part of the Halo family from the get-go. I was already in love with the pizza oven before I even tried it out. Not only that, but how can you not love the name? Halo is the same name as the greatest FPS video game series of all-time, and Versa? I drive a Nissan Versa! What a double whammy!

First Bake on the Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven

The Inner Workings of the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven
Burn-off of the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven
Pineapple and jalapeno pizza
Influenced by Stranger Things, this is a New York style “try before you deny” pizza featuring jalapeno and pineapple as the toppings, made in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

My first impressions of the Versa 16 involved checking out the inner workings of the oven. It features a hinged lid where you can remove the tray and clean out any crumbs or debris hassle-free, and underneath that you can see the parts and components that get this oven running optimally.

To see how the oven would run, and to burn off any factory residue, I fired it up. Within 20 minutes, with the heat set to high, the stone temperature readings were at 760 degrees according to my infrared thermometer.

The first pizza I cooked in it, and you can check out my recipe for this New York style pizza dough here, was the above “try before you deny” pineapple and jalapeno pie. It was outstandingly delicious.

My recommendation is that you use a screen if you are going to cook a large 15-16″ pizza in the Halo Versa 16, for two reasons: 1.) it is difficult to launch a 15-16″ pizza onto a 16.5″ stone, and 2.) the screen will assist in preventing the bottom of the pizza from burning before the top of the pie is finished. After a few bakes, I have discovered that I prefer removing the screen two or three minutes into the cook and launching the pizza back onto the stone to finish.

Prior to my purchase, I read every single thing possible that I could about this oven in order to prepare myself on how it will bake, especially regarding the creation of a New York style pizza.

In 15 minutes, with the heat on low, stone temperatures were at almost 600 degrees, and that is when I launched the pizza. I cooked it on low for two minutes before cranking the heat up to high. You want these temperatures in about the ballpark of 600 because a New York style pizza typically cooks for around five minutes. I gathered this information prior to my purchase, and I wanted to pass this token of pizza wisdom along to any other prospective buyers.

A ‘Neo-Neapolitan’ Pizza Bake

A Neo-Neapolitan pizza with Calabrian peppers and basil, baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven
A Neo-Neapolitan pizza with Calabrian peppers and basil, baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven
The open, airy crust of the Neo-Neapolitan pizza with Calabrian peppers and basil, baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven
The open, airy crust from the Neo-Neapolitan pizza.

Still, you might wonder if the Halo Versa 16 is capable of cooking a proper Neapolitan pizza.

The honest answer is no. Not a traditional Neapolitan pizza that would call for temperatures that exceed 870 degrees. However, Halo Products Group has never advertised that this oven is geared towards making Neapolitan style pies. It is capable of so much more.

The above pizza is what I would call either a rustic pizza or a Neo-Neapolitan pizza. A Neo-Neapolitan pie is a cross between a Neapolitan and a New York style. In this batch of dough, I used 00 flour, which is in tune with a true Neapolitan, but I also added sugar and oil to it. Toppings included Italian bomba sauce with Calabrian peppers, Flatiron Pepper Co. crushed Calabrian pepper flakes, mozzarella cheese, parmigiana-reggiano and basil.

For this bake, I preheated the oven on high for 30 minutes, launched the pie and finished it off in about three to three and a half minutes. I launched the pizza directly from a peel for a true hand-tossed experience.

With a little practice and tinkering of the heat settings, you can optimize your pizza experience by baking a pie exactly how you like it.

I have yet to try baking a pan pizza in the Versa 16, but that will happen sooner rather than later, and I will update this review with my results.

Is the Halo Versa 16 Worth Buying?

Absolutely, yes, unless you are only interested in baking Neapolitan style pizzas. If that’s the case, look elsewhere, but Neapolitan style pizza is boring, to me, at this point.

You might say, “Well, I already throw down a mighty fine New York pie in my home oven!” I understand. I’m not able to do so, so the Versa 16 was a no-brainer for my outdoor cooking repertoire. Furthermore, firing up the home oven during, say, the summer is a less-than-thrilling experience. Even if you have seemingly mastered New York style pizza in your home oven, I am willing to bet that the Versa 16 is superior given that it gets hotter than any home oven out there, as I don’t know any home ovens that are exceeding temperature controls of 600-650 degrees and higher.

Between the rotating cordierite stone, the dual-burner system, Halo Products Group’s incredible customer service and the fact that the oven is a bargain at only $499, you can’t go wrong. The Halo Versa 16 churns out amazing pizza.

2

New York Style Pizza Dough Recipe for the Halo Versa 16

A New York style pizza in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven

A large New York style pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage and mushrooms on top of whole milk mozzarella directly out of the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

Halo Products Group burst onto the scene earlier this year when they brought the Versa 16 into the outdoor pizza oven world. A few years ago, it appeared that Ooni had a stronghold on the outdoor pizza oven, but these days there are so many options to choose from if you are delving into making pizza at home.

