Everyone loves pizza. So what if I told you that you could have professional grade wood-fired pizza while camping? I’m not talking about making pizza in a skillet over a fire, either. I’m talking about wood- or even gas-fired pizza cooked at high temperatures and on a ceramic stone. Yes, it’s possible and below you will find three different ways to up your outdoor pizza game this summer.
Cooking great pizza requires consistently high cooking temperatures. This can be a challenge outdoors, as when cooking over an open fire or opening the lid on a grill, you lose all the stored heat. Hot (really hot) and fast is the key, and here are three portable products that deliver.
BioLite Pizza Dome ($70): Those of you that already own a BioLite BaseCamp stove (if not, you can get one for $300), will be happy to know you can now convert it into a wood-fired pizza oven. Cook up pizzas, flatbreads, and even cinnamon rolls with this three-piece system designed exclusively for the BaseCamp. An integrated thermometer monitors the inside temperature while the food safe ceramic stone keeps your pizza crust crisp and evenly cooked. A modular system, you can use the dome separately as a traditional lid for concentrated heat and faster cook times. Weighing around 4.4 pounds total, the PizzaDome system heats up in around 15 minutes and cooks your pizza to perfection in less than 10 minutes.
KettlePizza ($140): By adding this insert to a kettle-style charcoal grill, you can cook pizzas on the grill without removing the lid and thereby retaining the necessary heat (and flavorful smoke) to achieve perfect evenly cooked pizza every time. Using the KettlePizza kit with a mix of charcoal and hardwood can yield temperatures in excess of 750 degrees F–perfect for great pizza. Since the lid does not need to be removed throughout the cooking cycle, the temperature remains constant and a pizza can be cooked in as little as 3 minutes. The KettlePizza installs between the top and bottom of your kettle grill. The product is adjustable and fits either 18.5- or 22.5-inch grills such as Weber Master Touch grills.
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven ($375): The foodies among you can bring this gas oven on your next car camping trip. The double walled construction, specially designed burners, ventilation, and cordierite ceramic pizza stone replicate the performance of a wood-fired brick oven. Micro-adjust valves give you heat control and responsiveness to cook perfect artisan pizza every time. The oven runs off a standard 1-pound propane bottle and comes with an adapter to plug directly into a large, refillable propane tank. With temps reaching upwards of 700 degrees in under 15 minutes, you can sling two pizzas side by side or throw in some salmon on a cedar plank for a gourmet meal. Use it as an oven to make cakes, cinnamon rolls, roast meats, and even bread at camp. We ate pizza that came out of this oven during PressCamp and it was amazing.
If you want to make your own pizza dough, check out our favorite recipe here.