Great video! The Ooni Essentials Guide (p.45) recommends, when the oven is HOT, using a DRY paper towel to clean the soot off the glass (using cold water, the rapid cooling might crack the hot glass). When the oven is COOL you can use warm soapy water. Regarding the discrepancy between the AIR temperature measured by the in-built digital thermometer and the STONE temperature measured by the handheld IR thermometer: p.16 of the Essentials Guide says you need to balance both temperatures (i.e. they should be roughly equal) since the stone heats up more slowly than the surrouding air. This implies that the digital thermometer is not directly connected to the stone but measures the air around it. It's actually a very important TIP: you need to measure the temperature of the air AND the (middle of the) stone separately and wait until they are the same in order to cook the top and bottom of the pizza evenly. Not many people seem to know that on TH-cam!
The fire will always be dirty as its starting, I would keep the door open until the fire is well established. As soon as you notice that the smoke from the fire has cleaned up - it should be ok to shut the door without it getting (too) dirty. Incidentally, if you want to clean the glass - one of the best ways is with a piece of damp paper towel - and just dip in in the ash from your last fire and use it as a soft abrasive which works beautifully. Thanks for the detailed informative video - great job
@mitchamus I have had no problem with sot on glass, yet. But now I know why I did not have it. Great tips, thanks a million. I will also save some ash.
@@TomVoyageuk in order to get yourself that greasy crust and cheese like Dominos and Pizza Hut, mix bag of flour with 1 cup of water, buy a bottle of water instead for very clean water and not sink water cause I look at things very carefully like a scientist/analyst, it shows all the dibre and if see dust flakes in your measuring bowl/cups, it’s cause your sink is ejecting water with small bits of iron or you might’ve touched the sinks head/hose with your hands as your washing dishes, you might’ve given the head some very small and unnoticeable filth films, it’s ok just put some soap onto the head, rub in with your fingers and wait a day before using it again. Canola oil, bag of flour (not a boxed version of flour) and water Mix in bowl, wash your hands to then get your dough into your hands to massage it, roll it, put it on a cutting board, or a nicely cleaned wooden counter top that’s wiped. Roller - rough it out as much as you can, but then bunch of the dough again and add it into the mixing bowl to give it the canola oil, 1/3rd, hand mix it in the bowl till the bowl doesn’t seem to be to wet with canola oil and it seems mostly like the dough is. Take it out, bunch it up again, DO NOT RING OUT THE CANOLA OIL INTO THE SINK! bunch it up again, wooden cutting board or surface again, rolled out Use sharpest knife you have to cut the sides off to perform giving it a nice circle, or to professionally do it, get out a strainer bowl, place it on the dough, press it on it, take off, cut the sides for perfect shape, but then with those sides cut off, roll them out with rollin* pin, cut out rectangular pieces to place on the circular pizza dough, Don’t put it next to the circle place it half way on, some of the rectangle off, press the part of the rectangular bits onto the circular dough to give it is crusts. Parmesan cheese everywhere but but light amount on the crusts, just wipe the crust though with some softened butter (salted), ragus traditional pasta sauce, all over the circle, and very lightly touched on the crusts to 30 mins in oven, cut it up, eat it up :)
I feel a bit uneasy about using water whilst the oven is so hot. I'd be worried about cracking the glass. I like the idea of keeping the door open if you're using wood as a fuel.
Agree. You should try using lump wood charcoal next time as ur base for the heat. It produces more heat and less soot. And put some kiln dry wood pieces in the oven before u launch a pizza so u get some flame. Thats what I do in my pizza oven. I find it works better than wood only.
Thanks for the comment! It’s funny because I’ve just edited and uploaded my next video, showing a real time cook on charcoal and wood! It worked really well too! The video is scheduled to go live tomorrow at 7pm GBT!
Fantastic Video Tom, I just bought a Karu 16, still hasn't arrived. I'm so excited to use it. Your videos are so very helpful. Please keep making them. I'm in Australia. Is quite difficult to get the correct wood here. I have actually purchased some from Amazon which is coming from the UK. Thank you!!!
@@TomVoyageuk Thanks for your lovely reply, didn't expect that at all. It arrived yesterday, made a pizza today, I'd give it a 7 out of 10, no probably a 6. Nevertheless, it tasted good!!! I know it's all about practice, but I can't just make pizzas everyday, much as I would love to. Thanks again.
Im thinking of getting one of these and the video really helps see it in real use. But.. now you had the oven 2 years whats your honest, 2 yr update mini review please ?
Hi Tom,Thanks to your video I very recently purchased a Ooni Karu 16....I think your video presentations are nothing short of brilliant..Very educational and informative..Thanks..
I assembled mine a few days ago and had the same soot problem on the glass. I gave it a wipe so I could observe the pizza. The pie was great. I cleaned the interior after it cooled. I think it’s normal. Like a bbq, the Kari 16 requires some cleaning after use. It’s well worth the trouble because the pie is so much better than from a 550F oven. Really like the oven.
Great tip! Thanks for the comment dude! I agree that cleaning the class may just be a part of the routine maintenance. You may be like me and actually really enjoy cleaning the BBQ/Oven too!
@@TomVoyageuk Yep. Now I leave the front door open until the fire gets really hot. Window stays clean but you still have to (then) wait for the heat-up cycle to complete.
I’ve used a few times with the gas attachment and there’s no issues with soot, oven heats up quickly too! I actually use a charcoal and wood mixture for most cooks now, it gets hot and gives the wood fire flavour but doesn’t get sooty heating up
Hello Tom! (Minute 3:47) have you ever try to extend the chimney tube? I’m having the same problem but not sure if will work fine extending it more than 1 meter (3ft) to cross the roof
Hi Tom. Watched some of your vids because I ordered this oven too. Just a few questions. 1) how long does it take to get the oven at the right temperature? 2) how many kilo wood je need for a session? Like when you make 10 pizzas. 3) what’s better. A peel with or without holes (perforated) en what size? 12, 14, 16 inches. 4) your dough looks amazing. You have the recipe and the brand/kind of flower u used? A tip: when you want to clean the glass: take paper towel. Make it wet. Dip it in ashes and polish the glass. Then also wet paper towel and take off the dirt. Thank you and have a nice Sunday.
The soot issue is caused by the oven not being hot enough. Definitely use larger chunks of wood. Make sure you only use hard wood. Oak, pecan, hickory and fruit woods. Never , Never use pine or evergreen wood. The sap will burn black and ruin your pizzas flavor. Once the oven is up to temperature, the smoke will be burning clean. It will no longer be black (sooty) but white / clear. Close the door and let the pizza stone get hot. 750 degrees is ok but over 800 degrees better. Check temperature on the pizza stone. This is what makes your pizza bottom crispy . A cold stone not up to temperature will yield a soggy under cook crust / bottom. Slide in your pizza and watch it cook, you need to check pizza in. 45-60 seconds, if the edge closes to the fire is browning, turn pizza 1/4,to 1/3,turn. After another minute turn again. Repeat as needed till pizza is hot and bubbly. Crust should be nicely browned and may have blackened edges. Bottom of pizza should be brown also.
I think the soot on the glass is probably down to poor airflow, a bit like in a wood burner, too much fuel can smother the fire and cause sooting as the temperature in the fire isn’t high enough if that makes sense, I wonder if starting off small with the fire and then build it up with more fuel as it gets really going just like a log burner.