The problem with most of the outdoor pizza ovens on the market is that they are geared towards making pizzas in the range of over 850 degrees. Perhaps that is what you are looking for, which is great if you want to cook a Neapolitan pizza in 90 seconds, but to me, there are two problems with that. Those ovens are one dimensional right out of the box (without some fine-tuning of the heat settings to lower the temperature), for one, and the other problem is a personal one: I like Neapolitan style pizza, but it is not my favorite.

New York style pizza is my favorite. However, up until recently, I have never been able to create it at home. My home oven is inadequate; it is old, the heating is uneven and spotty, and the crust has never come out the way I want it to, despite using a pizza stone (I have never tried to make it with a pizza steel). My outdoor Bertello pizza oven runs far too hot (and is too small) to even bother attempting an NY style pie.

Enter the Halo Versa 16, which entered the outdoor pizza oven market earlier this year. As of my most recent post, I have not minced any words about the Halo Versa 16 being an optimal vehicle for creating New York style pizza.

To make this pizza dough, it is imperative that you own a scale that can weigh flour and water, and a gram scale that can weigh minuscule amounts of yeast and salt. Kitchen scales are inexpensive and will upgrade your pizza game tenfold.

What Makes a Great NY Style Pizza Dough

My first taste of NY style pizza has its roots from my childhood in the 1990s in southwestern Virginia. Raymond Schiano, along with help from his brother Geno, opened a restaurant called The Italian Village about 40 or so years ago. The long, thin slices and the slightly crisp but chewy texture of the pizza was featured in every bite.

New Yorkers might tell you it is in the water. That is absolute hogwash. Countless scientific studies have proven otherwise, and in blind taste tests people have not been able to tell the difference from pizza dough made with water from New York or otherwise. You do not need New York water to make a great New York style pizza. Claiming that, “it’s in the water!” is a slap in the face to all the preeminent pizzaiolos today and the generations of pizza-makers who taught them the craft.

The principle ingredient that gives New York style pizza its taste is the use of high gluten flour. A horde of NY pizza restaurants are in possession of a great deal of General Mills’ bromated All Trumps flour. This flour is made from hard red spring wheat and it features a 14.2% protein content. This is higher than what you will find in a general grocery store, but the high protein is what delivers that classic chewiness, which is what you are looking for in an authentic New York style slice. All Trumps also has diastatic malt in it, which not only achieves more rise in the crust but also aids in browning.

If you are wondering, “what the heck is ‘bromated’ flour?” Hey, I wondered the same thing when I ventured into the use of All Trumps flour. Bromated flour refers to the ingredient potassium bromate, and it is a compound that strengthens dough and provides increased oven spring* and higher rising in an oven.

(*Oven spring: The rapid increase and final burst in the expansion of dough once it is loaded into the oven. The dough expansion will cease as soon as the temperature of the dough reaches about 140℉, at which point the yeast dies. There are many factors that influence the degree and quality of the oven spring when baking pizzas, including overall dough quality (it should not be stiff or overkneaded, and it should have good hydration), the degree of fermentation (it should not be underfermented or overfermented), and oven temperature. The manner in which the pizza is baked, that is, whether using a pan, stone/tiles, or pizza screen, will also be a factor. Source.)

You can find All Trumps flour at, perhaps, a restaurant supply shop. That is where I found mine, at a place called The Stock Pot in Johnson City, Tennessee. You can order it online from various retailers as well. In the event that you cannot find it, elect to use King Arthur bread flour. It has lower protein content (12.7%) but still delivers on the chewiness. I use All Trumps flour with my recipe, but feel free to give bread flour a shot. I have used it in the past for this same recipe, and it is similar enough.

NY style Margherita pizza baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven

A New York style Margherita pizza that was baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

Cornicione or crust of a Margherita pizza

This is an example of why I love the higher (65%) hydration of this dough, from the Margherita pizza above. I love that open, airy structure.

Hydration, Salt and Yeast

There is a small debate online over the hydration level of a New York style pizza. Some say that 58% is authentic while others argue that 65% is the way to to go. My recipe is a 65% hydration dough, because that is what I personally prefer. I like the puffy rise of the cornicione (rim of the pizza) and I feel that the higher water content protects the dough from drying out during the longer bake. I say these two things as a pizza enthusiast, as I am not a scientist nor an expert baker, so take my words with a grain of salt.

Feel free to lower the hydration percentage (I will provide a lower value for those of you who want to do so, because lower hydration dough is easier to work with) if you feel more comfortable doing so. Because you can bake a New York style pizza in the Halo Versa 16 in about four or five minutes, I wouldn’t worry about the hydration percentage values as a hard rule.

I use 2.1% salt (fine sea salt) in my dough. I feel like this is the best of both worlds. The salt is not too low nor is it too high. If your salt is too low, the yeast can go crazy and your flavor will be lacking. If the salt content is too high, the yeast can be inhibited from doing its thing and you will have a tough time stretching the dough because the salt will cause it to become more elastic. Salt provides flavor and aids in the fermentation.

You can use whatever kind of yeast you want, but this recipe is geared towards instant dry yeast. It is easy, can be mixed right into the flour and — unlike active dry yeast — you don’t have to activate it in water to get it ready.

