Big Horn Pizza Oven Overview and Review

[@SilverShadow2LWB]

I would have like to see a demonstration of a pizza cooked in this oven with the pellets to make the video complete. Interested buyers really would like to see the cooking performance no matter the price. I got my Big Horn on eBay about a year ago when they were offered by various sellers at around $90. I found that the even with the use of a blend of hardwood and charcoal pellets that the fire needed much too much maintenance to cook multiple pizzas. I spent more time tending the preheat and cooking fires than tending to guests. Plus the re-heat between pizzas was just too inconvenient. That is because compared with the Ooni Fyra, the pellet burning tray was just a little too small. So I ended up doing the propane gas conversion which was fairly inexpensive and easy to do. I will never go back to pellets. It replaced the ash catching tray located outside the oven just below the pellet burning tray. Because of larger burner and regulator, it performed much better than the Ooni Karu 12 in comparison. This is because the Big Horn ducts the flames to the center of the oven. The un-ducted Ooni and Gozney will often burn one side of the pizza and often requires a flamer shield to improve on this. The flame shield does the same thing by blocking some of the direct heat from the part of the crust closest to the burner and allowing the heat to go over this area towards the center of the roof of the oven. The Big Horn designers have already thought of this. I also doubled the pizza stone thickness, so now it retains more heat for multiple pizzas and cooking without the door on. Because of the flat floor of the oven, my next project is going to be the rotating 12" round pizza stone, powered by the barbeque rotisserie motor. This will provide the most even cooking of the pizza, although I do enjoy the skill of turning the pizza with the smaller turning peel. It would be nice to see your oven in action using your techniques. If you are going to use pellets, I recommend using a 50:50 mixture of hardwood and charcoal pellets (sold by Royal Oak). Enjoy your oven! Thanks

[@martinm2074]

thank you very much for this detailed info, i will have look how to convert to gas

[@SilverShadow2LWB]

@@martinm2074 I totally support the conversion. It clips right into the same grooves that hold the pellet ash tray. There is no permanent modification made to the Big Horn so you can go back to pellets/wood at any time. A simple stainless steel shield will block the heat from going straight up the pellet hopper. I used a replacement burner for a turkey deep fryer that I purchased on Amazon. I also added two thermometers, one sensing the oven chamber temperature and the other the temperature under the stone. Now instead of tending to a fire, I have time to mingle with guests or prepping the ingredients for the pizzas. I wish there was a way to send you the pattern for the metal mounting bracket. My brother has the Ooni Koda 12, and in comparison on the build, the Big Horn is a much better oven. The Ooni would have rusted out on me by now since it is made of a mild steel skin.

[@knightfthree]

From the U.K. I thank you for this excellent review.

[@gregwhite8470]

Thank you for taking the time to do a very detailed review.

[@matthewshirley4297]

Great video!!!!! I just got mine and this video was a huge help!!

[@robertguzman2856]

best review I like it good job

[@dezbro79]

My first run i couldn't get the pellets lit. I used a torch even with rubbing alcohol, no luck. Returned the cheap pellets and got Traeger pellets. Any suggestions on lighting them?

[@GadgetTalk4U]

@@dezbro79 I've used a haystack style fire starter and a torch with success. Fire management takes some practice. Have fun with your pizzas.

[@AttommicDog]

I didn't find a follow up video so I would like to ask: How has it held up? Any complaints? Did you get a real 12" peel? Are you considering doing a follow up video now that you have more experience with it? I see the same company makes an identical 16" wide model now which I am interested in. Only because there is more room to operate inside.

[@GadgetTalk4U]

I haven't done a video, but it has held up well. It needs a 12 inch peel as the door is like 12.2 inches wide. For me, the only serious downsides are it goes through pellets pretty fast, so you have to closely tend the fire, and it takes a few minutes to recover the high temp between pizzas. Pizzas are great.

[@AttommicDog]

@@GadgetTalk4U Thank you. I am glad it still does the job. I ordered the IR thermometer you have listed. I used your affiliate link.

[@AttommicDog]

@@GadgetTalk4U Cheapest pellets I found was $15 at Walmart for 40lbs. And it sure does eat pellets! Wow.

[@deeran656]

No good, 18 minutes may heat up the oven but that's nowhere near enough time to heat up the pizza stone. You need 45 minutes minimum to get the stone to temp, you're gonna burn through a ton of pellets.

[@GadgetTalk4U]

I've done a number of cooks since I made this video. The 18 minute time frame will get the stone up around 800 F. The drawback over propane is that it can take about 10 minutes to reheat the stone for pizza number 2. It does go through pellets, but a wood fire gives the pizza a great taste. Cheers.

[@DavidYoel13]

Horrible