Thanks for the comment, I’ve had loads of replies about this and you’re right, a slower fire with more slit flow seems to be the key! Next time I’ll use larger wood chunks too!
Great video and a really nice oven. I think the soot could be down to much wood to early and maybe slightly damp wood or a combination of both? I'm no expert but just a thought. Regarding the temperature difference I think the built in probe measures the ambient temperature in the oven, hence the difference between that and the laser probe used on the stone.
Thanks for the comment Shane! I’m sure the wood was dry enough because it came from a supplier of pizza oven wood, but it’s cut for the smaller Karu, which I have sound since filming could be the issue as it’s designed for use with larger chunks. As for the thermometer, you’re absolutely right, I’m a typical bloke and didn’t read the instructions first in depth 😁
None of the Karu reviews ever spend much time talking about the smoky flavour advantage of using a wood BBQ. Given how short a time the pizza spends in the oven, I am beginning to wonder if there really is much of a flavour difference using wood in the Karu 16. I would love to hear more about this.
Thanks for the comment Michael, I can definitely tell a difference in the taste, but not everyone can. It depends a lot on the kind of wood you use and how much some is coming off the wood. I've cooked a pizza too early before when the wood wasn't hot enough and really given the dough an acrid smoke taste, so its not always a good thing!
@@TomVoyageuk that comes from having dirty smoke. When using a smoker you want your smoke to come out of your vent with a blue tinge not brown. I would imagine it would be the same with this oven. Brown smoke is bad. Blue smoke is good.
I just bought this with the gas unit, but thought I could add a bit of wood later to get the wood taste. Can you add a wood box inside while using gas? I didn’t realize you can’t use solid fuel while using gas!!
I never used a pizza oven but am willing to buy one next year after building my house for outdoors. From your experience seeing the comments here.. this definitely would be a help 😊 Thanks!
Not sure if someone has said it, but the integrated thermometer DOES NOT read the stone temperature, and Ooni make that perfectly clear in the manual. They also recommend buying one of their laser thermometers, like the one you have. The soot is probably because of the type of wood. You should try Ooni's own, probably and if it works, then source locally for something similar.
Hi, Thanks for the comment! You're absolutely right, its just an ambient temp the thermometer reads, good for cooking bread etc, but i still usually use a digital thermometer. Also, its interesting you mention the soot, because since filming this video, i have used the ooni kiln dried wood and the pieces are much bigger then i usually use, and give off hardly any soot at all! The video showing this will be released soon! :)
Must have nailed your dough recipe it looks mighty fine. I use kiln dried logs too in mine once it is lit, for the reasons you say. Gives a consistent cook I found.
Why thank you! Im always experimenting with different recipes, but if i remember correctly this was just a simple 65% hydration dough, using 00 flour, with a cold proof for about 18 hours, bulk, then balled up and back in the fridge for 4 hours before letting come up to room temp ready to cook/
Thanks for the comment! It’s called a Rode wireless Go, and I highly recommend it, it’s made filming my videos so much easier since I’m often filming outdoors and it’s great not being restricted by wires or a directional microphone
Tom, love your videos. Finally got a Karu 16 and love it, thanks to you. In this video, what is the stand you are using? I have the Ooni large table, but I also want something smaller. Thanks.
Hey! Thanks, i'm glad you enjoy them! The Katu 16 is a great oven, enjoy! This is the keter unity XL table, I also have the new folding Ooni table which is my current go to 👍
Can you regulate temperature to lower values while burning wood or charcoal , like 200 C or 300 C, and how well does it keep the temperature for longer cooks?
Yes..you have a couple alternatives..the internal vent, and the chimney vent, I’d imagine experimenting with cracking the back door too..although it may be designed to keep that shut at all times. My new Karu is sitting on a cart like his in my garage, tomorrow I’ll burn it in and try some pizzas..!
Thanks for the comment, I’m afraid I did the ‘man’ thing and started cooking before fully reading the manual. It says in there the thermometer is for air temp, and the probe is located just in the top corner, thanks for clearing that up! 😃
I think for pizza cooks, stone temp is the key, but this oven can cook loads of things, so the ambient temp becomes more useful for bread, Detroit style pizza, slow cooking etc.
Have you tried using your own wood? I.E. almond, hickory, mesquite? Obviously labor would be involved but I'm always stocked with a cord of seasoned wood for my offset and can't fathom spending more money on wood without another purpose.
Thanks for the comment, I have used my own wood, but only recently because it took so long to season! But they cut down a large birch tree near me which has provided loads of wood. It works well and being a hard wood is a nice hot flame, I also use oak which was given to me from a wood supplier to test out on the karu.
We are not as lucky as You. In Europe/Sweden we do not have Hickory, Mesquite as I know of. Hickory only in shaft of axes etc. :-) So we have to stick with Oak (but have a lot of Birch). Buy small boxes of "perfect" wood is not sustainable in the long run, but good for tests.
It could have been, but really i think what happened here is i shut the door before the fire was really hot. That meant the fire was struggling for airflow, and smouldered rather than burned. next time ill get the fire going with the door fully open. Once the flames are good and hot, but one some larger pieces of wood, then close the door. I think thats the answer! Either way, you're always going to get some soot cooking on real fire!
Like the Video Tom its a big guide to what to buy but tell me is the 16 being larger better than the cheaper Ooni Pro? as to me it would appear to be just about the difference in its internal size?
Thanks so much for the great feedback! I would say if the glass door and internal thermometer are important too you, then it is. If its just for pizzas, then the ooni pro will be just fine. I think the Karu 16 is tailored to be both a pizza oven and conventional outdoor oven, as it has more options to regulate and monitor temps for lower and slower cooks
Hi Tom, I do have the Ooni Karu 16 and my glas is getting sooty as well. The comment below about leaving the door open when starting up the fire may be a good idea. I will try it next time. Nevertheless I used hard wood but I couldn't get higher temperatures than 350 C after 25 mins which is rather disappointing. Great reviews and good videos, cheers mate.
Thanks for the comment Boromaus, I haven’t had an issue with soot on the door since using charcoal as a base before adding the wood to cook the pizza. I also find the Karu 16 takes a bit longer to heat as it’s a bigger oven, but the charcoal helps keep a consistent heat, have you tired with charcoal yet?
Hi John, yes this is the Karu 16, it’s the latest multi fuel oven from Ooni, it’s available right now to ship, if you use the links in the video description it will take you right to the Ooni website for more information.
How hot does it get a few feet above the chimney? I want to use mine under a covered patio like yours, but worried about damage to the wooden beams (catching fire!) above the patio. Looks like I'll have about 5ft clearance to the beams.
If you have good airflow in your patio area, you'll be fine, i use mine under there with a similar clearance and never had an issue, the only time it gets even a bit warm is then its halfway out of the patio, and directly under the gutter, about 1/2 ft away. Even then you can get a chimney topper oven seen on ebay that should deflect the heat enough to avoid any issues.