But What About Sugar and Oil?

If you are making this dough for your home oven, you might want to consider using both sugar and oil, which aids in the browning of the pizza, but the Halo Versa cooks at temperatures over 600 to 700 degrees. I feel that sugar is unnecessary completely for that reason. Furthermore, not every New York pizza restaurant is using sugar in their dough.

Oil is up for more of a debate. Oil can not only help your pizza be more chewy but help you stretch the dough when you get to that point. However, I am leaving it out, at least for now. If you do decide to use oil, do not use more than 2% of the total flour weight.

Troy’s NY Style Pizza Dough Ingredients for the Halo Versa 16

I have droned on for far too long, but I feel like the above explanations are necessary to get to this point. One more thing to know before you get started: this dough is meant to be used as a 72-hour dough. You can use it after 48 hours, but I prefer the flavor of a 72-hour cold ferment.

This recipe is meant for two dough balls weighing 425g each, which results in 15-16″ pizzas.

Flour (100%): 507g
Water (60-65%): 305-330g
IDY (0.4%): 2g
Salt (2.1%): 11g

Mixing/kneading by hand:
1.) Place water in a large bowl
2.) Add flour and yeast
3.) Using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix to combine thoroughly for a few minutes
4.) Add salt and continue to mix
5.) Dump out onto surface and, once the dough comes together, knead for five minutes.
6.) Place the dough into a closed container and allow it to sit on the counter for an hour at room temperature.
7.) Divide the dough into balls, place each into a 6-cup plastic Gladware (or similar) container and toss it into the fridge to cold ferment.

Mixing/kneading with a mixer (my preferred method):
1.) Place water, flour and yeast into the bowl of a mixer
2.) Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low for 1 minute
3.) Add salt and continue mixing/kneading on low or medium-low for four minutes.
4.) Place the dough into a closed container and allow it to sit on the counter for an hour at room temperature.
5.) Divide the dough into balls, place each into a 6-cup plastic Gladware (or similar) container and toss it into the fridge to cold ferment.

48 to 72 hours later, when you are ready to bake, remove the dough balls from the fridge for at least an hour or up to two hours to warm up. I like to begin stretching my dough into skins when the dough temperature reads 55 degrees.

If, after the mixing stage, the dough is crumbly/shaggy or not coming together, allow it to rest — covered — for about 15 to 20 minutes to autolyze or otherwise allow the flour to absorb the water.

You might be thinking, “Wow! That is a short kneading session!” You would be correct. One thing you need to know about using All Trumps flour is that it can quickly be overkneaded. This is more of a worry when it comes to using a stand mixer than by hand, but this point still stands.

A high gluten flour like All Trumps lends itself to a long cold ferment in the refrigerator.

I don’t even bother checking for the windowpane test with this dough. I will do a simple ‘poke test’ to see if the dough springs back when I poke it, which indicates that there is even the slightest gluten development happening, and then stop kneading.

You typically knead to develop gluten, but in a recipe like this, with All Trumps flour, the gluten development happens in your refrigerator more than anything, through the act of biochemical gluten development. The dough strengthens as it sits.

A New York style pizza in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven

A New York style pizza cooking away in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

NY style pizza that was baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven

A large New York style pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage and mushrooms on top of whole milk mozzarella after being baked in the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

Halo Versa 16 Heating and Bake Settings for a NY Style Pizza

To make a 16″ pizza on the Halo Versa 16, I recommend using a screen. I use this one from LloydPans. I mean, you can build your pizza on a 16″ peel, but it is difficult to launch a 16″ pizza on a 16.5″ stone. Asides from assisting in launching a large pie onto the Versa 16, the screen protects the bottom of the pizza from burning. You have more control over how brown the bottom of your pizza will be.

In addition to that, I do not use a screen for the entire bake.

My cooking process with the Halo Versa 16 when making a New York style pizza is as follows:

1.) Preheat the Halo Versa 16 on low for 20 minutes. I have found this to be the ‘money’ point in which to get the stone temperature to 652 degrees. Be sure to have the stone rotating during your preheat.

2.) While the Versa 16 preheats, I’ll build my pizza and, once adequately stretched, lay it onto the screen. If your screen is brand new, spray it with a little bit of oil so that the dough will not stick.

3.) At this point, after the preheat, I will launch the pizza onto the stone and cook it for about two and a half to three minutes while keeping the heat set to low.

4.) Afterwards, I crank the heat up to high and I’ll remove the pizza from the oven and slide it onto my peel and back into the oven so that the bottom of the pizza is browned while the high heat assists in the adequate browning of the top of the pizza.

You can experiment with removing the screen earlier or later in the cook, but I have had great success with the method above.

If the top of your pizza is not as browned as much as you prefer it to be, then dome the pizza to the top of the oven. By this, I mean lift the pizza with your peel and hold it towards the top of your oven so that the heat radiating from the top of the Versa 16 will reflect back onto the top of your pie.

I sincerely hope you give this recipe a shot. As a lifetime student of pizza slinging, I am forever experimenting and trying to improve, so I may update this recipe in the future, but as of now I have found this recipe to be an absolute winner for the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven.

