What To Cook in an Ooni Pizza Oven?

Recipes for Ooni pizza ovens

The key to enjoying your Ooni pizza oven is having a few good recipes up your sleeve you can rely on. Good pizzas start with good bases, so here are some great recipes for fast, delicious, and reasonably simple pizza bases.

Crispy Pizza Base

Makes 4 x 25-30cm pizzas

4 tsp dried granular yeast
300ml lukewarm water
500g plain flour
1 tsp salt

Sprinkle the yeast into 100ml of the water. Leave to dissolve for about 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of the flour and mix to a smooth paste, then stir in the remaining water. Cover and leave the yeast mixture until it is bubbling and foamy (up to 30 minutes depending on the temperature).

Combine the flour (reserve 2 tbsp for kneading) and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast liquid. Work the ingredients by pulling the flour into the liquid until it comes together.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round loaf. Leave to rise under a clean tea towel for about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and knead for a couple more minutes. Divide into balls, press out flat and roll out using a floured rolling pin.

Ideally, you want the dough to be thicker on the edges and very thin in the middle. If the crust is too thick in the middle, it won’t cook all the way through.

If you love your Ooni pizza oven and want to use it for more than just pizza, check out these recipes.

Salmon Filet

Salmon does well with high-heat cooking, so you can easily cook a filet on a cast iron skillet in your Ooni pizza oven.

Firstly, you need to wait until the oven is at least 260°C. Then, place a small, oiled, cast-iron skillet onto the pizza stone.

Once the pan is heated up and the oil is sizzling, remove the pan and place a salmon filet (any size) with the skin side down. Top off the salmon with a few pinches of salt, or soy sauce, the juice from half a lemon, 3-5 pats of butter, and a couple of lemon slices. Slide the skillet back onto the hot pizza stone and let the salmon cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 60°C.

Once your salmon is ready to go, remove it from the oven, let it rest, and enjoy!

Steak

Steaks are also cooked at high temperatures, which means they are great to cook in an Ooni pizza oven. You can even cook one large steak or two small steaks at once.

For thick-cut steaks, bring them up to room temperature and prepare them with a generous amount of salt and pepper on each side. Then bring your Ooni pizza oven up to a very high heat – aim for a stone temperature of about 482°C.

Grease a cast iron skillet with a little bit of vegetable oil and let it preheat on the stone for 5-10 minutes. When the oil is sizzling, place one or two steaks into the pan and slide it back into the oven.

Cook the steaks for about 90 seconds to two minutes on each side, depending on how you prefer your meat. Remove the steaks when they have reached your desired doneness and let them rest for a few minutes on a cutting board before serving.

Marinated Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are delicious when cooked with high heat, and unlike chicken breasts, they are quite forgiving. Marinated chicken thighs are hard to overcook and amazing to cook in an Ooni pizza oven.

Marinate five to six bone-in or boneless chicken thighs in your marinade of choice. Once marinated, place the thighs into a cold, greased, cast iron skillet and get your pizza oven up to about 482°C.

Place your cast iron skillet on the pizza stone. and cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side. Then, flip and cook for another two minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken and look for an internal temperature of about 77°C. Cook longer if necessary; the cooking time will depend on the thickness and size of your chicken thighs. Enjoy!

Marinated Shrimp

Shrimp cooks beautifully in a cast iron skillet in an Ooni pizza oven. Simply marinate raw shrimp with the seasonings of your choice, cook them for a few minutes per side on medium-high heat, and start gobbling.

While the shrimp is marinating, preheat your Ooni as hot as it will go – up to about 480°C. After the oven is at temperature, preheat your cast iron pan on the pizza stone for five minutes.

Cook the shrimp over a rolling flame for about two minutes. Rotate and cook them again for another minute or two on the other side. When cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and serve while still sizzling.

Ooni gas pizza ovens are ideal for anyone who wants a simple pizza oven for smaller gatherings, quick, fun dinners for the family, or even for pizza addicts who need their crispy, gooey pizza fix but with minimal effort. Shop our range today.

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