Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
With the Camp Chef Artisan Pizza Oven two of my favorite activities have come together, cooking in the outdoors and making homemade pizza. Once confined to the kitchen, Camp Chef now allows pizza making to happen anywhere with ease. Since 1990, Camp Chef has designed many great products that bring the comforts of home to the outdoors. Examples of these products are grills, pans, ovens, and cooking accessories that have been made for the outdoors.
Over the past month I have been testing the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven. This is a versatile cooking device that is made for cooking pizzas outdoors but has a range of abilities to cook many other dishes. With this oven we have been creating all sorts of different pizzas and dishes in my backyard. Not only has the food come out great but it has brought together our family and friends for a wonderful meal experience.
About the Camp Chef Artisan Pizza Oven
The Camp Chef Artisan Pizza Oven is a heavy duty cooking device. Weighing in at nearly 50 pounds, this product is built to last. The oven itself is built of stainless steel and all of its components are sturdy and rugged. It looks like this pizza oven should last for many years of outdoor cooking, camping, and fun.
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven Set Up
The dimensions of the oven is 15 X 26 x 16 inches which fits perfectly on most outdoor tables and spaces. The opening to the oven is 22 inches wide with a maximum height of 4.25 inches. In addition to the opening there is a removable door that can be used when heating and during cooking. The cooking surface is a ceramic stone with a surface of 20 x 13.5 inches.
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven Opening and Stone
In the front of the oven there is a shelf. This shelf allows for easy access to the inside of the oven especially when placing the pizza into the oven.
Below the stone is a 17,000 BTU burner that heats up the ceramic stone. The oven’s thermometer reaches up to 700 degrees, and I can attest that the oven can get that hot!
The burner of the oven is over sized and easy to use. The normal settings are ranged from low to high. Additionally, there is a starter built into the knob making it very easy to light.
The Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven can use either the larger 5 gallon propane tanks, like the ones used for most barbecue grills, or it can handle the smaller camping propane tanks.
Pizza Oven Regulator and Gas Attachment
Use of the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
The Camp Chef Artisan Pizza Oven absolutely rocks! I have had so much fun over the past few weeks making pizza for my family and friends. This oven makes the entire cooking process from start to finish easy and painless.
The Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven comes in a single box with little assembly required. The front shelf, pizza stone, and internal rack are the only components that need to get put in place. From box to use, takes less than 15 minutes!
Using the pizza oven is a cinch. Even with no experience using a pizza oven I found the learning curve to be a non issue. Included with the pizza oven are recipes and tips that helped me get an idea of what to expect when cooking. Also, Camp Chef has done a great job of creating cooking videos on their website that give pointers and ideas on what can be done with the oven. It was not until I spent some time exploring the Camp Chef Website that I understood how versatile the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven really was.
Even my first time using the pizza oven was a complete success. The pizza dough we used was from a local pizza shop and all of the ingredients came from the grocery store. I prepped all of the toppings and sauces buffet style so that I could test everything out.
First Pizza Going In
That night we had we had a couple families join in for our inaugural pizza test. Everyone, including the young kids, were in charge of making their own pizza with all of the prepped ingredients.
Cooking the Pizzas
The Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven takes about 15 minutes or so to really get heated up. I do not have an infrared thermometer and only used the built in oven thermometer. Once to about 500 degrees we tested out our first pie. Within 3-5 minutes the pizza was finished to perfection. It was impressive how fast the cooking process really was. I did rotate the pizza once during the cook time. Although, after a few more pizzas I figured out that if I put them in far enough they really did not need a rotation.
Cranking Out Pizzas
The oven did a great job of cooking the pizzas evenly. There were no areas that weren’t finished cooking and there were no areas that burned. The entire process was fool proof.
When the Magic Happened
The short cook time allowed us to crank through a dozen pizzas quickly. What we found as we went along is that our pizza toppings became more and more creative. Since it was no trouble to make and cook a pizza, we came up with some pretty interesting combinations. Soon we branched out from my prepped food items and started raiding my refrigerator and cupboards for other exciting ingredients. We made all sorts of different pizzas including dessert pizzas and fun breads.
Pizza Coming Out
My take away from the entire experience was how fun it was to have everyone cooking together. Our traditional pizza nights never were this engaging. When pizzas take 20 minutes or so to cook it doesn’t allow for fun and creativity that the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven could offer. I really encourage anyone who likes to host groups of friends or kids to look into this oven. It definitely took our pizza night to a whole new level.
Here in Colorado Rockies our camping season is over and ski season has begun. For now our Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven will be seeing most of its use as a backyard tool. Although I do have aspirations of bringing the oven out ice fishing and having a pizza cookout while fishing.
Next spring when we get out for camping I can see us bringing the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven on many of our car and pop up camping adventures. It will be a lot of fun having multi-family camp outs and having the pizza oven along.
Pizza Accessories
Even though the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven can be used on its own, the accessories that Camp Chef has created for cooking pizzas are awesome! I love the Italia Pizza Accessory Kit. I personally would not want to cook pizzas without it. The pizza peels and the over-sized pizza cutter are in constant use when we are cooking pizzas. The peels make it really easy to transport the cooked and uncooked pizzas and can help place the pizzas into the oven. We use one peel for the uncooked pizza and the other peel for the cooked pizza. The big pizza spatula helps turn the pizza while inside the oven and also remove the pizza from the oven when finished.
Pizza Accessories
Pizza Oven Cover
Additionally, the pizza cutter is a nice touch and easy to use. I am sure my normal pizza cutter would work just fine but since it is included in the kit, it got a fair amount of use.
The other accessory that makes sense with the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven is the cover. The cover is made from heavy duty fabric and has a great fit around the oven. If this oven will be out in the elements then this cover would be a good idea.
Specs on the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven Taken Directly From the Camp Chef Website
MSRP $495Double layered ceiling enhances heating dynamics, bakes like a brick ovenPreheat and ready to cook in 15 minutesBuilt-in valve ignition/micro-adjust valve give you total flame controlBuilt-in temperature gauge monitor internal air tempsVentilated oven door with handleStainless steel construction is easy to clean17,000 BTUs. Hr. specially designed burner and heat platesOven can reach temperatures upwards of 700° FPerfect for pizza, baking breads, roasting meats and moreRuns on a 1-lb disposable propane bottleRegulator and 5 ft. hose included to adapt to standard bulk propane tankOverall Dimensions without shelf: 15 in. x 26 in.x 16 in.Stone Dimensions: 13.25 in. x 20 in.Oven Opening Dimensions: 22.25 in. x 4.25 in.Shelf Dimensions: 5 in. x 23 in.Total Output: 17,000 BTUs/Hr.Overall Weight: 47 lbs.
Specs on the Camp Chef Pizza Accessory Kit
MSRP $64Two Pizza PeelsPizza SpatulaRocking Pizza Cutter
Specs on the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven Patio Cover Directly From the Camp Chef Website
MSRP $29Custom fit design600 Denier fabricBuilt-in elastic for a tight fit
Final Thoughts on the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
The Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven is an incredibly fun cooking tool. People who enjoy the social aspect of being in the outdoors will fall in love with this oven. The Italia Artisan Oven is incredibly easy to use and is well built, and very versatile. My only regret is that I did not have the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven earlier. With the holidays soon arriving, I would put the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven on the top of your wish list. For more information on the Italia Artisan Pizza Oven and other Camp Chef products, visit www.campchef.com or www.amazon.com/campchef.