All feedback is welcome, especially criticism, as long as it is constructive and friendly in nature. If you have any questions, ask away.

2

Stoke Pizza Oven: An Honest Review

The 13" gas-powered Stoke Pizza Oven
The 13″ gas-powered Stoke Pizza Oven

August 2022 update: I no longer recommend this pizza oven. At least until Stoke decides to change its regulator or go back to the drawing board in order to engineer a pizza oven with a better way to cook the bottom of the pizza. As is, the stock regulator is no good and the design of the wall in the back is troubling.

In the original review, I mentioned Stoke recommending a different regulator. Well, after one use, my burner went out as a wire was burnt up from the power of the new regulator. I contacted Stoke, they sent a new burner. After one use, the same thing happened again. I suppose the regulator that they recommended to me was simply too powerful for the neighboring wires in the burner.

I’m sad over it. I was excited to continue using the oven, but at its current state, I can’t even fire it up.

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In recent years, I have used multiple outdoor pizza ovens. From the Bertello to the latest Blackstone pizza oven conversion kit, it has been fun jumping into the backyard pizza oven game by learning new techniques to cook up pies. I was given the opportunity to try out the 13″ gas-powered Stoke Pizza Oven this month, and because I enjoy giving new culinary gadgets a try, I couldn’t wait to give it a shot.

For the purpose of full disclosure, I am an affiliate with Stoke. They are a brand new company entering the world of pizza ovens and are seeking out brand ambassadors in order to grow the brand. If you have a formidable social media following in the realm of grub slinging, you can reach out to be an affiliate. As a result of this, I received the 13″ Stoke gas pizza oven, a peel, a pizza cutter and a care package from DeLallo Foods featuring flour, pizza sauce, pesto sauce and a stick of pepperoni.

Otherwise, right now — as of the time of this posting — you can purchase their ovens at a discount for their Father’s Day sale. The gas pizza oven that I am using is $345.99 and the 16″ gas pizza oven is $475.99; they also offer a $345.99 wood-powered model that is fueled by pellets. These are $100 discounts until just after Father’s Day.

Regardless of my partnership with them, I am bound by honesty. I only use products that I believe in. I hold such products to a standard, because if I think something is not up to par, it will not be part of my outdoor cooking arsenal. There was a glaring issue which was subsequently corrected when I first received my oven, and I will cover that.

The average brand ambassador will shill for a brand without question; a great brand ambassador will provide quality feedback paired with constructive criticism for a brand in order to promote growth and progressive improvement of a product or service.

First Impressions of the Stoke Pizza Oven

While awaiting the 13″ gas pizza oven, I couldn’t help myself but read up and research what other people were saying about it.

If you peep the Amazon reviews, you’ll be a witness to a mixed bag of thoughts. One glaring complaint that avidly made the listings in the negative reviews of the Stoke Pizza Oven is that the stone doesn’t get hot enough. This instilled some doubt in my mind as I awaited the pizza oven. Furthermore, there is only one comprehensive review of this oven on YouTube, via RodrickViews. He backs up the negative reviews showing proof that the stone simply was not getting hot enough to cook the bottom of the pizzas. He heated the pizza oven for over two hours and the temperatures of the stone were never exceeding 400.

I noticed in all the Stoke Pizza Oven promotional videos, nobody was showing the undercarriage (bottom) of the pizzas. Stoke wasn’t nor was anybody else on social media. That is concerning, considering that the browning of the bottom of the pizza is inarguably the most important part of a great pizza asides from the leopard spotting of the rim (outer crust).

When I received my oven, I set it up immediately to test it out. I was already expecting the stone temperatures to be low after the aforementioned research. The first thing I noticed when I unboxed the oven is that the stone itself is rather thin. I’m thinking of eventually replacing it with a pizza steel.

For a test, to see if I experienced the same issues as everybody else, I fired up the oven. After 45 minutes, the stone was only reaching a maximum temperature of 472 degrees in the back of the oven. What separates the design of the Stoke Pizza Oven from, say, an Ooni, is that there is a big wall that stands between the flame and the stone. I suspected that the wall was being used as too much of a buffer for the flame, which was preventing the stone from reaching higher temperatures.

At this state, the oven is completely unusable. You cannot expect to cook a good Neapolitan style pizza when the stone temperature is between 350-400 degrees.

Stoke Pizza's recommendation for a different regulator.
Stoke Pizza’s recommendation for a different regulator

I reached out to Stoke and explained that the stone was not getting hot enough. Within an hour, Stoke responded to my email and explained that it is a regulator issue, and they recommended a different regulator from Amazon.

I wound up purchasing the new regulator, but I was still skeptical. However, asides from that, I was impressed by the customer service given the response within an hour of sending out the email. This was even in the evening, past 7pm.

First Cook With the Stoke Pizza Oven

https://videopress.com/v/C1LRZ3lo?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&loop=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
The Stoke Pizza Oven roaring like a dream with the new regulator.

