If you want a powerful pizza oven that can help you cook authentic Neapolitan pizzas, then you should read this Ooni Kau 16 vs Roccbox Pizza Oven comparison that we made.
Ooni is considered by many as the best pizza oven producer in the industry.
If you consider your pizza ovens to be portable, they have produced many models of these ovens.
During the first years of this company, it has provided us with great pizza ovens that you can easily carry anywhere, cook small pizzas for your family, and produce enough heat for recipes.
However, just a few years ago, Ooni started producing larger versions of the portable pizza ovens.
They are still portable but you can now cook more or larger pizzas in these pizza ovens.
Roccbox is a pizza oven produced by Gozney and it is one of the tight competitors of Ooni.
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This pizza oven is one of the best ovens for retaining heat and distributing it evenly.
It is one of the most durable pizza ovens on the market and it can cook delicious pizzas in just a few minutes.
So here, we will be comparing the two so you can decide which one is better.
Set Up: Ooni Karu 16 vs. Roccbox Pizza oven
When it comes to pizza ovens such as these two from Ooni and Gozney, you rarely need to assemble them.
There are parts that you need to attach but you do not build the pizza ovens.
Portable pizza ovens usually come in assembled and are ready to cook.
However, that does not mean that you do not need to do anything and cook right away as there are some things to do.
For example, you need to install a chimney needs on top of the cooking chamber in Ooni Karu 16.
It is easy as you will only need to twist the chimney to lock it in place before cooking.
The door of this pizza oven is also built into the body so although it is already attached to the pizza oven itself, you need to make sure that the hinges and screws are tight enough.
You will also need to install the draft defender plate, burner tray, and fuel hatch inside which is pretty easy as you only need to place them at the designated area, and then they are ready.
The Roccbox pizza oven is very easy to assemble as all the important parts that are pretty hard to install are already assembled.
What you need is to put the burner attachment that you want.
There are two options for this pizza oven for its burner attachment and you can easily switch the two whenever you want or need to.
It takes 15 minutes or less to assemble these pizza ovens.
From there, you can fire them up first for at least an hour before using them to make sure that the debris, residuals, and other contaminants inside the pizza ovens burn off.
Build Quality : Ooni Karu 16 vs. Roccbox
Before buying a pizza oven, you need to know certain things about it.
One of the important features to look for is the build quality of the pizza oven to see how long it will last outside.
There are also materials that you need to look for in a pizza oven.
That is especially important with portable pizza ovens as they need to be sturdy since they will move quite frequently.
The Ooni Karu 16 is one of the most durable pizza ovens on the market and it is also not that heavy.
It has great materials that allow it to perform in any weather you cook them with.
This pizza oven is all carbon steel which is not only lightweight but is also extremely durable.
You can leave this pizza oven outside after using it and it will not rust or corrode easily.
Aside from that, it also has a powder-coated finish which protects the interior of the pizza oven.
It also helps with sunlight, rain, insects, animals, and other natural elements.
The Roccbox pizza oven, on the other hand, is made not only to resist the natural elements outside but also to perform well and make sure that you do not spend too much fuel on cooking.
It has a thick ceramic wall that allows it to resist the cold or hot weather outside.
It also helps retain the heat inside the cooking chamber which allows it to cook in any weather.
The other parts such as the front plate, legs, and the burner attachment is stainless steel.
Either way, I would still recommend using a cover for both of these pizza ovens.
Portability- Ooni Karu 16 vs Roccbox Pizza Oven
We know that these pizza ovens are not the smallest or lightest options on the market but can you cook with them anywhere you want? We will figure that out with this category.
The Ooni Karu 16 is not the heaviest pizza oven but it is pretty large.
Compared to the original models from Ooni, you will need a lot more space for this pizza oven if you travel with it.
Some features included in this pizza oven that does make it portable. For example, you can disassemble the smaller parts and they fit inside the cooking chamber.
The chimney is not permanently installed into the pizza oven to remove it and place it inside the oven. The legs of the Karu 16, like any Ooni pizza oven, are foldable.