Thanks so much Shaun! I bought from a garden centre, but its called the Unity XL From Keter. My latest video is actually a review of this table, becuase people always ask about it! haha
Thanks so much! Glad you liked my video! It feels very sturdy, as you would expect for an oven costing £699! But I've used mine a lot and never had any issues with it being flimsy, always found it to be very good quality
Hi Kevin, thanks for the comment. Im actually not sure, as its just lighter gas i fill it with. But i bought it from amazon. It was called a chefs blow torch for creme brûlée
I just assembled mine, the fit and finish are quite impressive. Very..impressive! (I feel like someone chopped a mini photon torpedo in half and made a pizza oven out of it..) The exterior feels almost like plastic the paint is so thick and textured, but on the Ooni video they talk about how it is metal with a special insulation inside. I tested the size of the interior, you can even fit large casseroles with handles in there, and my biggest perforated aluminum pizza pans fit too..it’s deceptively large. My initial criticism of this oven is I’d like to see slightly sturdier legs that lock into position. I’m sure these are fit for purpose, but since there are only three, it just seems like they should be a tad thicker and lock when extended. I can’t wait to fire it up tomorrow! I even got their two pizza peels, the large one he has in this vid, and a small, circular one for turning pizzas.. I’m also trying to get the natural gas attachment as the small cut hardwoods are expensive, plus the convenience issue. It’s not available yet here in US, they’re out of stock, and I’d rather not mess with propane either, I have a natural gas pipe in my garage I can have a fitting tapped into..
Hi there... Please check with Ooni before you do that. I just read in the manual earlier that the gas burner is for propane only! I would hate for there to be an accident and your unit get damaged, or worse.
@@dkriner9895 no..it’s a natural gas burner specifically made for the Karu 16..they have both for certain models..whatever manual you are reading is correct for that specific model..but good eye, thx! I just had an attic fire late July, my neighbor beat on my door til I answered, if he hadn’t seen smoke, I would have lost the whole house…
Does the same oven the ooni karu you unboxed, cook pizza using gas also? If so can you make a vid about that please... coz I'm thinking of buying one but not sure how easy it is to switch from gas to wood and back? Thank you btw loved this vid extremely helpful
Thanks for the comment Fahad, Yes you can use gas and wood/charcoal with the Ooni Karu 12" & 16". The gas comes as an additional add on but costs around £65.00. To swap them over is really simple, i have many videos of both of the Karu 12 & 16 on my channel if you would like to check those out?
The instructions say the probe measures the air temp and you need laser to measure stone temperature. Also, it appears you’ve overloaded the firebox, which is going to give you more soot.
Thanks for the comments guys! Yes you’re both right the air temp thermometer is designed for using the Karu more as an oven, for bread/ meats etc. Stone temp is still something I’ll continue to measure with my digital thermometer! Next time for the wood I’ll use less wood, but larger chunks!
Another good video, although my pizza oven is an alfresco chef stainless steel oven I still enjoying watching what you do, ps Wanting a woodern outdoor structure like yours where we can still cook under cover if it's bad weather, my only worry was seeing you getting smoked out a little and wondered if there's a way to build and extension to the flue to take the smoke away better without it effecting the air drawing out ? Maybe an idea for you to make other vid??
Thanks for the feedback Lucio! I’ve thought about building a chimney too and it would work fine, maybe just speed up the airflow a bit. The reason I’ve never done it however is because I move the oven around too much
There are all kinds of pop up shelters you can purchase fairly cheaply, look for camping shade tents, or shade sails..or car and motorcycle tents, etc..
The basket on the Karu 16 is quite big, but will usually get the oven up to temp with one full basket ( you may need to add a couple fo chunks during the heat up time) Either way i would say around 2kg of dried wood cut into lengths of 150mm x 50mm should see you right to get up too temp. My advice is to use a good quality hardwood too like oak for example
Excellent video, as always. Was a shame about the soot build up, but as has already been commented, probably down to air flow. Will be interesting to see if @love-logs will carry a size of wood that fits the Karu 16
Thanks so much for the comment! Don’t let the spot build up put you off, it’s much more likely to be my in experience with the oven than a fault with the oven. More cooks will hopefully shed light on this issue. I know the guys at love logs and they do logs for the Ooni Pro and Karu 16 (which take the same size)
Great video, thanks for taking the time to produce it. I just assembled my Karu 16 last night and will cook today. Many have commented on the soot issue so I'll leave that alone. I'm curious about the 16" peel you are using. When I saw the perforated peel Ooni offers in the 12" and 14" size I was intrigued and looked forward to buying one in the 16" size but disappointed to find they do not offer that. I see the perf's as helping avoid the sticking, is that so? Do you really need a peel that big? If not I'll get the 14" but if so I use my solid 16". The probe issue has also been well addressed and we can agree that it does not measure the temp of the stone. This brings up an issue I can have in my masonry pizza oven (44" Forno Bravo) in that a cooking pie draws heat out of the floor and if you cook a number of pies subsequently in the same spot you have issues with a cooled floor and under baking. The floor of my masonry oven is 2" thick firebrick on 2" of sand so it is well insulated and still has issues. The floor of the Karu is ½" thick and I wonder if you find you can't cook pizzas rapidly in succession? How long do you need to wait before the heat recharges the floor? Thanks, Stuart
Hi Stuart, thanks for the comment! In terms of the peel size, i think a 14" perforated peel would be fine, i struggle to stretch out a pizza big enough to fill the 16" peel, and like the lightness of the perforated ones too! regardless of the improved launching. I think the thermometer has been included to make this more of an all rounder oven rather than solely a pizza oven. Ill still use my laser thermometer for pizza cooks, and use the air temp one for everything else. As for cooking many pizzas in quick ascension, the ooni is never going to hold up against a brick oven, those bricks can hold temps for along time, but also come with the disadvantage of they take 2/3 hrs to heat up fully. I often find i can cook 2 pizzas in succession, then leave it for 5 mins before adding any more pizzas. Its an obvious one, if you're an experienced pizza maker, but having room temp dough is a must too :)
Quite possibly yeah, This video was the first time i had cooked on the Karu 16, and i wasn't really used to it. Now i use charcoal and wood mixture and get much better results this way.
I liked your video..its one of the ones that goods good aspects as to things to look out for and what to expect. Result is we got one for Christmas too.
Thanks for the nice video. I'd be interested to know if they might make a pellet insert for this one in the near future. How would it differ from the wood burner?
Thanks for the great feedback LW and thats a great question! I get asked allot about using pellets in these ovens, so much so in fact that i think i will make a video to see if it works just in the usual charcoal basket! it would make for an interesting video!
wipe the glass with some paper towel when its hot, when its cold use ammonia if soapy water wont get it off. start off with small wood then gradually increase the size of the wood , you need the small wood to get the temp up quickly and then larger bits( not too large) later to maintain it, its how i keep the temperature on my woodburner maintained.
PBW, or powdered brewery wash is like dishwasher detergent, but I’ve found it’s awesome for removing burnt on food residue from stainless steel..it’ll work on other hard to clean things, only drawback is that it’s not for use on aluminum..
Hi Tom Im swaying between the Karu 16 and Ooni pro for the ability to cook larger items or the Karu 12 due to its portability. I like the idea of portability but about once or twice a year I cook for about 20 ` 30 people on a BBQ and Im thinking of cooking them a pizza this time around. Would the Karu 12 be too small or would the Karu 16 be the best all rounder. Id probably still cook a 12inch pizza per person rather than a big one to share, whats your thoughts on it. Can I cook chicken or burgers in it or should I stick to a bbq for that.
