Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit Review

We purchased the Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit so our reviewer could put it to the test. Keep reading for our full product review.

I’ve cooked pizza in many different appliances both indoors and out, with gas, wood, and even electricity, so I was ready for the Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit. This kit is designed to work on most gas grills and includes the enclosure, a pizza stone, a thermometer, and a pizza peel. Dough, toppings, and even some extras went into the maw of the pizza oven. After eating plenty of pizza, I have opinions.

Setup Process: Could have been better

When this arrived, I had to assemble the peel. The holes in the wooden handle weren’t cleanly drilled through and were partially obstructed. I tried to muscle through, but couldn’t get a good connection. I cleaned out the holes, cleaned the screw threads, and then I was able to assemble the peel. While that wasn’t an earthshaking problem, it’s definitely something that slipped past quality control.

If I were going to be using the peel regularly, I’d also want to file or sand the sharp edges to avoid accidental injury. As the instructions said, “Metal edges can be hazardous.” While I could understand unfinished edges inside the oven, I didn’t expect the peel to be worrisome.

Design: A little wonky

This kit is essentially a low-slung stainless steel box with a holder at the bottom for the included pizza stone that makes direct contact with the grill’s grates. Two side handles flip up for carrying, and the light weight makes it simple to get this in and out of the grill, although oven mitts are required once the gas is turned on.

There’s a front door with a large hole for monitoring the pizza’s progress, and the door flips up so there’s plenty of space for a large pizza peel to put the pizza into the oven and retrieve it later. A handle on the door gave a decent hand-hold, even when I was wearing my grill gloves. On the right side of the door is a thermometer that monitors the temperature inside the oven.

Unfortunately, there were a few flaws in the unit I received. The door wasn’t built properly, so there were gaps on both sides of the door where they should have been flush to the body. Given the large hole in the door, I didn’t think a little extra airflow would ruin the cooking experience, but I contacted the company anyway. They assured me that the cooking would not be affected.

The base of the unit was also a bit cattywampus and wobbled on the grill. Since contact with grates isn’t mandatory, it’s not a problem. Still, it’s one more thing that wasn’t quite right about the way this particular pizza oven was built.

The peel’s size was nice for getting pizzas into the oven, but the thin metal tended to bend a bit, making it feel a little unsure when I lifted it with a pizza on it. The long wooden handle was nice for sliding pizzas into the oven, but when I had a heavy pizza on it, I needed to grab it close to the body for better balance.

I prefer wooden peels since dough doesn’t stick, so after testing the included metal peel, I switched to one of my own peels.

The pizza kit I received was made for gas grills, and it was 17 inches square. It fit on a large Weber gas grill with no trouble, but it also fit into a smaller pellet grill, so that’s good news. A kettle grill version is also available.

Performance: Fair with a steep learning curve

The problem with cooking pizza on a grill is that since the heat comes from the bottom, and since raising the lid releases heat, the pizzas tend to cook faster on the bottom than on the top. This pizza oven kit is mostly enclosed, with a low profile to keep the heat in so the top cooks at the same speed as the bottom.

That’s the goal, anyway. While this was better than cooking on a grill grate or pizza stone on a grill, it wasn’t perfect. No matter what temperature I tried, and no matter what type of pizza I cooked, and no matter how thick the dough was or how many toppings I had, the bottom of the pizza almost always cooked faster than the top. Adjusting the grill heat didn’t help with the uneven cooking—it affected the interior temperature as well as the stone.

Included instructions suggested heating the stainless steel enclosure first, then sliding the stone in and letting it heat. That sounded awkward—and not logical when cooking several pizzas in a row—compared to preheating the stone inside the enclosure. After giving it a try with that method, I decided to do a little testing. I used an infrared thermometer to test the stone and checked the internal temperature with the oven’s thermometer using both heating methods. There didn’t seem to be an advantage to preheating the enclosure on its own since it heated quickly with or without the stone.

