Ultimate Pizza Oven (project)

The Ultimate Pizza Oven (project) is a DIY construction project completed by Andrew and Kevin Buckles in a Season 1 episode of same name.

Construction

• Charcoal barbeques are the best bet for this project: nothing beats a wood-fire for achieving those high temperature necessary to produce great pizza . If you want to save a little money, try to find an open box or clearance grill. If it’s missing its legs, don’t worry. You won’t need them.
• The next step is to build the table. Cedar works well for an outdoor build since it’s resistant to rot. Make sure to leave a hole in your framing big enough for your barbeque to sit in. You can also add wheels between the legs for easy transport.
• When you’re ready to mount your barbeque, finish your tabletop and cut the hole where your barbeque is going to sit. You’ll also have to figure out how your barbeque is going to be attached to the table. To shield your wooden table from the extreme heat coming off of your barbeque, you’ll need come up with a heat shield. Otherwise, you’ll be cooking more than just the pizza. The brothers used the top section of a cleaned-up oil drum.
• Start work on the pizza oven insert collar. Stainless steel is ideal for this because of its weather resistance, durability, and fabulous looks. Make sure you have the proper tools though: the brothers wore out a number of bits trying to drill through the material.
• Likewise, for cutting out the opening, a plasma cutter would slice through the steel like a sharp knife through dough, but the brothers were able to make do with a jigsaw and a metal-cutting blade. An angle grinder with a cutting wheel is also an effective solution. As with all of the steps, be sure to take all the necessary precautions to protect your eyes, ears and face from white-hot shards of cutting debris.
• Now that the major building is done, you can make your own accessories to go with your new oven. You can make your own pizza peel to slide your creations in and out of the oven. Andrew  repurposed discarded oak organ pedals and made them into a board to roll out your pizza dough, and a box that carries all the ingredients you’ll need.

His ingredients box featured a magnetic slot in the base for holding knives, two sections within the box for holding bowls, and a shelf with magnetic containers to house all the ingredients you’ll need to make a pizza.

Required Materials

• Kettle-style charcoal BBQ

• Heat shield: Fire-resistant material that will act as a buffer between your 900 degree barbeque and the wood.

• A variety of standard dimension cedar lumber including 4x4s, 2x4s and 5/4 planking.

• Caster wheels: 6” to 8” in diameter – these are ideal for off-roading your Ultimate Pizza Oven on uneven terrain. 

• Threaded rod and pipe

• For building those extras such as your rolling board and ingredients box. It may depend on what is available in your area or what you have on hand, but oak, maple and walnut are a fantastic choices.

• Knife magnet: Individual rare earth magnets are a good alternative.

• Stainless steel storage containers to hold your pizza toppings.