Thanks for the comment Hugh! 20/30 people is quite a lot for both Ooni's as the stone will gradually loose temp over time. As the best all rounder i would get the 16 if you can stretch to that, as the freedom to cook other things in it is great fun! Either way for that many people i would recommend getting the gas attachment. It will make things much easier to monitor over a long catering sesh. The 12 is good for portability, but, if it's only twice a year, i would still go for the advantages of the 16. (the 12 is still quite bulky to take on a car trip) I've catered for a party before, and set up the bbq for chicken and other meats, then whilst they were cooking threw a few garlic bread and tomato breads on the ooni as starters/appitisers for your guests to get stuck into while the other food gets prepared!
When refueling the flames attempt to light your clothing and hair on fire, the glass becomes useless immediately, and the thermometer is incorrect. Wow. Impressive.
Yes, i did find the same problem, especially when you fold the legs in to store it, and you need to remove the thermometer. I don't use the thermometer too much usually if im only cooking pizza, just measure the stone temperature
Thanks mate! Really appreciate your comment! The wood was dry, it’s from a pizza oven wood supplier, my issue was the chunks were too small. I’ll use bigger next time. I waited until all the black smoke cleared before putting pizza on so there was no spot on my pizzas! Thankfully 😅
Yes! It’s a great oven! If I had to keep just one, this would be it I’m sure. Like anything it takes a bit of time to learn, but I’m hoping to do more bakes on this soon at lower temps
I was finally ready to pull the trigger and i see Bertello has a 16 multifuel now. But just checking in you still love that Karu 16? Is there any info on the table you use?
Thank you for the useful video. I cooked my first pizza and it was a disaster. Definitely user error. In short, the pizza stone was not hot enough. My fault. These videos help so much.
Well thanks for the great feedback and I’m glad my videos help you out. As for the pizza disaster, don’t worry, we’ve all been there! It’s great you know the issue though and can learn from it next time. I usually leave the Karu 16 a bit longer just given the size, to let it get really saturated with heat before launching my first pizza
Mate whatever you do don't use a wire brush to clean the stone while it is running, or at all if you can help it, one broken bristle in a pizza and you could have some serious internal injuries in your gut. Use a weber charcoal rake or a tampico brush for safety.
So this oven looks brandnew. Does it make sense to make a review without experience with the oven? You are complaining about things you may not know on the first run. Better talk about the specs first and do the review later.
David Laue yeah I am aware of the natural gas version coming out soon but someone on Instagram said he just used a conversion kit he bought at Home Depot to convert his Karu 16 to natural gas. Just wanted to see if anyone else had done it just to confirm it’s possible. 👍🏽
@@TomVoyageuk Hi Tom, Yes I'm in the US. I have never seen or heard of a conversion and I'm not even sure Ooni recommends it. What I'm talking about is the new karu 16 does have a propane burner attachment as well as a natural gas. They just aren't available yet....
Tom Voyage I’m also in the US. And as David mentioned there will be a natural gas variant coming out soon but just wanted to see if anyone out there converted the Karu 16 other than the one random guy that commented on Ooni’s Instagram page.
If you don't want the glass to go black. Use gas or charcoal. . If you use wood it will go black keep the oven door open. until you have enough coals and you don't see as much smoke anymore.
Great video! The Ooni Essentials Guide (p.45) recommends, when the oven is HOT, using a DRY paper towel to clean the soot off the glass (using cold water, the rapid cooling might crack the hot glass). When the oven is COOL you can use warm soapy water. Regarding the discrepancy between the AIR temperature measured by the in-built digital thermometer and the STONE temperature measured by the handheld IR thermometer: p.16 of the Essentials Guide says you need to balance both temperatures (i.e. they should be roughly equal) since the stone heats up more slowly than the surrouding air. This implies that the digital thermometer is not directly connected to the stone but measures the air around it. It's actually a very important TIP: you need to measure the temperature of the air AND the (middle of the) stone separately and wait until they are the same in order to cook the top and bottom of the pizza evenly. Not many people seem to know that on TH-cam!
Great comments! Very helpful! Ooni HIGHLY recommends the handheld Digital Infrared Thermometer for this balance specifically!
How do you do both temp measurements. Like how would you measure the air.
I feel if you aim the digital temp gauge at the air the laser will hit behind it and measure the sides of the inside oven.
The fire will always be dirty as its starting, I would keep the door open until the fire is well established. As soon as you notice that the smoke from the fire has cleaned up - it should be ok to shut the door without it getting (too) dirty.
Incidentally, if you want to clean the glass - one of the best ways is with a piece of damp paper towel - and just dip in in the ash from your last fire and use it as a soft abrasive which works beautifully.
Thanks for the detailed informative video - great job
Some great tips there! Thanks very much for sharing!
@mitchamus I have had no problem with sot on glass, yet. But now I know why I did not have it. Great tips, thanks a million. I will also save some ash.
@@TomVoyageuk in order to get yourself that greasy crust and cheese like Dominos and Pizza Hut, mix bag of flour with 1 cup of water, buy a bottle of water instead for very clean water and not sink water cause I look at things very carefully like a scientist/analyst, it shows all the dibre and if see dust flakes in your measuring bowl/cups, it’s cause your sink is ejecting water with small bits of iron or you might’ve touched the sinks head/hose with your hands as your washing dishes, you might’ve given the head some very small and unnoticeable filth films, it’s ok just put some soap onto the head, rub in with your fingers and wait a day before using it again.
Canola oil, bag of flour (not a boxed version of flour) and water
Mix in bowl, wash your hands to then get your dough into your hands to massage it, roll it, put it on a cutting board, or a nicely cleaned wooden counter top that’s wiped.
Roller - rough it out as much as you can, but then bunch of the dough again and add it into the mixing bowl to give it the canola oil, 1/3rd, hand mix it in the bowl till the bowl doesn’t seem to be to wet with canola oil and it seems mostly like the dough is.
Take it out, bunch it up again, DO NOT RING OUT THE CANOLA OIL INTO THE SINK! bunch it up again, wooden cutting board or surface again, rolled out
Use sharpest knife you have to cut the sides off to perform giving it a nice circle, or to professionally do it, get out a strainer bowl, place it on the dough, press it on it, take off, cut the sides for perfect shape, but then with those sides cut off, roll them out with rollin* pin, cut out rectangular pieces to place on the circular pizza dough, Don’t put it next to the circle place it half way on, some of the rectangle off, press the part of the rectangular bits onto the circular dough to give it is crusts.
Parmesan cheese everywhere but but light amount on the crusts, just wipe the crust though with some softened butter (salted), ragus traditional pasta sauce, all over the circle, and very lightly touched on the crusts to
30 mins in oven, cut it up, eat it up :)
@@StickFiguresMaster I use tap water because there's nothing better than NYC tap water :)
I feel a bit uneasy about using water whilst the oven is so hot. I'd be worried about cracking the glass. I like the idea of keeping the door open if you're using wood as a fuel.
Agree. You should try using lump wood charcoal next time as ur base for the heat. It produces more heat and less soot. And put some kiln dry wood pieces in the oven before u launch a pizza so u get some flame. Thats what I do in my pizza oven. I find it works better than wood only.
Thanks for the comment! It’s funny because I’ve just edited and uploaded my next video, showing a real time cook on charcoal and wood! It worked really well too!
The video is scheduled to go live tomorrow at 7pm GBT!