Once I made up some dough and had the new regulator in possession, I gave it a go. I had never used a regulator with a PSI gauge before. I followed Stoke’s instructions to merely go with a 1.5 setting, barely above 0 on the gauge.

The results? The flame was roaring. It is now such a strong flame that it rolls underneath the stone. Within 15 minutes, the back of the stone was reaching 650 degrees. At 30 minutes of heating the Stoke Pizza Oven, the back of the stone was at nearly 900 degrees.

I was ready for some pizza. I had five dough balls made up, and my quasi-nephew was hungry for a slew of pies.

A salami pizza with a pesto base that was cooked in the Stoke Pizza Oven
A salami pizza with a pesto base that was cooked in the Stoke Pizza Oven
The undercarriage of the salami pizza with a pesto base that was cooked in the Stoke Pizza Oven.
The undercarriage of the salami pizza with a pesto base that was cooked in the Stoke Pizza Oven.

My first attempt using the Stoke Pizza Oven was with a pizza featuring salami with a pesto sauce base.

As you can see, it was a rousing overall success. There is actually color on the crust. If I had used the stock regulator that came with the oven, I wouldn’t have achieved any browning whatsoever on the bottom of that pizza despite the top of the pizza looking nice. That is the qualm I have with Stoke’s marketing team and some of the current ambassadors at this time: the top of the pizza will look great with the stock regulator, but the bottom will not. With the new regulator (at the proper, safe settings*), the bottom will cook like a dream.

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A Margherita pizza in the Stoke Pizza Oven

The final pizza, after a few basic pepperoni pies, was a pseudo-Margherita pie in the Stoke. It was my favorite of the bunch, without question, as an unabashed fan of the simple style of pizza.

The original issue I had with the oven was resolved. The new regulator corrected the problem that would have occurred with the stock regulator. My recommendation to Stoke Stove is to begin sending these gas pizza ovens out with a new, powerful regulator, because at the time of this writing, the stock regulator is terrible unless you are a fan of pale, white crusts with zero browning nor flavor. I’m a straight shooter and that is simply a fact at this time.

It is a simple request of Stoke Stove to do this in the future, because a typical consumer should not be expected to receive a new oven with an underpowered regulator out of the box. I had no problem buying the recommended regulator, because of the fact that I was gifted the oven as a partner with the brand. However, if I had spent the money to buy the oven, I would have been miffed.

Furthermore, the pizza stone should be thicker, in my opinion. I am worried of the durability, but the tests of time will reveal how long it will last. Again, I may replace it with a steel.

I’m loving this Stoke Pizza Oven after the regulator change. I can’t wait to have the opportunity to throw down some more pies with it, because you can’t beat cooking up restaurant-quality pizza in your backyard.

Final Thoughts: Should You Buy a Stoke Pizza Oven?

Even with my complaints, from the big one (the stock regulator being subpar) and the rather inconsequential one (the stone being a bit thin), I highly recommend the 13″ gas-powered Stoke Pizza Oven, but it is imperative that you replace the regulator for a properly cooked undercarriage of a pizza.

Even with the purchase of a new regulator along with the oven, the Stoke Pizza Oven (with the current sale pricing going on) is cheaper in price than other brands like Ooni or Gozney.

I may be an affiliate with Stoke Stove, but again, I refuse to use products or services I do not believe in. All of the opinions expressed in this post are of my own subjective opinions backed by anecdotal experiences and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of anybody else. I will never blindly recommend something if I do not personally think it is up to par.

I have not yet tried any pan pizzas in my Stoke Pizza Oven, so that will eventually be a test soon enough. However, I am already loving the hand-stretched Neapolitan pies I have cooked in it, and also once again, I can’t wait to have the time to make more pizzas with the Stoke.

I now have an appreciation for the high wall in the back of the oven, because I suspect the pan pizzas are going to be incredible when I do cook them, as cooking with the heat setting on low and the high wall will provide enough of a buffer for the time needed to cook a pan pizza all the way through.

Stoke Stove is brand new to the game of the outdoor pizza oven frenzy. I do not drone on and on over the stock regulator in order to be a menace but to provide the feedback needed for the company to grow. I fully believe that there will be changes in the future simply based on what I see from the customer service being top notch regarding feedback and complaints. In a year from now, my qualms about the stock regulator may be irrelevant. Who knows?

In your search for an outdoor pizza oven, definitely give Stoke a priority in your considerations. I will be posting recipes in the coming future that will pair fantastically with a Stoke Pizza Oven.

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The New Blackstone Pizza Oven for the 22″ Griddle

The brand new Blackstone Products Pizza Oven Conversion Kit
The brand new Blackstone Outdoor Pizza Oven Add-On for the 22″ Blackstone Griddle

About a month ago, Blackstone Products announced the release of a new outdoor pizza oven. Technically, it is called the Blackstone pizza oven conversion kit, or the Blackstone pizza oven add on. It is a Wal-Mart exclusive, website only, and it is for the 22″ tabletop models.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on one. In the last couple of years, I have become a pizza-making fiend. Prior to 2020, the thought of making homemade pizza left me in trepidation. Pan pizza is easy to throw together, but hand-tossed? It was always an exercise in failure. Being stuck at home more often during the pandemic afforded me the time and patience to delve into the world of pizza, and over time I have learned how to make a halfway decent pie.

