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Best Outdoor Fireplace with Pizza Oven: Complete Guide

outdoor fireplace with pizza oven

Outdoor fireplaces are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary homes, and these days, they aren’t just cozy places to chill out. Finding an outdoor fireplace with pizza oven for cooking is becoming the norm for many shoppers. 

If you’ve been looking to make wood fired pizza with an outdoor fireplace, this guide is the one for you! Here’s everything you need to know about outdoor fireplace pizza ovens, and our top picks if you’re looking to buy. 

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Things to Consider When Buying a Backyard Fireplace

The first consideration when adding a fireplace with an outdoor pizza oven in your space is location. Safety should be on the top of the list. The area should be free from bushes, shrubs, and low-hanging branches. If there are plants near your oven, you should trim your shrubbery regularly, so it doesn’t become a fire hazard.

Next, consider the design of your fireplace, and how it will look in your backyard. You can hire a stonemason/contractor to create a custom build or you can purchase one that is already made.

Custom builds tend to be pricier than ones that are modular or prefabricated. However, you can build them to suit your own tastes and space. Some prefabricated/modular designs will allow you to customize your own façade or veneer with finishes like stucco, stone, granite, or brick. This will allow you to have the look of a custom build but at a lower cost.

PRODUCT DETAILS
  • Smaller footprint
  • Pizza oven is incorporated into the design
  • Cooks a 14” pizza
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  • Electric starter ignition
  • Glass oven door window for viewing
  • Storage drawer to accessories
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  • The shape reduces cold spots
  • Efficiently stores radiant heat for an even cook
  • Food is cooked from all directions
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Our Top Picks for the Best Outdoor Fireplace Pizza Ovens

Best Small Pizza Oven: Deeco DM-0039-IA-C Aztec Allure Cast Iron Pizza Oven Chiminea

Deeco DM-0039-IA-C Aztec Allure Cast Iron Pizza Oven Chiminea

Small ovens are 26” wide and fit 12” pizzas. This is designed more for individual pizzas as you will only be able to cook one at a time.

This fireplace oven does have some assembly required. However, putting it together is easy. Constructed of cast iron it has a hinged spark guard screen door with fiberglass lining to retain heat in the top oven. The stainless-steel grate is designed for easy grilling as well.

Pros

  • Removable lid to cover up the item when not in use or when it’s raining
  • Smaller footprint
  • Pizza oven is incorporated into the design
  • Cooks a 14” pizza

Cons

  • Heavy
  • May rust
  • Smaller footprint
  • Pizza oven is incorporated into the design
  • Cooks a 14” pizza
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Best Medium-Sized Oven: Brick Outdoor Wood-Fired Pizza Oven Kit

Medium-sized ovens will be 27-33 inches wide. They can handle two to four 12” pizzas simultaneously. They are designed for small gatherings or to cook for a small family (generally four people).

The BrickWood Oven contains a 700 square inch cooking surface that can be used for 10-15 guests. This is a DIY pizza oven containing materials that are locally sourced. It will allow you to create a cost-effective, high-performance pizza oven that is wood-fired. Building it is simple as they provide the installation instructions for free.

Pros

  • Comes with a ceramic fiber blanket
  • Easy installation
  • Creates simple backyard oven and is easily customized

Cons

  • Form only
  • Need to consider orientation and wind to know where to install
  • Comes with a ceramic fiber blanket
  • Easy installation
  • Creates simple backyard oven and is easily customized
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Brick Outdoor Pizza Oven

Best Large Sized Outdoor Ovens: Summerset “The Oven”

Summerset Grills SS-OVBI-NG The Built-in Outdoor Oven - NG

Large ovens are 34-42” wide. You will be able to place 4-7 12-inch pizzas in it at the same time. It is perfect for large gatherings or for a large family. It will also allow you to bake several personal pizzas at the same time.

The Summerset “The Oven” is made from 304 stainless-steel construction with natural gas fuel. This oven reaches up to a maximum of 450° F and with the pizza stone it will reach up to 700° F. The kit includes two racks with three positions available, a cover, a smoker box to hold wood chips, a flame tamer, a large pizza stone (fits 16” pizzas), and a grease tray. 

Pros

  • Electric starter ignition
  • Glass oven door window for viewing
  • Storage drawer to accessories
  • Can be used in countertops, incorporated into an island, or fireplace.

Cons

  • Smaller smoker box
  • Middle rack cooks slower
  • Electric starter ignition
  • Glass oven door window for viewing
  • Storage drawer to accessories
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Best Runner Up for Brick Pizza Oven: Chicago Brick Oven CBO-750

Chicago Brick Oven Wood-Burning Outdoor Pizza Oven, CBO-750 Countertop Oven with Silver Vein Hood

The Chicago brick oven is more of a design yourself type oven for those with larger families or who like to entertain. The kit comes with the oven itself, but it is up to the individual to incorporate their design around it. 

The fact that it is more of a design yourself option makes this oven appealing because you can easily personalize it to suit your tastes. It has a 41” x 28” cooking space. The Flame Roll Only is their low-dome construction which creates a Flame Roll for unique wood-fired cooking. This is a feature that causes the oven vent to pull the flame horizontally across your dough and vertically down its sides. 