@@TomVoyageuk Nice! That means I don't have to wait much longer for the updated review. 😅
Fantastic Video Tom, I just bought a Karu 16, still hasn't arrived. I'm so excited to use it. Your videos are so very helpful. Please keep making them. I'm in Australia. Is quite difficult to get the correct wood here. I have actually purchased some from Amazon which is coming from the UK. Thank you!!!
Thanks for watching, i'm glad they've been a help 😊 The Karu16 is a great oven, enjoy your first cook when it arrives👍 🍕
@@TomVoyageuk Thanks for your lovely reply, didn't expect that at all. It arrived yesterday, made a pizza today, I'd give it a 7 out of 10, no probably a 6. Nevertheless, it tasted good!!! I know it's all about practice, but I can't just make pizzas everyday, much as I would love to. Thanks again.
Im thinking of getting one of these and the video really helps see it in real use. But.. now you had the oven 2 years whats your honest, 2 yr update mini review please ?
I should probably do an updated video but I honestly still love it! 🍕👍
@TomVoyageuk that be awesome please. I also have this Vs the Woody as bit cheaper, do you have a comparison planned after couple years use
Hi Tom,Thanks to your video I very recently purchased a Ooni Karu 16....I think your video presentations are nothing short of brilliant..Very educational and informative..Thanks..
Hi Thanks for the comment! Its great to hear you like my videos! if you have any questions about your ooni when it arrives, please feel free to ask!
I assembled mine a few days ago and had the same soot problem on the glass. I gave it a wipe so I could observe the pizza. The pie was great. I cleaned the interior after it cooled. I think it’s normal. Like a bbq, the Kari 16 requires some cleaning after use. It’s well worth the trouble because the pie is so much better than from a 550F oven. Really like the oven.
Great tip! Thanks for the comment dude! I agree that cleaning the class may just be a part of the routine maintenance. You may be like me and actually really enjoy cleaning the BBQ/Oven too!
@@TomVoyageuk Yep. Now I leave the front door open until the fire gets really hot. Window stays clean but you still have to (then) wait for the heat-up cycle to complete.
I have the gas attachment on order, so I'll check that in mid-January, brrr
I’ve used a few times with the gas attachment and there’s no issues with soot, oven heats up quickly too!
I actually use a charcoal and wood mixture for most cooks now, it gets hot and gives the wood fire flavour but doesn’t get sooty heating up
@@TomVoyageuk I see. I'll also try mixing some charcoal with the wood.
Just purchased mine, hopefully gets here before xmas!!
Yeah, should be ok mate now! Shipping in 2/3 weeks now I think!
It s the same for me december for france 😪
Hello Tom! (Minute 3:47) have you ever try to extend the chimney tube? I’m having the same problem but not sure if will work fine extending it more than 1 meter (3ft) to cross the roof
Hi Tom. Watched some of your vids because I ordered this oven too.
Just a few questions.
1) how long does it take to get the oven at the right temperature?
2) how many kilo wood je need for a session? Like when you make 10 pizzas.
3) what’s better. A peel with or without holes (perforated) en what size? 12, 14, 16 inches.
4) your dough looks amazing. You have the recipe and the brand/kind of flower u used?
A tip: when you want to clean the glass: take paper towel. Make it wet. Dip it in ashes and polish the glass. Then also wet paper towel and take off the dirt.
Thank you and have a nice Sunday.
The soot issue is caused by the oven not being hot enough. Definitely use larger chunks of wood.
Make sure you only use hard wood. Oak, pecan, hickory and fruit woods.
Never , Never use pine or evergreen wood. The sap will burn black and ruin your pizzas flavor.
Once the oven is up to temperature, the smoke will be burning clean. It will no longer be black (sooty) but white / clear.
Close the door and let the pizza stone get hot. 750 degrees is ok but over 800 degrees better. Check temperature on the pizza stone. This is what makes your pizza bottom crispy . A cold stone not up to temperature will yield a soggy under cook crust / bottom.
Slide in your pizza and watch it cook, you need to check pizza in. 45-60 seconds, if the edge closes to the fire is browning, turn pizza 1/4,to 1/3,turn. After another minute turn again.
Repeat as needed till pizza is hot and bubbly. Crust should be nicely browned and may have blackened edges.
Bottom of pizza should be brown also.
Good tips there, thank you!
I think the soot on the glass is probably down to poor airflow, a bit like in a wood burner, too much fuel can smother the fire and cause sooting as the temperature in the fire isn’t high enough if that makes sense, I wonder if starting off small with the fire and then build it up with more fuel as it gets really going just like a log burner.
Thanks for the comment, I’ve had loads of replies about this and you’re right, a slower fire with more slit flow seems to be the key!
Next time I’ll use larger wood chunks too!
The soot should be burnt on so a wet paper towel across it will clean it up.
@@THECOFFEEPOT Wet paper towel on 500 degrees glass seems like setting up for disaster
Great video and a really nice oven. I think the soot could be down to much wood to early and maybe slightly damp wood or a combination of both? I'm no expert but just a thought. Regarding the temperature difference I think the built in probe measures the ambient temperature in the oven, hence the difference between that and the laser probe used on the stone.
Thanks for the comment Shane! I’m sure the wood was dry enough because it came from a supplier of pizza oven wood, but it’s cut for the smaller Karu, which I have sound since filming could be the issue as it’s designed for use with larger chunks.
As for the thermometer, you’re absolutely right, I’m a typical bloke and didn’t read the instructions first in depth 😁
None of the Karu reviews ever spend much time talking about the smoky flavour advantage of using a wood BBQ. Given how short a time the pizza spends in the oven, I am beginning to wonder if there really is much of a flavour difference using wood in the Karu 16. I would love to hear more about this.
Thanks for the comment Michael, I can definitely tell a difference in the taste, but not everyone can. It depends a lot on the kind of wood you use and how much some is coming off the wood. I've cooked a pizza too early before when the wood wasn't hot enough and really given the dough an acrid smoke taste, so its not always a good thing!
@@TomVoyageuk that comes from having dirty smoke. When using a smoker you want your smoke to come out of your vent with a blue tinge not brown. I would imagine it would be the same with this oven. Brown smoke is bad. Blue smoke is good.
No need to overcomplicate. In your gas fired Ooni, just burn a few wood chips and let smoke build up.
I just bought this with the gas unit, but thought I could add a bit of wood later to get the wood taste. Can you add a wood box inside while using gas? I didn’t realize you can’t use solid fuel while using gas!!
I’ve never tried it to be honest, if I want to get wood fired taste I just use wood for the whole cook
I never used a pizza oven but am willing to buy one next year after building my house for outdoors. From your experience seeing the comments here.. this definitely would be a help 😊 Thanks!
Thanks for watching! And good luck with your new house build! Please subscribe for more reviews and tips coming soon!
Not sure if someone has said it, but the integrated thermometer DOES NOT read the stone temperature, and Ooni make that perfectly clear in the manual. They also recommend buying one of their laser thermometers, like the one you have.
The soot is probably because of the type of wood. You should try Ooni's own, probably and if it works, then source locally for something similar.
Hi, Thanks for the comment! You're absolutely right, its just an ambient temp the thermometer reads, good for cooking bread etc, but i still usually use a digital thermometer.
