Ooni Karu is the newest addition to the Ooni family and if you are someone who does not keep tabs on the new pizza ovens out there then you should know that it is worth signing up for Ooni’s newsletter.
The Ooni Karu is a new release that just looks like a better version of the Ooni 3 pizza oven. This pizza oven has better features than the Ooni 3 though and one can tell that easily by just looking at the Ooni Karu Pizza Oven.
Neopolitan Pizzas are the newest thing now and there is everything to love about these pizzas. If you have been loving these pizzas and want to make them yourself at home then getting one of the Ooni pizzas is the best investment.
You can try out making pizzas with different toppings and not just that you can cook various other dishes inside the pizza oven as well.
The Ooni Pro is slightly larger and has a few different features than the Karu, if you are in two minds on which pizza oven is going to be a better investment then do read this post until the end.
Table of Contents
Design and Build Quality
The Ooni Karu has some updated look and you are going to notice it right away. The Pizza oven is larger than the Ooni 3 and you have a larger wood-burning space along with a perforated wall that helps the air to enter the chamber sot hat the wood burns better.
The Karu is made up of high-quality stainless steel like most of the Ooni Pizza ovens and the quality of the steel is pretty amazing making it one of the best pizza ovens out there.
The Karu comes with a new improved design which includes foldable legs, a new chimney that improves airflow inside the oven so that fuel burns better, and a large chamber to burn the fuel so that you do not feel the need to constantly add fuel.
This is an improved design from the old pellet version of Ooni and it is refreshing to lay hands on this new pizza oven that has so many features to offer.
The oven has an insulated door handle which means you can open the door while cooking whenever you want without worrying about burning your hands.
The Oven can go really hot and reach temperatures that are about 900-degree Fahrenheit, the heat retention on the pizza oven is amazing making it easy to cook pies within a few seconds.
The Ooni Pro, on the other hand, comes with a similar design but the pizza oven is slightly larger and weighs a bit heavier. Something that you are going to like about the Pro is the versatility.
This pizza oven has a larger cooking space inside making it very easy to cook and along with that, you have a transparent door to the oven so you can see how things are cooking inside.
Otherwise, the body of the Pro is similar to the Karu as both of them are made up of high-quality stainless steel. The Pro has a thermometer on the door that would tell the temperature inside the pizza oven.
Even though there is a thermometer, I would recommend that you get an IR thermometer that would give you the exact temperature of the surface of the pizza oven.
The design fo the Ooni Pro has to be slightly better than the Karu but one also should consider the weight factor as the Pro is slightly heavier than the Karu making Karu more portable.
Fuel used inside the Pizza Ovens
Both the Pizza Ovens are multi-fueled and you can use wither wood, charcoal or gas as fuel inside these ovens.
The oven comes with a wood burner when you buy the pizza oven and you need to get the gas burner attachment separately if you choose to run the oven on propane.
The wood burner attachment can help you burn two different kinds of fuels inside the oven and they are wood and charcoal. This can render your pizza the authentic Neapolitan pizza taste.
You can use different kinds of wood so that the pizzas get different flavors depending on the woods that you have used inside the pizza oven.
The gas burner attachment can be bought for both the pizza ovens separately on the website and it can be a task to change the burner on the oven.
Once you are done changing it, you can attach a propane gas tank and cook inside both the Ooni Pizza Ovens. The gas-fueled pizza oven is more convenient as the time needed to heat up the pizza oven is lesser compared to what it was with the wood-fueled pizza ovens.
Cooking inside the Pizza Oven
The Ooni Karu Pizza Oven is a pretty decent pizza oven that can reach really high temperatures which are needed to cook the perfect Neapolitan Pizza.
Cooking inside the pizza oven takes less than 90 seconds which is amazing as this way you can cook multiple pizzas within a very short period of time.
The heat retention on the pizza oven is excellent and so much better than the Ooni 3 pizza oven. You can cook inside the oven without having to constantly add wood every 5 minutes.
This is another major improvement in Karu making it a really amazing pizza oven. The Ooni Pro has always been the Pro amongst pizza ovens and it does almost everything that the Karu does but the added benefit of using the Pro is that you can cook almost anything inside the pizza oven.
