Calling all pizza oven owners...

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rebelman68

Is lookin for wood to cook with.
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At the moment, I use a pizza stone on my weber summit which works great in the summer, but in the winter it tends to need 10 minutes to reheat the stone before I can cook the next one. I really like the idea of the Black Stone pizza ovens, but I'm not sure how the quality is as I have seen lots of mixed reviews without anyone laying out specifically what they like or hate about it.

What are peoples experiences with the Black Stone or any other pizza oven here? My family loves any pizza, but we tend to prefer Neapolitan style thin and crispy pizzas here, but something that can cook a Chicago style well would be nice too. Is the Black Stone good for that? How long does it take to preheat? What's the recovery time between pizzas? How hot does it get? Will it last for years to come? Are any mods needed?

Any input provided would be invaluable.

Thanks,

Scott
 
I have a blackstone and could not be more happy with it. I have not yet used it in the cold weather but I don't think it will be much of an issue.
 
How many batteries does the motor take and about how long would you say they last?
 
I love my Black Stone. I been using mine for a little over a year. The cold is not a problem.

Only issue I see is some small rust showing on the side where the flame hits. I'll just sand it and hit with some hi temp black paint.

Chicago thin will work not sure about deep dish.

10 to 15 min preheat. Not sure about batteries as you the plug.
 
If you're serious about pizza I would suggest building your own wood fired pizza oven.
 
Have the Blackstone and have been really impressed. I'm not aware of anything close to that price point that can do the kind of high temp pizzas it can (though I may not ever try the true 60-90 second Neapolitan pizzas) It also has quite a bit of control so it works well for thicker crusts that you want to cook more slowly. The style that we usually make cooks in about 4 minutes with recovery time no more than that. In practice, cooking and recovery time is typically quicker than we can get the next pizza built and ready to go. I'm more often turning it down a bit so it doesn't get too hot between pizzas.

As to durability, not sure yet as I've only had it since the spring. There is a bit of surface rust happening on the platter and near some of the welds but nothing bad. The big problem people had initially was with shipping damage. The new design is packaged differently and the stones in particular are better protected (which is what was mostly showing up broken)

My family thinks it's one of the best purchases we've made. I think Lowes still has a special on through the end of the year for $299.
 
Carbon said:
If you're serious about pizza I would suggest building your own wood fired pizza oven.
Click to expand...

I'd love to build a wood fired oven but that's a little out of my price range right now. Unless you know where I can get one built for under $600
 
Dweverett said:
Have the Blackstone and have been really impressed. I'm not aware of anything close to that price point that can do the kind of high temp pizzas it can (though I may not ever try the true 60-90 second Neapolitan pizzas) It also has quite a bit of control so it works well for thicker crusts that you want to cook more slowly. The style that we usually make cooks in about 4 minutes with recovery time no more than that. In practice, cooking and recovery time is typically quicker than we can get the next pizza built and ready to go. I'm more often turning it down a bit so it doesn't get too hot between pizzas.

As to durability, not sure yet as I've only had it since the spring. There is a bit of surface rust happening on the platter and near some of the welds but nothing bad. The big problem people had initially was with shipping damage. The new design is packaged differently and the stones in particular are better protected (which is what was mostly showing up broken)

My family thinks it's one of the best purchases we've made. I think Lowes still has a special on through the end of the year for $299.
Click to expand...

Actually they have it for $269 right now which is why I'm looking at pulling the trigger on one.
 
I got my Blackstone a month ago and absolutely love it. Currently for $269 at Lowe's it's a no brainer IMO if you really love pizza. Get it!

P.S.

It's now the version 2 oven with upgrades from version 1

If you cover it or store indoors (etc) it'll last you a while

No recovery times between pies. When it's hot it's hot

I've been running mine without any mods straight out of the box

I'm pretty sure you can do Chicago style pizza if you lower the heat a bit

I've seen people even make bread in it
 
I don't think the Blackstone would work well for Chicago Style Deep Dish since that typically has to bake for 30+ minutes, but it does a great job on thin crust. I used mine in cold weather a couple of times last year and it worked fine. It just takes longer to get hot, but once hot it is fine.

I haven't done any mods to mine, but if you look t the pizza making forum there are mods listed. It will get very hot. I typically launch at a stone temp of 650 degrees, but it will get hotter.

As far as recovery time, my routine has been to build and cook a pizza, and then build and cook the next. The oven has been ready again by the time I built the second pizza.
 
You can not beat the BS oven, worth every penny and then some.

Goes 1000 degrees. Neo pies easily, with 00 flour.

200+ pages of info on Pizzamaking website.