Also, its interesting you mention the soot, because since filming this video, i have used the ooni kiln dried wood and the pieces are much bigger then i usually use, and give off hardly any soot at all! The video showing this will be released soon! :)
Must have nailed your dough recipe it looks mighty fine. I use kiln dried logs too in mine once it is lit, for the reasons you say. Gives a consistent cook I found.
Why thank you! Im always experimenting with different recipes, but if i remember correctly this was just a simple 65% hydration dough, using 00 flour, with a cold proof for about 18 hours, bulk, then balled up and back in the fridge for 4 hours before letting come up to room temp ready to cook/
Will you compare it to the Roccbox ?
Yes 👍
could i ask what brand and model did you use for your wireless microphone? I like how compact it is and it also has the wind breaker thing.
Thanks for the comment! It’s called a Rode wireless Go, and I highly recommend it, it’s made filming my videos so much easier since I’m often filming outdoors and it’s great not being restricted by wires or a directional microphone
@@TomVoyageuk I see. Thanks and thanks for making helpful informative videos about the ooni ovens.
Tom, love your videos. Finally got a Karu 16 and love it, thanks to you. In this video, what is the stand you are using? I have the Ooni large table, but I also want something smaller. Thanks.
Hey! Thanks, i'm glad you enjoy them! The Katu 16 is a great oven, enjoy!
This is the keter unity XL table, I also have the new folding Ooni table which is my current go to 👍
Can you regulate temperature to lower values while burning wood or charcoal , like 200 C or 300 C, and how well does it keep the temperature for longer cooks?
Yes you definitely can, it just takes a bit of experience with your oven to learn how to regulate temps by changing your airflow and volumes of fuel.
Yes..you have a couple alternatives..the internal vent, and the chimney vent, I’d imagine experimenting with cracking the back door too..although it may be designed to keep that shut at all times. My new Karu is sitting on a cart like his in my garage, tomorrow I’ll burn it in and try some pizzas..!
Great video. As noted in another comment, the integrated thermometer is there to measure air temperature.
Thanks for the comment, I’m afraid I did the ‘man’ thing and started cooking before fully reading the manual. It says in there the thermometer is for air temp, and the probe is located just in the top corner, thanks for clearing that up! 😃
@@TomVoyageuk fat lot of use really when you want to know the stone temperature more than the air temperature.!!
I think for pizza cooks, stone temp is the key, but this oven can cook loads of things, so the ambient temp becomes more useful for bread, Detroit style pizza, slow cooking etc.
I’ll still have my digital thermometer with me for reference!
Have you tried using your own wood? I.E. almond, hickory, mesquite? Obviously labor would be involved but I'm always stocked with a cord of seasoned wood for my offset and can't fathom spending more money on wood without another purpose.
Thanks for the comment, I have used my own wood, but only recently because it took so long to season! But they cut down a large birch tree near me which has provided loads of wood. It works well and being a hard wood is a nice hot flame, I also use oak which was given to me from a wood supplier to test out on the karu.
We are not as lucky as You. In Europe/Sweden we do not have Hickory, Mesquite as I know of. Hickory only in shaft of axes etc. :-) So we have to stick with Oak (but have a lot of Birch). Buy small boxes of "perfect" wood is not sustainable in the long run, but good for tests.
Hi recently bought, ooni 12 oven, can I ask is just wood or blend of wood & lumpwood ???
Nearly always a mixture of wood and charcoal for me, much more consistent and easy to work with
Tom which one has gas with l shape burner inside ? And can be used with wood.
That would be the Ooni Koda 16
So was the black window because the small wood? Did you fix the problem with bigger chunks?
It could have been, but really i think what happened here is i shut the door before the fire was really hot. That meant the fire was struggling for airflow, and smouldered rather than burned. next time ill get the fire going with the door fully open. Once the flames are good and hot, but one some larger pieces of wood, then close the door. I think thats the answer! Either way, you're always going to get some soot cooking on real fire!
@@TomVoyageuk thank you for the response
Great video!
Like the Video Tom its a big guide to what to buy but tell me is the 16 being larger better than the cheaper Ooni Pro? as to me it would appear to be just about the difference in its internal size?
Thanks so much for the great feedback! I would say if the glass door and internal thermometer are important too you, then it is. If its just for pizzas, then the ooni pro will be just fine. I think the Karu 16 is tailored to be both a pizza oven and conventional outdoor oven, as it has more options to regulate and monitor temps for lower and slower cooks
@@TomVoyageuk Thanks Tom I think thats made up my mind for me
Hi Tom, I do have the Ooni Karu 16 and my glas is getting sooty as well. The comment below about leaving the door open when starting up the fire may be a good idea. I will try it next time. Nevertheless I used hard wood but I couldn't get higher temperatures than 350 C after 25 mins which is rather disappointing.
Great reviews and good videos, cheers mate.
Thanks for the comment Boromaus, I haven’t had an issue with soot on the door since using charcoal as a base before adding the wood to cook the pizza. I also find the Karu 16 takes a bit longer to heat as it’s a bigger oven, but the charcoal helps keep a consistent heat, have you tired with charcoal yet?
@@TomVoyageuk thx Tom. No haven't tried charcoal yet. Will try gas first, just for curiosity 😄 Then I will try charcoal... Thumbs up!
Is this a new model? When is it available to buy. Thanks
Hi John, yes this is the Karu 16, it’s the latest multi fuel oven from Ooni, it’s available right now to ship, if you use the links in the video description it will take you right to the Ooni website for more information.
How hot does it get a few feet above the chimney? I want to use mine under a covered patio like yours, but worried about damage to the wooden beams (catching fire!) above the patio. Looks like I'll have about 5ft clearance to the beams.
+1, same question here and same situation, would be nice to know
If you have good airflow in your patio area, you'll be fine, i use mine under there with a similar clearance and never had an issue, the only time it gets even a bit warm is then its halfway out of the patio, and directly under the gutter, about 1/2 ft away. Even then you can get a chimney topper oven seen on ebay that should deflect the heat enough to avoid any issues.
Love the channel. Where did you buy that table from?
Thanks so much Shaun! I bought from a garden centre, but its called the Unity XL From Keter. My latest video is actually a review of this table, becuase people always ask about it! haha
Great video, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching! Im glad you liked the video!
Outstanding Review Considering buying it .Does it feel heavy duty ? Or flimsy ?
Thanks so much! Glad you liked my video! It feels very sturdy, as you would expect for an oven costing £699! But I've used mine a lot and never had any issues with it being flimsy, always found it to be very good quality
What type of wood did you use after the kindling?
Oak i believe is the what i used.
Is that a propane torch or a butane torch and which one is it. Thanks
Hi Kevin, thanks for the comment. Im actually not sure, as its just lighter gas i fill it with. But i bought it from amazon. It was called a chefs blow torch for creme brûlée
@@TomVoyageuk 10-4 thanks do you have a brand name seems like it works pretty well to get the fire going.
@@kevinpeyton33 yea the brand name on the torch is master class
Ok appreciate the info and on your temp readings on both the oven and hand held thermometer you’re in Celsius correct?
@@kevinpeyton33 yes I always use Celsius, it’s what we use here in the Uk!