Pros

  • The shape reduces cold spots
  • Efficiently stores radiant heat for an even cook
  • Food is cooked from all directions

Cons

  • None yet
  • The shape reduces cold spots
  • Efficiently stores radiant heat for an even cook
  • Food is cooked from all directions
Check Price on
Amazon.com

How Will You Be Cooking Your Pizza?

Outdoor ovens are made of stainless-steel, aluminum, and brick. They all work differently when cooking pizza. Which material you choose isn’t just a design choice, but one of practicality as well. 

For quicker cooking, choose a metal oven as they take less time to heat. The only downfall is they don’t retain heat as well as brick ovens. They also cool down quickly as the fire dies down. 

Brick ovens hold heat for a longer duration. They are better at using a radiant heat source, and once they reach the correct temperature, they will retain it for several hours.

However, the brick oven takes longer to heat to the desired temperature as bricks absorb heat. A little more time will be required to get it to the desired cooking temperature. However, properly planned, you will be able to get your food prep and drinks served before needing to tend to the oven. 

What is the Best Type of Pizza Oven Configuration

This will depend on the size of your backyard or the space available for outdoor cooking. 

Built-Ins

Built-in ovens are what people envision for a luxury outdoor kitchen and it comes equipped with a wood-fired oven. They can have a stainless-steel exterior (advisable when it comes to weather) and are built into an enclosure or cart. 

DIY Pizza Ovens Kits

However, if your vision included a stone-encased oven, you may want to buy a design-it-yourself kit. This will allow you to transform a domed interior by using your own choice of masonry.

DIY kits give users pre-made components to assemble, then finish with masonry. 

Modular ones have cast concrete items to generate the oven’s dome plus the insulation. Once completed, the exterior can be finished with pre-made options or with a custom enclosure.

Brick ones provide interior bricks as opposed to a precast oven dome. It saves users the time-consuming act of cutting since everything comes ready to be assembled. 

These kits tend to be more ideal because an outdoor kitchen is more of a personal choice and reflects the individual’s outdoor living space. It makes sense to want to customize your outdoor space. 

Prefabricated Ovens

If you want to have an outdoor pizza oven created quickly, then choose one that is prefabricated. It will arrive assembled and you can use it immediately.

Masonry can be added to the outside so that it blends into the remainder of the space. Just be sure to take accurate measurements as you may not be able to tweak them. You want it to fit perfectly, and not have to play with the dimensions to get it to fit into your space.

What is the Best Pizza Oven Outdoor Construction?

Wood burning ovens tend to be made with a cement interior and a stainless-steel exterior. This allows it to retain heat and prevents the exterior from rusting or corrosion. However, this isn’t the construction method for all ovens. There are other options available. 

Some constructions will have a cement dome on the interior, and others may have stainless-steel bodies accompanied by a heat-resistant tile floor. For a DIY, there is usually just a cement or brick shell that is waiting to be fitted to your choice of the exterior.

Additionally, the stainless-steel that is used is not always high quality, so you need to watch out for this. Some are merely generated from powder-coated or painted steel. It is less expensive but won’t withstand weather changes very well. 

It is advisable to select something made from 304-grade stainless-steel because it is more durable and won’t rust. It will withstand any type of weather.

Materials and Insulation

The material used will impact the insulation and heat retention of the oven. This will affect how long the oven takes to heat. Heat-resistant refractory floor tiles are great for the oven floor because they will retain heat and generate an even bake.

Refractory clay also works well as it quickly heats and retains the heat for a longer duration. 

Should your oven be made of stone or brick, it will need to cure prior to its first use. You will need to heat the oven up for several days to ensure all moisture is removed to strengthen the oven and ensure it will last.

Stainless-steel will provide superior insulation and will enable you to attain higher temperatures with decreased wood fuel. The downside is that it may not be as resistant to weather as clay or stone. 

Retaining Fire Heat

How well an oven retains heat depends on material and size. You need to consider how often you want to make pizza and how much fuel you want to use to keep the oven burning. If fuel efficiency is your objective plus you are willing to use the oven to cook the next day with leftover heat, then you need to find something with superior heat retention. 

Avoid ovens with thin walls as they do not retain heat for a long time. Built-in brick ovens combined with layers of insulation will provide the best fuel efficiency and heat retention.

What Accessories Will You Need?

After the oven is in and everything is assembled, there are several accessories to consider before making your first delicious pizza in your new oven. 

Pizza Peels: They allow you to get the pizza in/out of your oven, coming in different materials. Wood peels are designed for building a personal pizza and placing it in the oven. They are not used for getting pizza back out in high temperatures. A metal peel has a low profile making it perfect for pizza removal because it can withstand high heat. It will stick if sliding a pizza in.

Pizza Cutter: Meant for slicing pizza into sections. The most recommended type is the classic rocker over a wheel cutter. Wheel cutters will drag the cheese as opposed to a clean cut.

Cleaning Tools: The oven will need to be cleaned in between uses. Choose a long-handled two-sided brush. It should have metal bristles and be accompanied by a scraper.

In Conclusion 

Fireplaces with a pizza oven can be a large investment depending on what your needs are and the design. There are many DIY kits that will save you money, but you may need a bit of skill to make your vision come to life. However, there are experts that will create the design you want to create that perfect backyard experience.