Don't personally know how it works in cold temps, but I get 700+ degrees in 12 - 15 minutes. Try that in a wood fired oven. Not that I don't want a WFO!
 
The Black Stone is a great oven. You can't go wrong for the price.
Warm up takes about 10 minutes, I turn mine to low while I build the next pizza so the oven doesn't get to hot. Then crank it back up just before launching the pie. I haven't done a Chicago style but wouldn't be afraid to try it you can run the temp down in the 400's easily. We have done cinnamon rolls in the B S. It also does a mean reverse sear steak with a round cast iron pan at 750. I have done a couple of mods to mine. The thrust bearing under the rotisserie shaft. Chauflector Mod to add more char. Very easy to do.

Pie from last night 34 degrees and light wind. No problem.
 
Last edited:
Smokeat said:
Don't personally know how it works in cold temps, but I get 700+ degrees in 12 - 15 minutes. Try that in a wood fired oven. Not that I don't want a WFO!
Click to expand...

True, my wfo takes about an hour to "clear" the dome interior of soot, meaning you've reached operating temp. But one you get there the oven remains hot without fuel for at least 2 days so you can cook other stuff.....so that's a plus in that regard... :)
 
Carbon said:
True, my wfo takes about an hour to "clear" the dome interior of soot, meaning you've reached operating temp. But one you get there the oven remains hot without fuel for at least 2 days so you can cook other stuff.....so that's a plus in that regard... :)
Click to expand...

True that! I always heard it took much longer to get deck temp up to neo demands. I would love a WFO, but I would still have a BS, it's just so easy to push a button and have great pizza in less than 30 minutes. Kinda the same as having a gasser when I don't want to build and tend a fire.
 
nm2769 said:
The Black Stone is a great oven. You can't go wrong for the price.
Warm up takes about 10 minutes, I turn mine to low while I build the next pizza so the oven doesn't get to hot. Then crank it back up just before launching the pie. I haven't done a Chicago style but wouldn't be afraid to try it you can run the temp down in the 400's easily. We have done cinnamon rolls in the B S. It also does a mean reverse sear steak with a round cast iron pan at 750. I have done a couple of mods to mine. The thrust bearing under the rotisserie shaft. Chauflector Mod to add more char. Very easy to do.

Pie from last night 34 degrees and light wind. No problem.
Click to expand...

I've heard of the thrust bearing mod which makes complete sense. But I never heard of the Chauflector Mod. What is that?
 
Pizza pan on a Weber Performer. LOL best pizza I ever had and I am in NJ.
 
rebelman68 said:
I've heard of the thrust bearing mod which makes complete sense. But I never heard of the Chauflector Mod. What is that?
Click to expand...

A flame deflector mounted to the top stone to direct the fire down to the pizza. Helps char the top before the bottom get over done. This is same setup I use.
Images borrowed from Pizza Making Forum.
 
Last edited:
I couldn't be happier with the Blackstone. Doesn't use a ton of fuel, either. As Ron said, you wouldn't want to use it for a Chicago deep dish pie, but otherwise, it's amazing. I usually look for a stone temp of about 650-675 degrees.

Here's some BS pizzas I've cooked:

IMG_0832_zpsb0548ed2.jpg


6252014BlackstoneMargheritaPeezza_zpsc0af5291.jpg


IMG_0641_zps9f31a608.jpg


IMG_0643_zps24232834.jpg
 
I am sure that I would like the pizza from the Blackstone or the pizza from the Weber. However, I built my WFO with a much broader menu in mind. My WFO cooks pizzas just fine, but it has beeen used for so much more! I'm still learning. But the pizzas, bread, roasts, pies, cookies, briskets (all cooked in an oven as the temperature is falling from just one firing) are a blast to pull off!

A wood fired oven can be as expensive as you want it to be. But, also just as affordable. The price range of these things go from the simple cob oven (almost no $ investment) to the the extremes.

I am sort of in the middle. I did a lot of scrounging for materials, and used modern insulation.

There are many of the WFO ovens from the old world that have lasted for hundreds of years.
 
Moose said:
I couldn't be happier with the Blackstone. Doesn't use a ton of fuel, either. As Ron said, you wouldn't want to use it for a Chicago deep dish pie, but otherwise, it's amazing. I usually look for a stone temp of about 650-675 degrees.

Here's some BS pizzas I've cooked:

IMG_0832_zpsb0548ed2.jpg


6252014BlackstoneMargheritaPeezza_zpsc0af5291.jpg


IMG_0641_zps9f31a608.jpg


IMG_0643_zps24232834.jpg
Click to expand...

Those are some great looking pies!
 
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