I just assembled mine, the fit and finish are quite impressive. Very..impressive! (I feel like someone chopped a mini photon torpedo in half and made a pizza oven out of it..) The exterior feels almost like plastic the paint is so thick and textured, but on the Ooni video they talk about how it is metal with a special insulation inside. I tested the size of the interior, you can even fit large casseroles with handles in there, and my biggest perforated aluminum pizza pans fit too..it’s deceptively large. My initial criticism of this oven is I’d like to see slightly sturdier legs that lock into position. I’m sure these are fit for purpose, but since there are only three, it just seems like they should be a tad thicker and lock when extended. I can’t wait to fire it up tomorrow! I even got their two pizza peels, the large one he has in this vid, and a small, circular one for turning pizzas.. I’m also trying to get the natural gas attachment as the small cut hardwoods are expensive, plus the convenience issue. It’s not available yet here in US, they’re out of stock, and I’d rather not mess with propane either, I have a natural gas pipe in my garage I can have a fitting tapped into..
Thanks for the comment John, I certainly can't wait to try cooking all sorts in this oven, like bread and other pan fried dishes.
Hi there... Please check with Ooni before you do that. I just read in the manual earlier that the gas burner is for propane only! I would hate for there to be an accident and your unit get damaged, or worse.
@@dkriner9895 no..it’s a natural gas burner specifically made for the Karu 16..they have both for certain models..whatever manual you are reading is correct for that specific model..but good eye, thx! I just had an attic fire late July, my neighbor beat on my door til I answered, if he hadn’t seen smoke, I would have lost the whole house…
Does the same oven the ooni karu you unboxed, cook pizza using gas also? If so can you make a vid about that please... coz I'm thinking of buying one but not sure how easy it is to switch from gas to wood and back?
Thank you btw loved this vid extremely helpful
I didn't see a gas attachments! So is it an extra cost?
Yes..super easy to switch back and forth..gas, charcoal, or wood. I’m betting if you put a screen down you could try pellets..
Thanks for the comment Fahad, Yes you can use gas and wood/charcoal with the Ooni Karu 12" & 16". The gas comes as an additional add on but costs around £65.00. To swap them over is really simple, i have many videos of both of the Karu 12 & 16 on my channel if you would like to check those out?
The instructions say the probe measures the air temp and you need laser to measure stone temperature. Also, it appears you’ve overloaded the firebox, which is going to give you more soot.
The laser meter is also not a spot meter
Thanks for the comments guys! Yes you’re both right the air temp thermometer is designed for using the Karu more as an oven, for bread/ meats etc. Stone temp is still something I’ll continue to measure with my digital thermometer!
Next time for the wood I’ll use less wood, but larger chunks!
Another good video, although my pizza oven is an alfresco chef stainless steel oven I still enjoying watching what you do, ps
Wanting a woodern outdoor structure like yours where we can still
cook under cover if it's bad weather, my only worry was seeing you getting smoked out a little and wondered if there's a way to build and extension to the flue to take the smoke away better without it effecting the air drawing out ? Maybe an idea for you to make other vid??
Thanks for the feedback Lucio!
I’ve thought about building a chimney too and it would work fine, maybe just speed up the airflow a bit.
The reason I’ve never done it however is because I move the oven around too much
@@TomVoyageuk with winter on its way just might be worth doing it and perhaps making it detectable so you can move it in better weather lol
There are all kinds of pop up shelters you can purchase fairly cheaply, look for camping shade tents, or shade sails..or car and motorcycle tents, etc..
How much wood would you say you need to warm the oven and cook a pizza in kg ?
The basket on the Karu 16 is quite big, but will usually get the oven up to temp with one full basket ( you may need to add a couple fo chunks during the heat up time) Either way i would say around 2kg of dried wood cut into lengths of 150mm x 50mm should see you right to get up too temp. My advice is to use a good quality hardwood too like oak for example
PIZZA! ... a ‘lovely’ meal!
I agree!
Excellent video, as always. Was a shame about the soot build up, but as has already been commented, probably down to air flow. Will be interesting to see if @love-logs will carry a size of wood that fits the Karu 16
Thanks so much for the comment!
Don’t let the spot build up put you off, it’s much more likely to be my in experience with the oven than a fault with the oven. More cooks will hopefully shed light on this issue.
I know the guys at love logs and they do logs for the Ooni Pro and Karu 16 (which take the same size)
Brilliant video
Thank you so much!
Great video, thanks for taking the time to produce it. I just assembled my Karu 16 last night and will cook today. Many have commented on the soot issue so I'll leave that alone. I'm curious about the 16" peel you are using. When I saw the perforated peel Ooni offers in the 12" and 14" size I was intrigued and looked forward to buying one in the 16" size but disappointed to find they do not offer that. I see the perf's as helping avoid the sticking, is that so? Do you really need a peel that big? If not I'll get the 14" but if so I use my solid 16".
The probe issue has also been well addressed and we can agree that it does not measure the temp of the stone. This brings up an issue I can have in my masonry pizza oven (44" Forno Bravo) in that a cooking pie draws heat out of the floor and if you cook a number of pies subsequently in the same spot you have issues with a cooled floor and under baking. The floor of my masonry oven is 2" thick firebrick on 2" of sand so it is well insulated and still has issues. The floor of the Karu is ½" thick and I wonder if you find you can't cook pizzas rapidly in succession? How long do you need to wait before the heat recharges the floor?
Thanks,
Stuart
Hi Stuart, thanks for the comment! In terms of the peel size, i think a 14" perforated peel would be fine, i struggle to stretch out a pizza big enough to fill the 16" peel, and like the lightness of the perforated ones too! regardless of the improved launching.
I think the thermometer has been included to make this more of an all rounder oven rather than solely a pizza oven. Ill still use my laser thermometer for pizza cooks, and use the air temp one for everything else. As for cooking many pizzas in quick ascension, the ooni is never going to hold up against a brick oven, those bricks can hold temps for along time, but also come with the disadvantage of they take 2/3 hrs to heat up fully. I often find i can cook 2 pizzas in succession, then leave it for 5 mins before adding any more pizzas. Its an obvious one, if you're an experienced pizza maker, but having room temp dough is a must too :)
You can give the fire starters a twist for better airflow. Theo workshop even better that way. Nice video
Thanks for the comment! And thanks for the awesome tip! I'll give this a go and mention it in future videos! :)
Could it have been better to let the fire burn up until its charcoal like before closing the glass door ? less soot this way ?
Quite possibly yeah, This video was the first time i had cooked on the Karu 16, and i wasn't really used to it. Now i use charcoal and wood mixture and get much better results this way.
I liked your video..its one of the ones that goods good aspects as to things to look out for and what to expect. Result is we got one for Christmas too.
Thanks for the nice video. I'd be interested to know if they might make a pellet insert for this one in the near future. How would it differ from the wood burner?
Thanks for the great feedback LW and thats a great question! I get asked allot about using pellets in these ovens, so much so in fact that i think i will make a video to see if it works just in the usual charcoal basket! it would make for an interesting video!
10 months on how do you find the oven?
I still really love it and use it the most out of all my ovens! Great for cooking other meals
On too, not just pizza!
wow, 1st video where someone did not burn the pizza with heavy leopard spotting. great job
Thank you Kevin, I’m glad you enjoyed my video!
wipe the glass with some paper towel when its hot, when its cold use ammonia if soapy water wont get it off. start off with small wood then gradually increase the size of the wood , you need the small wood to get the temp up quickly and then larger bits( not too large) later to maintain it, its how i keep the temperature on my woodburner maintained.
