Cooking Pies On The Grill With The Mighty Pizza Oven

With the warm weather right around the corner, I thought I’d take a moment and introduce you to a product that I think could really revolutionize the experience of making pizza at home. I’m frequently sent pizza related products — some of which are more useful than others. Last fall, I was contacted by a company called Mighty Pizza Oven, which bills itself as a “convenient small pizza oven insert” that converts a gas grill into an outdoor pizza oven. I was intrigued.

What arrived at my home was a metal contraption (plus two stone-like structures) which included some minor assembly. The directions weren’t 100% clear, but we managed to figure it out. It took about 15-20 minutes in total. Once assembled, it is evident how the Mighty Pizza Oven works. It’s essentially a metal heat trapping box with an (upper) stone that rests in its roof. Another (lower) pizza stone is placed directly on the grill, upon which the pizza is placed. Then the metal contraption is placed over it to, in theory, retain heat.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

It seems simple enough, right? I preheated the grill, with the circular lower stone and metal contraption (containing the upper stone) in place. The guide says to cover the rest of the grill with foil to retain even more heat. When the grill reached it’s maximum temperature, I placed a pie on the stone and waited… Because the pizza is completely covered, you have to quickly lift the contraption to check on how it’s cooking every minute or two. Also, of note, the contraption is so big that the grill can’t actually close completely. I was worried this would allow heat to escape, but I guess the area where the pie is cooking is so enclosed that little heat actually does escape.

So how did the pies turn out? They were the best I’ve made at home and exceeded the rise that I’ve been able to achieve in a standard oven fitted with pizza stone(s). Each pie was on the grill for no more than three minutes. The crust was charred to perfection, the ingredients were adequately cooked, and there was even some bubble action around the outside. All in all, I was impressed with what The Mighty Pizza Oven enabled me to achieve at home. Here are some pizza pics (it was around Chaunkah time) of pies that I made on the grill.

Just a reminder that this is not grilled pizza. The Mighty Pizza oven converts your grill into a what is essentially a really solid pizza oven. The oven retails for $269.00 which is certainly not cheap (although keep your eyes out for sales). But remember that a good stone will probably cost you $50.00 anyway. My advice — if you live in a small city apartment and don’t own a nice grill, you might be better off continuing to make pies in your oven. But if you really love making pizza and own (or have access to) a nice outdoor grill (like one of those $1,000 fancy ones) — shell out the extra cash for The Mighty Pizza Oven. It can be used all year around (I used it at my parents’ place at the end of December) and will enable you to create pies that are even more delicious than you can make in a standard oven.