Like many pizza ovens, the pizzas cooked faster at the back than the front, which meant they needed to be turned occasionally. That wasn’t difficult, but of course, it let heat out when the oven’s door was wide open, adding to the issue of uneven cooking.

Overall, the oven’s performance was fair. After a lot of trial and error, some of the pizzas were actually good. But even when the pizzas were good, the bottoms were more well done than the tops. I would have preferred more even cooking and less chance of a burned bottom crust.

As I used the oven, I actually considered placing a preheated pizza stone on top of it to help it retain heat. But that shouldn’t be necessary with an oven like this—it should just work without user modification.

The pizza oven came with an instruction sheet with minimal information, so I also looked online where I found a warning that the oven shouldn’t be used with the grill lid down because it can blacken and ruin the thermometer. Not wanting to break it for no reason, I cooked pizza after pizza with the lid open.

After multiple mediocre pizzas with the grill lid opened, I decided that I didn’t care about the thermometer and cooked a pizza with the grill lid shut. Finally, I had acceptable results. So far, the thermometer seems to be working. That doesn’t mean it won’t fail, though. Many online comments note that the thermometer failed on their units or they became discolored, cloudy, or unreadable.

Thermometers are cheap, and there are plenty of remote-read units that could be used with this oven. It seems the best choice for a decent pizza is to keep the grill lid shut and accept that the thermometer may not last.

Besides cooking enough pizzas to feed the neighborhood, I also decided to throw a pan of broccoli and peppers into the grill. It’s good to know that the oven can be used for more than just pizza.

Material: Stainless and stone

The enclosure is made from stainless steel, which is reasonable for holding heat. However, the metal is fairly thin, which is why the oven is so conveniently lightweight and easy to carry.

Marketing information claims that the top is double-walled for heat retention, but I’m not convinced. If there is indeed a second layer on top, there’s not much of an air layer in between them since the top feels the same thickness as the rest of the oven. If there was double-walled construction with insulation, I would have expected a more robust insulating layer, similar to air-insulated baking sheets.

The pizza stone is made from cordierite and is 14 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. It’s similar to other pizza stones meant for oven or grill use. In fact, this stone could be removed and used on its own.

Instructions: Mostly on your own

Someone using a pizza oven for the first time would no doubt find the included instructions lacking, and online instructions are sometimes contradictory. Cleaning instructions in the included sheet are printed on top of a photo, making them near impossible to read. I looked for an official manual online that might have more information or be easier to read, but I was unable to find anything. Checking online reviews, many users found the lack of instructions a problem.

Cleaning: Not difficult

Spills on the pizza stone can be scraped off, or they can be flipped over to burn off residue. It can also be cleaned with water—no soap—and residue can be scraped or scrubbed off. The stainless steel enclosure can be hosed off or washed with a scrubbie sponge and soap. Since it’s going to be used in a grill, it should be expected that the oven and stone will acquire a patina over time, with the stainless steel getting darker and the stone getting brown or blotchy.

Price: Expensive

There’s no way around it: This is an expensive purchase considering it has one function and it requires a grill for its heat. There are less expensive options that look similar. The more expensive models tend to be stand-alone ovens with their own heat source.

Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit vs. Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

There’s no doubt about it, the Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven, which I also tested, is more expensive than the Onlyfire that I reviewed. However, the Ooni Karu offers a lot more. It’s a standalone oven, so pizzas can be cooking in the oven while wings and burgers are on the grill. Even better, it can cook a pizza perfectly in about a minute, with both top and bottom cooked evenly.

The Onlyfire did a better job than cooking pizzas directly on the grill, but the learning curve was steep and the lack of clear instruction added to the hit-and-miss results.

For a super-cheap option, I’d suggest using a pizza stone in the oven. But for pizza lovers who have a little bit of money to spend on outdoor cooking, I’d suggest saving up and splurging on the Ooni Karu.