Thanks for the tips buddy, I’ll defiantly give that a go next time! I managed to clean the glass with paper towel and a bit of methylated spirit.
@@TomVoyageuk I have to use an acid on my woodburner but i picked up the ammonia tip the other day and it does seem to work quite well.
To clean soot from glass. Use newspaper and the ashes and it does a very good job removing it.
PBW, or powdered brewery wash is like dishwasher detergent, but I’ve found it’s awesome for removing burnt on food residue from stainless steel..it’ll work on other hard to clean things, only drawback is that it’s not for use on aluminum..
@@johncspine2787 Great tip! Homebrewers (almost) always have it at home. Thanks! Will try it out..
What else is it useful for?
Does it produce too much home? Like the neighbors might complain about it?
Nah, it's ok. As long as you use kiln dried wood, it doesn't produce much smoke
Hi Tom
Im swaying between the Karu 16 and Ooni pro for the ability to cook larger items or the Karu 12 due to its portability.
I like the idea of portability but about once or twice a year I cook for about 20 ` 30 people on a BBQ and Im thinking of cooking them a pizza this time around. Would the Karu 12 be too small or would the Karu 16 be the best all rounder. Id probably still cook a 12inch pizza per person rather than a big one to share, whats your thoughts on it.
Can I cook chicken or burgers in it or should I stick to a bbq for that.
Thanks for the comment Hugh! 20/30 people is quite a lot for both Ooni's as the stone will gradually loose temp over time. As the best all rounder i would get the 16 if you can stretch to that, as the freedom to cook other things in it is great fun! Either way for that many people i would recommend getting the gas attachment. It will make things much easier to monitor over a long catering sesh.
The 12 is good for portability, but, if it's only twice a year, i would still go for the advantages of the 16. (the 12 is still quite bulky to take on a car trip)
I've catered for a party before, and set up the bbq for chicken and other meats, then whilst they were cooking threw a few garlic bread and tomato breads on the ooni as starters/appitisers for your guests to get stuck into while the other food gets prepared!
When refueling the flames attempt to light your clothing and hair on fire, the glass becomes useless immediately, and the thermometer is incorrect. Wow. Impressive.
As long as you’ve got some common sense when using this oven it’s very safe, don’t worry bob
I think glass door better for gas version no soot
Yeah! I had no issues with soot cooking on gasn
watches a US vid and the Karu 16 had a folding mount for the meter, would have like that....the rigid one is more awkward for storage.
Yes, i did find the same problem, especially when you fold the legs in to store it, and you need to remove the thermometer. I don't use the thermometer too much usually if im only cooking pizza, just measure the stone temperature
Use burnt ashes to clean the glass on that. Burnt ashes from your burnt wood. Use with cloth and rub on glass.
Could it be the wood not being dry enough resulting in the soot?
Did any of the soot get on the pizza?
Like your videos by the way.
Thanks mate! Really appreciate your comment!
The wood was dry, it’s from a pizza oven wood supplier, my issue was the chunks were too small. I’ll use bigger next time.
I waited until all the black smoke cleared before putting pizza on so there was no spot on my pizzas! Thankfully 😅
So far do you feel this is worth it??
Yes! It’s a great oven! If I had to keep just one, this would be it I’m sure. Like anything it takes a bit of time to learn, but I’m hoping to do more bakes on this soon at lower temps
I was finally ready to pull the trigger and i see Bertello has a 16 multifuel now. But just checking in you still love that Karu 16? Is there any info on the table you use?
What kind of gloves?
The Ooni ones are good
@@TomVoyageuk Hey thanks!!
Thank you for the useful video. I cooked my first pizza and it was a disaster. Definitely user error. In short, the pizza stone was not hot enough. My fault. These videos help so much.
Well thanks for the great feedback and I’m glad my videos help you out. As for the pizza disaster, don’t worry, we’ve all been there! It’s great you know the issue though and can learn from it next time. I usually leave the Karu 16 a bit longer just given the size, to let it get really saturated with heat before launching my first pizza
Your affiliate links for the Karu are broken for US and EU.
Oh,,,, Thanks for letting me know! I'll get to fixings those ASAP! :)
leave the door open onto you get some good ash/coals clean smoke then close the door it will not go black cheers great vids tho mate well done
AH, that sounds like a good tip! Thanks very much for sharing! - PS Glad you like the videos ;)
Mate whatever you do don't use a wire brush to clean the stone while it is running, or at all if you can help it, one broken bristle in a pizza and you could have some serious internal injuries in your gut. Use a weber charcoal rake or a tampico brush for safety.
Great point!
Thanks for the heads up! I've read about that before on BBQs, but not these pizza oven bristles. A natural bristle brush might be useful.
The thermometer measures the air temp not the stone.
Correct, Thanks for the mention. T
Most light ups I have seen is a lot of charcoal and small amount of wood.
It’s a good way to have a consistent temperature
The aluminium table top looks like stainless steel.
It’s Stainless Steel on the Keter Unity XL
It is the all-over temp, not the stone.
Correct! We have addressed this in more recent videos, thanks very much for watching and commenting 😊
Use wood charcoal, this will cut down on the soot.
Correct! Good advice
The table is thin stainless steel not aluminium.
Correct, Stainless Steel :)
YOU CAN COOK RICE INSIDE THE OVEN TOO
That sounds interesting!
So this oven looks brandnew. Does it make sense to make a review without experience with the oven? You are complaining about things you may not know on the first run. Better talk about the specs first and do the review later.
It was a brand new oven, but i had an identical one previously that i cooked on a few times.
450 Celsius? I think you might mean Fahrenheit
Thanks for the comment but no, it is actually °C rather than °F, these oven get really hot, up to 500°C or 900°F
@@TomVoyageuk thanks for clarifying, wow that’s really hot!
$799 usd plus $99 for gas. Come one onni screen turning black didn’t like that. Enjoy 🍕🍕
No way thats 460 degrees celsius... thats in fahrenheit lol
It’s degrees Celsius
@@TomVoyageuk that is freakin insane. Guess that explains why it cooks so fast!
Poor combustion
Anyone ever convert their Karu 16 to natural gas? Thanks in advance.
Hi Ryan, Ooni is coming out with a NG burner and should be available in October.....it's pricey, but I'll be getting one :)
David Laue yeah I am aware of the natural gas version coming out soon but someone on Instagram said he just used a conversion kit he bought at Home Depot to convert his Karu 16 to natural gas. Just wanted to see if anyone else had done it just to confirm it’s possible. 👍🏽
Thanks David for the input there!
Ryan, Personally I’ve never seen this be done with an Ooni, I’m assuming you’re in the US?
@@TomVoyageuk Hi Tom, Yes I'm in the US. I have never seen or heard of a conversion and I'm not even sure Ooni recommends it. What I'm talking about is the new karu 16 does have a propane burner attachment as well as a natural gas. They just aren't available yet....
Tom Voyage I’m also in the US. And as David mentioned there will be a natural gas variant coming out soon but just wanted to see if anyone out there converted the Karu 16 other than the one random guy that commented on Ooni’s Instagram page.
If you don't want the glass to go black. Use gas or charcoal. . If you use wood it will go black keep the oven door open. until you have enough coals and you don't see as much smoke anymore.
I stopped having an issue after i use a mixture of charcoal and wood or just using kiln dried hard wood