The right pizza oven turns your backyard into a pizza-cooking paradise. With the best pizza ovens, you’ll have home-cooked pizza that tastes like it was made by your favorite pizzeria. That said, finding a good pizza oven is easier said than done.
Our comprehensive guide takes you through everything you need to know about the Alfresco Pizza Oven. It makes delicious pizza and it has great value for the price point.
Read on to learn more about the Alfresco Pizza Oven review below.
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Overview
The Alfresco Grills 30-Inch Pizza Oven is an outdoor pizza oven that’s great for home cooks. It features a lightweight design that gives it decent portability when compared to similar products. This Alfresco pizza oven is a gas pizza oven that uses liquid propane or natural gas as the primary fuel source.
It cooks pizza efficiently with radiant heat, so you don’t have to wait long for Neapolitan pizza. In fact, it reaches 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit in only 16 minutes. With 456 square inches of cooking space and 40,000 BTUs of power, cooking a 12-inch pizza is a breeze.
Even if you’re cooking your first pizza, you won’t have problems with this oven.
Pros
Cons
Design
What makes this Alfresco pizza oven unique is its design. The design is simple yet elegant. It features a stainless steel exterior that matches almost any outdoor patio set.
The Alfresco Pizza oven can be used as a countertop or built-in oven. It’s a great option for people who have outdoor counters or to add to your outdoor kitchen setup.
Key Features
Several key Features set the Alfresco pizza oven apart from other pizza ovens. First and foremost, we’ll start with the internal halogen lights.
Typically, it’s hard to see inside a pizza oven. Either the door is closed and you have to open it or it’s dark. Well, this Alfresco pizza oven offers a solution.
Instead of having a steel door, the door is made of glass. So, you can see through the glass to check on your pizza. Inside the oven, there is also a halogen light that shines when the oven is on.
Even with high temperatures, you can see right in the oven. Plus, you don’t have to open the door and let out the heat to look at the pizza.
Another key feature is the temperature gauge. They’re dials located on the bottom right of the oven and they’re easy to set and turn. You get a wide temperature range and a few timer settings.
Build Quality
The build quality of a pizza oven is also something to consider. Many pizza ovens are made with steel but that doesn’t mean it’s good steel. This Alfresco pizza oven is made with the best stainless steel.
The steel design insulates heat but doesn’t get hot to the touch. So, you can cook your pizza fast without burning your hands.
Another thing to note about the build quality are the legs. While it’s a countertop pizza oven, it has four adjustable legs. These adjustable legs increase portability and give you more places to put it.
It’s also one of the most durable pizza ovens. It lasts longer than most propane gas ovens and wood-fired ovens. Additionally, the steel is resistant to corrosion and stains.
Inside the Oven
Inside the Alfresco pizza oven is where the magic happens. There’s a pizza stone where the pizza sits and burners in the front and back. Having multiple burners makes it easier to heat the pizza with infrared heat.
The oven also has a double-walled insulated top that retains heat. Heat retention helps the inside of the oven heat up rapidly. It’s also worth noting that the inside of the oven reaches temperatures close to 1,100°F.
The burners in the back of the oven are also the most powerful. They reach 40,000 BTUs of power and use infrared heat to cook pizza.
The inside of this Alfresco oven is also large. It’s large enough to cook a 14-inch pizza and many other types of food. So, you can use it as more than a pizza oven.
Portability
The Alfresco pizza oven is surprisingly portable for its size. While it’s a larger outdoor pizza oven, it’s easy to move around. This is due to the oven’s lightweight design.
The Alfresco pizza oven also benefits from a compact design. It’s small enough to resemble an indoor pizza oven but with more power and efficiency.
Setup
Setting up the Alfresco pizza oven is straightforward. It comes with everything you need right out of the box. The only thing you need to source on your own is the fuel source.
First Fire and Seasoning
Firing up the Alfresco pizza oven for the first time is not hard. Even if this will be your first homemade pizza, Alfresco makes the cooking process a breeze.
It’s one of the easier ovens to set up because you don’t have to season any grates. To set up the oven for the first time you want to cure the oven. Curing the oven is done by letting the oven burn for a few hours at different temperatures.
First, let the oven burn at around 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 hours. Then, wait for 24 hours and then let the oven burn at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for another five hours. From there, you’ll want to cure the oven three more times at 350°F, 450°F, and 500°F.
Always cure the oven for at least four to five hours with each cycle. Once the oven is cured, place your delicious pizza in the oven and get ready to cook.
It’s also possible to season the pizza oven but you don’t have to. To season the pizza oven, sprinkle a little bit of olive oil before cooking the pizza. Doing so will help you sear the crust and turn it black.
Setting up black powder (activated charcoal) is also a good idea if you want to eat healthily.
Cook Test
There are several cook tests that you can perform. A cook test is a simple test that shows you how well a pizza oven cooks pizza. While the Alfresco pizza oven is advertised as an oven that reaches 1,000°F, it’s important to verify this information.
