La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven review

Cons:

• Pizza peel doesn’t come with oven
• You need a big enough BBQ for it
• If using charcoal you have to wait for the coals to heat up

Star rating: 4.2/5

Read our round-up of the best pizza ovens

The La Hacienda is a portable oven designed to work on top of an existing barbecue. It’s 40 x 35 cm, so needs a reasonably sized barbecue – we used a barrel shaped charcoal model, it would also fit square or oblong gas models, and a large round charcoal barbecue. The housing channels the heat around the pizza so the top cooks as well as the base. It’s a good value, space-saving buy that looks good – providing you already have a barbecue.

What were your first impressions of the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven?

It arrives in a box just bigger than the oven with some non-recyclable packaging (one polythene bag and four pieces of foam).

The packaging is good quality and would protect the pizza stone from breaking and the oven from any knocks. We kept the packaging to keep the pizza stone safe when stored. Inside the box is the oven and a short manual.

How easy is the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven to build?

The oven is ready to use. The manual comes with instructions to put the oven on a gas barbecue before turning it on, or onto a charcoal barbecue once it is lit. We used charcoal and this was easy to do.

How easy is the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven to use?

This is a solid-feeling oven that instils confidence. The pizza stone slotted easily into the oven, which fit neatly onto the top grate of our barbecue and didn’t move around.

As long as you’re familiar with your barbecue, you should have no trouble. You put it on the heat and wait for the hand to reach the ‘ideal zone’ on the dial before sliding your pizza in.

The instructions explain the best position for the pizza to go on the pizza stone. It was straightforward turning the pizza with a peel or long handled fish slice – this ensures even cooking.

A peel is ideal for sliding the pizzas into the oven, but a baking sheet with no lip can be used. There was no burning on the base, as the stone is held slightly away from the barbecue grate. You’d have to watch this if you were working on gas.

How hot does the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven get?

There's a really easy-to-use dial split into three sections: warm, ideal and hot. The instruction manual advises waiting until the dial reaches ‘ideal’, but also says this will vary depending on the barbecue you’re using.

We waited for the arrow to reach ‘ideal’ before sliding in the first pizza and kept the hand in this section while cooking three pizzas, one after the other. We found that if the hand was at the lower end of ‘ideal’, the pizza didn’t cook as well on top. Keeping it slightly hotter worked better.

The manual advises against keeping the oven on ‘hot’ for too long. It was easy to regulate to ‘ideal’ by moving some charcoal aside with tongs.

How many pizzas does it fit?

One pizza up to 30cm, a 25cm pizza worked best for manoeuvrability.

How long does it take to make a pizza?

A margherita took 4-5 minutes at ‘ideal’, you need to turn the pizza a couple of times to get a consistency of finish around the edges. As with all pizza, this is going to entirely depend on how thin you roll and stretch the dough. We made three before having to add more fuel to the barbecue – if you were working on gas you wouldn’t have this problem.

How easy is it to add a pizza?

The simplest way is to slide the pizza off a pizza peel. This is easier than it sounds, but we also found a flat baking sheet well dusted with semolina or polenta worked well. A pizza peel doesn’t come with the oven so you may want to invest.

How hot does the outside get?

The whole oven gets hot, but you can easily take the pizzas in and out and stand beside it while they cook. Treat it like a hot barbecue and keep kids and pets away.

Does it come with additional pizza tools?

No.

Can you cook anything other than pizza in the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven?

It’s just under 9 cm deep so you could cook a tray of sausage or cutlets, or roast some veg. You could also put a salt stone on the pizza stone and cook a steak. You need to be careful that the pizza stone doesn’t get oily or it will start to smoke.

Can it be stored outside?

No. We kept the packaging and repacked it for storage.

How easy is the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven to store?

It isn’t that big. You could put it in a large cupboard, ours slid under a sideboard easily and it’s not too heavy to stack on top of other larger boxes. If you had space in the car it would be great for a holiday where you knew there would be a barbecue.

How was the finished pizza?

It made an excellent homemade pizza with a crisp, well-cooked base and bubbling topping.

How many people does it serve?

Each pizza serves one adult, or two smaller children. They cook quickly, so if you were firing up a charcoal BBQ you’d want to make more than one.

How long does it take to cool down?

The manual advises leaving it for two hours, but if your charcoal was still hot it would take longer – we left it overnight.

What utensils did you need to make the pizza?

You need a pizza peel, or an oven sheet with no lip, and a long handled fish slice or large palette knife for turning and removing the pizza, plus a board and knife for serving.

Who would the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven be most useful for?

If you own a big enough BBQ, this will add another functionality without too much extra cost, or using up too much space.

What's your favourite thing about the La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven?

It was easy to use and makes good pizza.

La Hacienda BBQ pizza oven star ratings

Ease of assembly 5/5
Overall build quality 4/5
Ease of use 5/5
Packaging 4/5
Value for money 4/5
Cooking results 4/5
Ease of storage: 4/5

Overall star rating: 4.2/5

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This review was last updated in May 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.