My better half surprised me with an outdoor pizza oven (a Bertello) for Christmas last year. It heats up to over 900 degrees, and it is perfect for making 10-to-12 inch Neapolitan style pizzas. That pizza oven works great, but given the small opening of the door and the extreme heat, there isn’t a lot of options to do other styles than just a Neapolitan pie.

Enter the Blackstone Pizza Oven Add-On

I was skeptical.

When I watched the first couple of videos of the Blackstone pizza oven conversion kit in action, I noticed a difference between it and other outdoor pizza ovens, like Ooni and my Bertello oven.

Unlike most outdoor pizza ovens, the heat source isn’t coming from the back. That is the case with my Bertello: the fire source roars from the back of the oven with flames rolling over top of the pizza. The pizza sits on a pre-heated, piping hot stone and the bottom cooks up while the residual heat of the flames kiss the top of the pizza to finish it in about 90 seconds.

In the style of the new Blackstone pizza oven, the heat source is coming from the bottom-sides. This product features not one, but two pizza stones: a round stone that sits on the floor of the oven and a square stone that sits above the pizza. There are two mechanisms of cooking at play here. When you pre-heat the oven, both of the pizza stones heat up, so when you load your pizza, the heat coming off the top stone provides aid in cooking the top of the pizza along with the bottom stone. It is like a tag-team in action.

The pizza oven add-on itself is heavy. It is about 50-lbs. Installation is fairly simple. You remove the griddle-top from the 22″ Blackstone base, remove the ‘leg’ stubs on the bottom, add your heat shield, re-add the legs, sit the pizza oven accessory kit directly onto the base and — using a screw-driver — install the handles to the sides, door and the little base on top.

With the door of the oven closed, you can heat the oven up to 600 to 700 degrees in about 20 minutes, based on my anecdotal experiences. Within 30 minutes, you will be tapping it up to a surplus of 800 degrees.

One of the things I love about this pizza oven is that it is quite large. The round pizza stone that you cook on is a 15″ stone, so you can cook a large family style pizza. In addition to that, the opening is big enough to accompany pans. I love making bar style, Chicago style and Detroit style pizzas. With the adjustments of the two temperature control knobs, and a little practice, you can subjectively dial in the temperature to cook pan pies to personal perfection.

My First Pizza on the Blackstone Pizza Oven

14" pan pizza on the new Blackstone Pizza Oven Add-On
14″ pan pizza on the new Blackstone Pizza Oven Add-On
Right out of the Blackstone Pizza Oven
A slice of the pie

I was eager to test out the new Blackstone pizza oven, but I didn’t have any homemade dough, so I ran out to the grocery store and bought a pound of dough.

After letting the dough sit out for about an hour, I stretched the dough out in an oiled 14″ pan. I made a pizza that I can only call the ‘House Divided’ pizza with Rao’s marinara sauce, a blend of mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and provolone cheeses, half pepperoni, green peppers, diced onion; half Italian sausage, pepperoni, jalapeños, banana peppers. This pie finished in only seven minutes and I capped it off with a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey.

I turned the burners down, because I wanted the dough to cook without burning the bottom crust.

Neapolitan and New York Style Pizza on the Blackstone Pizza Oven

As soon as I was afforded the time, I whipped up a Neapolitan style pizza dough: a 24-hour room temperature ferment with minimal yeast, bulk proofed for 24 hours and balled up four hours prior to cooking.

A pepperoni Neapolitan-style pie on the Blackstone Pizza Oven
A pepperoni Neapolitan-style pie on the Blackstone Pizza Oven

Boar’s Head pepperoni, a mix of white cheddar, mozzarella and Colby Jack cheese and a homemade sauce (San Marzano style tomatoes, salt, fresh basil, garlic and a pinch of oregano) was the ticket to a wonderful pizza.

With this style of pizza, I left the burners on high, with the door closed, rotating it every 45 seconds. It finished in about two minutes and thirty seconds. Yes, it took a little longer than a traditional Neapolitan pizza, but the results were still fantastic.

A New York style pizza in action on the Blackstone Pizza Oven
A slice of New York style pie on the Blackstone Pizza Oven
A slice of New York style pie on the Blackstone Pizza Oven
Bottom crust of a New York style pizza on the Blackstone Pizza Oven
A perfect under-carriage

I subsequently tried my hand at a New York style pizza. Once again, similar to the Neapolitan style pie, since NY-style is actually a derivative of Neapolitan pizza, I cooked it up with the burners turned on high, door closed. The only differences are that I was more rough when I stretched the dough, so the cornicione (rim of the pizza) was less poofy, and this dough was only about 55-56% hydration compared to the 60% hydration in the above Neapolitan pie.