Luckily, we did the research. After testing the Alfresco pizza oven with an infrared thermometer, it reaches and maintains a high heat between 950°F and 1,100°F.
We also tested the time it takes to cook pizza and preheat it. It preheated in less than 20 minutes and finishes Neapolitan-style pizza in less than five minutes.
After the cook test, it’s clear that the Alfresco pizza oven performs as advertised.
Setting up the Fuel
Setting up the fuel is where things can get complicated. The Alfresco pizza oven is a gas pizza oven, so you don’t need wood chips. However, you may need a natural gas line and additional components to complete the job.
To simplify, you can opt to buy the propane fuel version. All you’ll need is a filled propane tank and you’re done.
What it’s like to Cook with the Alfresco Pizza Oven
Cooking pizza with the Alfresco pizza oven is a breeze, even if it’s your first time. Still, there are some things you need to get used to. Plus, it’s good to know how to use this outdoor oven to cook other food.
Cooking Pizza
When cooking pizza, the Alfresco pizza oven is in its element. It cooks 12-inch and 14-inch pizzas fast and makes a Neapolitan-style pizza in just 4 minutes. The oven also preheats quickly, so you don’t have to worry about any long wait times.
When cooking pizza with an Alfresco pizza oven you’ll also notice some other benefits. The main benefit is heat retention and infrared technology. With these innovations, the oven cooks pizza perfectly.
Every time you cook a pizza you’ll get melty cheese, delicious pizza crust, and perfectly heated sauce. Plus, you’ll never have to keep opening the door to check on your pizza because of the glass doors. When you open the door too much to look at a pizza, it brings the temperature of the oven down.
The top of the oven is also spacious, so the heat has no problem rising in the oven for fast pizza cooking.
Cooking other Food
While the Alfresco pizza oven is primarily for pizza, it also cooks other food. With a little bit of olive oil, it’s perfect for cooking food that needs an iron-skillet sear.
That said, it’s not perfect for cooking other food. You’ll end up wasting time if you try to cook simple meals with this pizza oven. You’re better off with a traditional oven for roasts and other meals.
Still, some awesome dishes you can make with the Alfresco pizza oven are listed below:
- Flatbreads
- Chicken rolls
- Calzones
- Pinwheels
- Mozzarella sticks
- Nachos
- Garlic knots
When it comes to cooking other food in this Alfresco pizza oven, it’s important to consider the trade-offs. In many cases, it’s better to use a different kitchen appliance.
On the other hand, for pizza-related foods, it’s the best oven. In fact, it’s better than most non-portable backyard pizza ovens.
How the Alfresco Pizza Oven Performs
When it comes to performance, the Alfresco pizza oven doesn’t disappoint. It’s one of the best outdoor pizza ovens and reaches high temperatures to cook food fast. It also has a more reliable fuel source and great cooking efficiency.
Fuel
For fuel, the Alfresco pizza oven uses natural gas or propane fuel. Gas works well because it reaches high heat quickly.
Gas burners are also better at creating indirect and radiant heat. Ultimately, you get more control over the cooking experience with gas compared to a wood fire.
While the natural gas fuel source option gives you easy access to fuel, it’s not easy to set up. Installing the oven requires lines that run from your home to the oven to ensure it has a fuel supply. Unfortunately, this makes it less portable than some similar ovens.
Cooking Efficiency
When it comes to cooking efficiency, the Alfresco pizza oven is hard to beat. It’s hard to beat because it preheats in less than 20 minutes and cooks a Neapolitan-style pizza in 4 minutes.
Radiant heat is also something the Alfresco pizza oven excels at. With great heat distribution at high temperatures, the cheese melts perfectly and the pizza crust remains crispy.
This pizza oven is also effective because of heat retention. The inside of the oven is isolated, so you don’t have to worry about heat escaping. There’s also a glass door you can use to see inside without releasing the hot air by opening the door.
Overall, it’s one of the more efficient pizza ovens.
Other Factors to Consider About the Alfresco Pizza Oven
There are several additional factors to consider about the Alfresco pizza oven. It’s important to learn more about warranties, how customer service is, and accessories.
Accessories
We’ll start with accessories. When you’re shopping for a countertop pizza oven, you need accessories to get the most use. It’s for this reason that the Alfresco pizza oven comes with a pizza stone and a wood and herb box.
Alfresco also has a few limited accessories that you can purchase to go with your pizza oven.
Pizza Oven Cart
The first accessory that Alfresco has is a pizza oven cart that allows you to move your pizza oven around more easily. It includes a shelf underneath for storage.
Pizza Prep Cart
The next accessory is a pizza prep cart. This prep cart is the ultimate storage and convenience in a cart. It includes a plate shelf, cutting board, pan rail, and additional storage.
Pizza Oven Prep and Plating Center
The final accessory that Alfresco offers is their pizza oven prep and plating center. This neat accessory comes with all kinds of features. It has a plate shelf for storage, a removable cutting board, and ice-cooled pan rail for toppings or for use as a rail for your drinks.