The pizza oven has a slightly larger cooking space in which you can cook almost anything. You can roast a chicken, cook vegetables or bake a loaf of bread. Throw anything at the Pro and it would do it all.
Apart from it, cooking is slightly faster in the Pro but you really cannot tell the difference if you are just using these pizza ovens at home. The Pro is a more powerful pizza oven that the power to cook almost anything that you want it to cook.
Conclusion
Both the Ooni Karu and the Ooni Pro are amazing pizza ovens but choosing one among them will mainly depend on factors like the amount of money that you have and the features that you are looking for in a pizza oven.
Considering the built quality, both the pizza ovens are equally good in my opinion, they have their own design which suits the price tag and it is actually pretty great considering that it is an outdoor oven and would be staying out a lot in the changing weather.
Both the ovens are multi fueled pizza ovens and come primarily with the wood burner attachment. You need to buy a gas burner attachment separately if you want to make it a gas-fueled pizza oven.
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Using the gas burner attachment is amazing as it helps you cook pizzas really quick and you do not have to stand there inserting pieces of wood after a couple of minutes.
Both the attachments work well, although it can be a little tricky to attach the gas burner attachment on the pizza ovens. Cooking with both the pizza ovens is a delight and you are going to love everything about it.
The Ooni Pro with a larger cooking space can help you cook several dishes without any issue. You can cook meat, a loaf of bread, pizzas and almost anything that you put inside the pizza oven.
This way the Ooni pro pizza oven is more of an outdoor pizza oven that you can keep in your backyard. The Ooni Karu is an oven that you can carry with yourself on trips.
Both the pizza ovens are relatively lightweight in comparison to the huge brick ovens that you get out there. The Ooni Pro is about 20 kgs while the Ooni Karu is about 12 kgs.
You can take both the ovens on trips with you but if you are someone who travels often and wants to get a pizza oven just so that they can carry it with them on their trips then the Ooni Karu is the perfect option.
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The Pro is best for using at home or even commercial use where you want an oven that can cook pizzas quickly. You can carry the Pro around as well but it is going to be a little inconvenient in comparison to the Karu.
Overall, both the pizza ovens are amazing but there is a significant price difference between the two. If you want an oven that can cook almost anything inside without any restriction then go with the Ooni Pro.
But if you are okay with an oven that cooks Neapolitan PIzzas well and sometimes lets you cook a few more dishes inside it, then you can go with the Karu. The Ooni Karu is the best budget-friendly option out there and it is probably one of the best pizza ovens that you get at the given price.
Do let us know which pizza oven is your favorite.
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Great article. The ooni pro looks amazing from seeing the picture. I run a mini restaurant and I make pizza and some other things similar. I would love to know the price it goes for in the states if you have any idea about it. From reading your article it sounds like a good buy and would love to give it a try. Awesome post again
Well, it’s usually on offer most of the time, so you can just check out the links I inserted in the post recently. I hope this helps.
I have never actually thought about purchasing a pizza oven until I read this article and saw all the benefits. I love pizza but until now I have just been cooking them in the oven. I am sure they would probably taste better if they were done in a pizza oven. Sometimes my crust is still a little raw at the bottom, and this problem would probably be solved with a pizza oven as the heat is so much more concentrated.
Are these ovens easy to clean, and I also worry about how much space they will take up.
YES, I have had the same raw crust problem and the solution to that would be either use a pizza stone or maybe vary the water content of the dough if you make it at home.
Using a pizza oven is going to be a game-changer as you can cook almost any kind of pizza that you like inside the pizza oven.
I really enjoyed this article. Thank you so much for sharing with us such a beautiful article. I like to cook pizza on an outdoor trip.
I liked the Ooni Karu pizza oven .because this little oven seems to be perfect for my needs. Although you wrote about the weight you didn’t mention the overall dimensions which are important for storage.
The cost is certainly reasonable. I think that the option of wood and charcoal is fantastic. Thanks for this thorough description of the pizza oven. I must say that this article is very helpful and informative. Much obliged and thanks.
I did not mention the dimensions as you can easily find that on the product page so I thought of leaving it to the readers. However, if needed I can include them the next time I write such posts.