Detroit Style Pizza in the Blackstone Pizza Oven

A Detroit style pizza in the Blackstone Pizza Oven
A Detroit Style Pizza in the Blackstone Pizza Oven
Detroit style pizza cooking away in the Blackstone Pizza Oven Conversion Kit
Hot & fresh Detroit style pizza cooking away in the Blackstone Pizza Oven

Detroit style pizza might just be my favorite style of pizza in the world, so I am biased in everything I write in this realm of things. I have been making this style of pizza in my home oven for about a year and a half. Typically, it takes 16 to 18 minutes to cook one in the said home oven, and I never have been able to acquire a perfectly browned, crispy crust no matter what. There are many reasons for this, and I think it is due to the fact that my home oven is old and inferior compared to many other ovens out there.

The Blackstone Pizza Oven Add-On perfectly accommodated the 10×14 pan I used for the Detroit style pie. With the burners turned down, I still managed to finish this pizza in nine minutes. Not only that, but the bottom of the crust was perfectly crispy. Again, it is something I have never experienced from my home oven, and the Blackstone pizza oven conversion kit finished it in roughly half the time.

Is the Blackstone Pizza Oven Add-On Worth It?

Considering that most outdoor pizza ovens are over $300 to $400 pending on what you are wanting to buy, my answer is a resounding yes.

The Blackstone pizza oven add-on sells for $227 on Wal-Mart’s website. If you already have a 22″ Blackstone griddle, that is an incredible price for what is a capable, heavy duty, thick and well-made pizza oven. Even if you don’t have a 22″ griddle, the price of the griddle and pizza oven add-on is significantly less than other stand-alone pizza ovens on the market, especially when you factor in the potential for large pizzas and the ability to cook pan pizzas. As I said earlier, many outdoor pizza ovens only give you one option of pizza: Neapolitan, since the heat source is usually incredibly hot. You can do multiple styles in the Blackstone pizza oven.

One might ask, “Well, I have a home oven that I can cook pizza in, even New York style at 550-600 degrees.” Sure, go ahead and use your home oven if it fits the bill for you, but what about during the summer months when it is far too hot to heat up your home? Enter this pizza oven.

I have been having a blast with this new oven. I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with Blackstone Products. I am merely an advocate. I only tout and endorse products I truly believe in and personally use. I will never post about something that does not live up to the hype.

I am not sure how long the new pizza oven accessory kit will be available, so get it while you can. I will be posting pizza recipes in the near future that will go along with the use of this pizza oven.

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Grizzly BBQ is a Member of Team Caribeque

Grizzly BBQ is a Member of Team Caribeque

If you have been following Grizzly BBQ over the years, you know that one of the mainstays in the rubs and seasonings that I’m frequently using in recipes is oftentimes one from Caribeque.

I will always be a man of my word and only promote products that I fully believe in and personally use. If there is something that I dislike, I won’t use it again, nor will I promote it, simply put.

The first time I heard about Caribeque was back in 2016, when a friend of mine — Brad Woods from Ohio, a top notch home chef who could hit big on Instagram if he posted more often — started avidly posting on social media about using Caribeque Honey Heat on smoked pork. I was intrigued, because not only did I trust his opinion in the realm of culinary dealings, but I thought the name of the product to be catchy (excellent marketing from the first step).

When I barbecued for the first time ever in December 2016, I tried Honey Heat for the first time ever, and I was hooked. Rubbed on a small pork butt, I smoked it in my old vertical offset Brinkmann Trailmaster stick burner, and the results were overwhelmingly fantastic. Keep in mind that this was before I became a regular poster on the grilling and barbecue community on Instagram, so I had no idea who was behind the Caribeque name or anything about the small company itself. I just knew that I loved at least one product from the line of rubs and seasonings.

Bottles of Caribeque AP rub and Caribeque Smack Sauce

Fast-forward to July 2017, when I bought a bottle of the (then) new rub, ‘AP’ (All Purpose), along with two bottles of Smack Sauce (incredible on burgers, pulled pork tacos, French fries, as a chicken dip, etc.), I posted the photo above to Instagram. I believe that was my first time officially posting about Caribeque. I didn’t have many followers at the time — under 100, I believe — and yet Kurt Halls, the man behind the idea of Caribeque, not only reposted the photo to the Caribeque Instagram, but he reached out to me in a message to thank me for the support and to get to know me.

In the near-four years since then, only one or two other small BBQ-related companies have reached out to me in any kind of capacity like that (shout out to Mitch & Louise Swank from Hutch’s BBQ Sauce and The Killer Cook). Kurt spoke to me like a long-time friend and treated me like an equal in the culinary world, when at the time I knew nothing about how to take a halfway decent food photo, and I had zero pull or influence in the community. I have used products from at least one hundred different companies in the last half decade, and nobody else has made that kind of effort to engage with their loyal followers the same way.

Even if Kurt had never reached out, I would still be using the Caribeque line today, just because I genuinely believe in how fantastic of a collective group of products they all are for tossing on grub. In December 2017, I bought a couple bottles of the Big & Bold beef rub, and I was hooked from the get-go when I tried it on smoked’n’shredded chuck roast. Nowadays, I almost exclusively only use Big & Bold on burgers, because it has such a phenomenal flavor that compliments beef.