Although it is not as large as the Karu 16, the Roccbox pizza oven is pretty heavy.
Since it is made mostly with ceramic, there is a huge difference between the weight of these two ovens.
The Roccbox pizza oven portable is that it does not have protruding features such as a chimney.
It also has foldable legs that make it more compact for smaller storage space.
The Roccbox pizza oven does have separate features such as the burner attachment and other accessories such as its very own pizza peel that you need to make space for when traveling.
Cooking Space– Ooni Karu 16 vs Roccbox Pizza Oven
These pizza ovens can cook pizzas within a few minutes, but how large of a pizza can they cook?
Here, we will take a look at the cooking area of each pizza oven to answer that.
Both of these pizza ovens have cordierite pizza stones as their cooking floor.
This material is very durable and helps retain the heat inside the pizza oven to properly cook pizzas.
The Roccbox pizza oven has a thicker 19-mm pizza stone than the 15mm of the Karu 16.
That means that it can cook pizzas with less fuel as it absorbs more heat from the flames.
The advantage of the Karu 16 is it has a larger cooking space.
While the Roccbox pizza oven can cook 12-inch pizzas, the Karu 16 has a cooking space large enough for 16-inch pizzas.
That means that it can cook large pizzas, making it great for parties and other gatherings with more than four people. This makes sure that you have enough crispy pizzas for everyone.
Cooking In Ooni Karu 16 and Roccbox Pizza Oven
The best thing about the pizza ovens is that you do not have to do so much to cook your pizzas.
Just allow them to cook it and be attentive to prevent burning the crust.
See, these pizza ovens were able to reach high temperatures of up to 950 degrees Fahrenheit.
At that temperature, the pizza cooked with crispy crusts and the toppings cooked evenly.
With that temperature, these pizza ovens could cook authentic Neapolitan pizzas within 60 to 90 seconds.
That is why you need to be attentive when you cook with them.
That is not so hard to do with these pizza ovens since they do not have any obstructions.
The Roccbox pizza oven has a decent opening that does not have a door so you can look inside.
The Karu 16 has the new ViewFlame feature from Ooni, a large door with a large glass cover so you can still see inside it without opening the door and disturbing the heat.
The thermometer also helped in cooking the pizzas. The Roccbox pizza oven has its thermometer on the side while the Karu 16 has a digital thermometer at the front.
I think it is pretty obvious that the Karu 16 was easier to use since it has its thermometer on the front. Aside from that, there was not much difference between the functionality of the two.
The fuel was the only thing that made these two differ in terms of cooking.
The Karu 16 arrives with a wood and charcoal burner which adds authenticity to the flavor of the pizzas. You can buy the gas attachment separately for the Karu 16.
The Roccbox pizza oven, on the other hand, already has a wood and gas attachment included with the pizza oven itself.
That meant that I could cook with both propane gas or wood by just switching the burners.
Cleaning And Maintenance– Ooni Karu 16 vs Roccbox Pizza Oven
If you use the gas burner attachment with the Roccbox pizza oven, you will not have any trouble with soot.
However, you do need to clean it when you use wood, especially the front.
The same goes with the Karu 16 since it uses wood and charcoal.
The soot gathers on the chimney or the front to clean that out along with the residuals inside the oven.
Pyrolyzing is the best method to clean these two pizza ovens since they have stones in them.
You use fire to burn off the food residuals and then brush them off before storing them.
Ooni Karu 16 vs Roccbox Pizza Oven– The Better Pizza Oven
For the most part, I would choose the Ooni Karu 16 since it has newer, more convenient features and is very easy to use.
It is powerful and can cook pizzas with crispy crust every time.
However, I would still consider the Roccbox pizza oven since it is also very powerful.
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It can cook pizzas within 90 seconds and has the best heat-retaining capabilities on any portable pizza oven.
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That means that it does not spend too much fuel on cooking pizzas.
It can also perform better during cold days so it is up to you which pizza oven you think fits your preferences better.
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