Customer Service
Customer service is king, especially today when a lot of it is handled online. Fortunately, Alfresco has excellent customer service support. It’s easy to call the phone number and service representatives return the call within 48 hours.
What makes Alfresco’s customer service even better is the fact that Alfresco has answers to many questions on its website. Therefore, it’s possible to get clarification on a question almost immediately.
Warranties
Alfresco has a great warranty policy for its kitchen appliances. The basic warranty for all grills is a limited lifetime warranty on all stainless steel parts. It’s only limited because it doesn’t cover scratches, corrosion, or ceramic.
Another warranty option is the five-year warranty. This warranty covers cooking trays, pizza stones, pizza peels, and drip pans. There is also a similar two-year warranty that covers ignitors, gas attachments, and other grill components.
It’s always a good idea to get a pizza oven that has a warranty. High heat has a tendency to break things, so it’s good to be prepared.
How Does the Alfresco Pizza Oven Compare to Other Pizza Ovens?
When you’re shopping for a pizza oven it’s important to compare your options. To help the Alfresco pizza oven stand we’ll compare it to a handful of pizza ovens.
We’ll be comparing the Alfresco pizza oven to other outdoor and indoor pizza ovens. These include Ooni, Bertello, Gozney, and electric pizza ovens.
Ooni Pizza Ovens
Ooni pizza ovens are also great ovens. When compared to Alfresco pizza ovens there are a few key differences.
We’ll start with the Ooni Karu. The Karu comes in many sizes and can be used with several fuel sources. That said, it’s a smaller oven and less efficient than the Alfresco pizza oven.
Still, other Ooni pizza ovens are more similar. A great example is the Ooni Koda, which also comes in a few sizes. The Koda is also a gas pizza oven and it can use gas or propane.
While the Koda is more similar to the Karu, it still comes up short when compared to the Alfresco oven. It comes up short because it doesn’t have the best heat retention. Furthermore, it doesn’t reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit like the Alfresco oven.
The last Ooni oven to compare the Alfresco pizza oven to is the Ooni Fyra.
Ooni Fyras are small and portable backyard pizza ovens. There are a few size options and they’re primarily wood fire grills.
When compared to the Alfresco oven, it doesn’t hold up well. It fails to reach similar cooking temperatures and it’s much harder to use. While it’s cheaper, the Alfresco pizza oven is better.
Bertello Pizza Ovens
Bertello also makes high-quality pizza ovens. There are two models of Bertello pizza ovens. These are the Bertello Grande Outdoor Pizza Oven and the Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven.
The main difference between the two ovens is that the Grande oven is larger than the regular pizza oven. Still, the Grande isn’t as large as the Alfresco oven and struggles to reach high temperatures of 1,000°F.
The biggest difference between Alfresco and Bertello ovens is that Bertello ovens can use wood, natural gas, or propane in one oven. That said, it’s the only advantage Bertello has.
Gozney Pizza Ovens
Gozney is a top-rated pizza oven brand. Gozney pizza ovens reach high temperatures and come with many premium features. Furthermore, there are many options to choose from.
The most popular Gozney pizza ovens are the Dome and Roccbox. The Dome is a stationary oven, while the Roccbox is a portable wood fire or gas oven.
While both of these ovens are great, the Alfresco pizza oven has the portability of the Roccbox paired with the cooking efficiency of the Dome. Therefore, it’s the better choice in most cases – if it’s within the budget.
Electric Ovens
The last type of oven to compare to the Alfresco pizza oven too is an electric oven. Electric ovens or electric pizza ovens use a heating element to heat food. While heading elements work well, there is a trade-off.
The biggest problem with an electric oven is that it’s not the right type of fuel for cooking pizza. When cooking pizza, the fuel adds a lot of flavors. If you use an electric oven, though, you won’t add any flavor.
Electric ovens are also expensive to operate if you use them often and they struggle to reach high temperatures. For cooking pizza, it’s always best to choose an Alfresco pizza oven over an electric one.
Still, there are some decent electric pizza ovens and they’re a more flexible appliance.
The Verdict
The Alfresco pizza oven will always be one of our top choices. It’s perfect for any pizza night and it’s even a good option for beginners. The cooking surface is almost perfect for pizza and it delivers some of the best results around.
Overall, you won’t find many other kitchen appliances like the Alfresco pizza oven. Even backyard gas grills and charcoal grills struggle to compete with them.
If you’re looking for the best outdoor pizza ovens, look no further than Alfresco. It’s a true commercial-quality pizza oven for home use.
As someone from Long Island, New York, Thomas knows what it takes to make a good pizza. He understands that it’s a combination of high-quality ingredients, well-rounded pizza ovens, and a little bit of love. From the dough of a Neapolitan-style pizza to the wood that powers a wood-fired pizza oven, he has you covered. Thomas’ love of pizza is what got him here and he hopes that you’ll enjoy pizza as much as he does soon.