Over the last two and a half years, I can’t speak enough about how good of a person that Kurt from Caribeque is. When my mother had a stroke in November 2018, he reached out to me and asked me if I needed any help. When I disappeared from social media for most of 2019 while placing my energy into someone over any other life endeavor, Kurt reached out and asked if I was alright given the sudden absence. When I experienced perhaps the worst ongoing bout of extreme depression of my life starting on March 30, 2020, he and I commiserated over the pain of life circumstances as he shared with me the difficult times he has been through the last few years.

What other folks behind the labels of BBQ-based companies do that? While I love the products from Meat Church, Reload Rub and Grill Your Ass Off, they certainly never have despite the repeated support I’ve also shown them.

I never expected to be an official member of Team Caribeque. I would still be using Caribeque in the food that I sling weekly even if I had never been asked, but about a week ago, Kurt called and asked me to officially be a member. Hey, I was technically unofficially a member of Team Caribeque for the last four years, but now it is official.

Use code GRIZZLY for 15% off of any purchase at Caribeque.
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Grilled Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Grilled stuffed poblano peppers and a bell pepper

Two grilled stuffed poblano peppers and a grilled stuffed bell pepper on a bed of yellow rice.

Stuffed peppers were always a common meal that my mother cooked up while I was growing up. She would take green bell peppers, cut off the top of them, remove the inner part and ‘veins’ along with the seeds, roast them in the oven until the peppers would be partially cooked and then stuff them with an assortment of toppings.

Usually, those said toppings included the ground beef that she would brown up in a skillet with a diced onion, tomato sauce and shredded cheddar cheese. She would turn these into a meal, sometimes paired with a pan of fresh cornbread (my parents were veritable bread fiends who always seemed to feature some kind of bread as a side item for most meals).

I didn’t begin cooking until I was nearly 21-years-old in 2012, and the idea of cooking up a batch of stuffed peppers never occurred to me until well after my mom’s stroke in November 2018. While taking care of her, she asked if I could cook some for dinner one evening. I couldn’t believe that, after nearly seven years of cooking, I had never thought about cooking them since they made for a fairly quick and easy dinner during weeknights when I was a child, so I recreated her recipe, except I incorporated white rice that I cooked in some chicken broth and Italian seasoning to go along with the browned ground beef, diced onions and tomato sauce.

These days, I have what I will declare as a way better version of stuffed peppers: grilled stuffed peppers. I have thrown down some grilled, stuffed bell peppers multiple times at this point, but recently my local grocery store has begun to sell poblano peppers. Poblano peppers are just about as mild as bell peppers, but I prefer the flavor. Today, I want to offer you guys the prospect of grilling stuffed poblano peppers, which I believe you should include in your future grill meals this summer (or in the spring, fall and winter if you are a year-round outdoor griller like me).

For the grilled stuffed poblano peppers, I want to mention that I left out the tomato sauce. I didn’t have any on hand, but they were just fine without them. If you want to use them, then fair game! Add what you see fit. I made some with browned ground beef and some with leftover pulled pork that I smoked in my recently purchased Po’Man Grill. As much as I would like to call this a recipe, consider it to be more of a guide. Without further ado, let’s roll on to it.

Ingredients

How to Grill Stuffed Poblano Peppers

In this recipe, I grilled a couple of stuffed bell peppers as well, for the picky crowd, so keep this in mind if anybody requests that variety.

  1. Cook the yellow rice according to the package instructions (I used a family pack of the yellow rice — boil 3 and 1/2 cups of water, add the package of rice, reduce heat to medium low and cover for 20 minutes or until done).
  2. You can do this on your grill, but I was in a hurry, so I browned up the ground beef and diced onions in the taco seasoning in my cast iron skillet on my stove.
  3. Using a charcoal grill (if you are using a gas grill, fire it up to 350-400 degrees), I lit a small chimney of charcoal, allowed it to burn for 20-25 minutes and added them to the grill before adding my grates and procuring the lid on top. Both the intake and exhaust vents were set to being wide open.
  4. Preparing the poblano peppers — I removed the tops, sliced them into two sections and flatted them (seeds removed). This is my method that I find to be the most efficient: I applied a liberal amount of cooking oil (I used canola oil) to my hands and rubbed the skin and innards of the peppers. This is to create a thin layer of fat on the peppers in order to help the roasting process and keep them from sticking on the grill grates.
  5. I placed the peppers skin-side down onto the grate over the hot coals and cooked them for a couple of minutes before flipping them over to cook the inside of them for an additional minute or two before removing them.
  6. I added a spoonful or two of rice to the peppers followed by the pulled pork on some of them and ground beef and onions on the others before topping them with the cheese. This allows the cheese to melt down on everything.
  7. I re-added the peppers to the indirect side of the grill, closed the lid and allowed the cheese to melt for five to ten minutes.
  8. Remove and enjoy!

I highly recommend giving this recipe a shot. If you choose to use bell peppers, give them the same treatment with the coking oil and blemishing of the skin and innards on the grill for that classic grilled flavor. If you try this recipe (er, guide), let me know what you think in the comments.

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