As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at my restaurant, Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I’ve had the opportunity to test and use various pizza ovens in a professional kitchen environment. In this article, I’ll compare the Bertello Pizza Oven and the Blackstone Pizza Oven, two exceptional outdoor ovens I’ve used extensively. To help you make an informed decision, I evaluated these ovens based on quality and materials, temperature control, shape, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and conducted a real pizza cooking test to see how long each takes to produce a perfect pizza. For a detailed breakdown of my testing process, feel free to check out my separate article on how I test pizza ovens.
The Bertello Pizza Oven is a versatile, multi-fuel oven designed for compact outdoor cooking, known for its affordability and portability. On the other hand, the Blackstone Pizza Oven is a larger, propane-powered oven tailored for high-volume cooking and delivering consistent, professional-grade results.
In this article, I’ve provided a detailed comparison of the Bertello and the Blackstone based on my hands-on tests.
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Winner
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Loser
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Our Rating:
4.7
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Our Rating:
4.5
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Pros:
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Pros:
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Cons:
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Cons:
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- Robust construction with a stainless steel exterior and a durable refractory stone
- Heats up efficiently, reaching over 900°F in about 10-15 minutes
- Dome-shaped design
- Multi-fuel versatility, allowing the use of gas, wood, and charcoal
- Lighter
- Cleaning the Bertello can be a bit more involved
- Durable construction with a stainless-steel cooking chamber and a heavy-Duty cast iron rotating tray
- Capable of reaching 900°F
- Unique design
- Heavier and bulkier
- Took longer to assemble
- Powered by a single, high-pressure propane burner
- Requires more effort to clean
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Bertello VS Blackstone: Quality and Materials
| Built with durable stainless steel and a refractory stone cooking surface, the Bertello Pizza Oven is robust and designed to withstand high-temperature cooking. |
The Blackstone Pizza Oven boasts a solid build with stainless steel, a cast-iron rotating tray base, and double-wall insulation for consistent and even heat distribution.
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Bertello VS Blackstone: Temperature Control
| The Bertello Pizza Oven‘s dome-shaped design promotes optimal heat circulation, ensuring even cooking and a perfectly charred crust. |
The Blackstone Pizza Oven‘s unique design places the burner away from the pizza stone, reducing flame contact but occasionally leading to uneven cooking.
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Bertello VS Blackstone: Shape
| The Bertello Pizza Oven reaches over 900°F with positive airflow and multi-fuel flexibility, but the shallow wood tray may limit consistent wood-fired cooking. |
The Blackstone Pizza Oven also reaches 900°F but features a single propane burner. The placement of the burner can result in faster bottom cooking than the top.
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Bertello VS Blackstone: First-Time Usage Impressions
| The Bertello Pizza Oven is easy to assemble and heats up quickly, offering a hassle-free experience for first-time users. |
While robust, the Blackstone Pizza Oven is heavier and requires two people for setup. The burner ignition process may take a few tries to master.
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Bertello VS Blackstone: Power Source
| Multi-fuel capabilities (charcoal, wood, propane) make the Bertello Pizza Oven versatile, with an option to combine wood and gas for unique flavors. |
Powered by a propane burner delivering 60,000 BTUs, the Blackstone Pizza Oven offers reliable and high heat but lacks the flexibility of multi-fuel options.
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Bertello VS Blackstone: Size
| Compact and portable, the Bertello Pizza Oven accommodates 12-inch pizzas and weighs 34.6 lbs, making it a versatile choice for outdoor cooking. |
The Blackstone Pizza Oven is significantly larger and heavier, requiring ample outdoor space and a wheeled cart for mobility, making it ideal for larger gatherings.
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Bertello VS Blackstone: Ease of Cleaning
| Cleaning the Bertello Pizza Oven involves removing the pellet tray, which can be messy, but regular maintenance keeps it efficient. |
The Blackstone Pizza Oven is straightforward to clean, with a removable pizza stone and interior surfaces that are easy to wipe down after cooling.
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Pizza Cooking Test
The Bertello Pizza Oven took 10–15 minutes to preheat and quickly reached its optimal temperature of over 900°F. In the real pizza cooking test, it baked a classic Margherita pizza in just 90 seconds, with a perfectly charred crust, gooey cheese, and rich tomato flavors. The dome-shaped design ensured even cooking throughout, and the wood-fire option added an authentic flavor to the pizza.
The Blackstone Pizza Oven preheated in a swift 10 minutes, showcasing its powerful 60,000 BTU propane burner. It cooked the Margherita pizza in an impressive 70 seconds. However, the burner placement caused the bottom to cook faster than the top, requiring adjustments mid-cooking. Despite this, the crust was crisp, and the flavors were satisfying, although less wood-fired than the Bertello.
How We Tested
To ensure a fair and comprehensive comparison of the Bertello Pizza Oven and the Blackstone Pizza Oven, we conducted rigorous tests in my professional kitchen at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston. Our process focused on real-world scenarios to evaluate each oven’s performance, consistency, and user experience. Here’s how we tested:
We preheated both ovens to their optimal cooking temperatures. For the Bertello Pizza Oven, this meant reaching over 900°F using its multi-fuel capabilities, including wood and propane. The Blackstone Pizza Oven was preheated using its propane-powered burner, which also reached over 900°F. Preheating times were recorded to assess efficiency.
To standardize the test, we used the same recipe for a classic Margherita pizza—a simple yet revealing benchmark of a pizza oven’s capability. Each pizza was prepared with fresh dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. We launched the pizzas into the ovens once they reached the optimal temperature. Cooking times were tracked, and the pizzas were closely monitored to observe heat distribution, crust crispness, and cheese melting.
Once the pizzas were cooked, they were evaluated for taste, texture, and appearance. We examined the crust for char and crunch, the evenness of the melted cheese, and the balance of flavors. Special attention was paid to the cooking consistency across the top and bottom of the pizzas.
To simulate real-world usage, we tested the ovens over multiple cooking sessions. This included assessing how quickly each oven returned to the desired temperature for a second pizza and how well they maintained performance during continuous operation.
We also took note of any challenges during the cooking process, such as uneven cooking, ease of handling the pizza during cooking, and overall user-friendliness. These insights helped identify the strengths and limitations of each oven.
By following this structured testing process, we gained a clear understanding of how the Bertello Pizza Oven and the Blackstone Pizza Oven perform, helping you make an informed choice based on your specific needs.
Final Thoughts
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Winner
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Loser
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Our Rating:
4.7
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Our Rating:
4.5
|
|
Pros:
|
Pros:
|
|
Cons:
|
Cons:
|
- Robust construction with a stainless steel exterior and a durable refractory stone
- Heats up efficiently, reaching over 900°F in about 10-15 minutes
- Dome-shaped design
- Multi-fuel versatility, allowing the use of gas, wood, and charcoal
- Lighter
- Cleaning the Bertello can be a bit more involved
- Durable construction with a stainless-steel cooking chamber and a heavy-Duty cast iron rotating tray
- Capable of reaching 900°F
- Unique design
- Heavier and bulkier
- Took longer to assemble
- Powered by a single, high-pressure propane burner
- Requires more effort to clean
When deciding between the Bertello Pizza Oven and the Blackstone Pizza Oven, it truly comes down to your specific needs and preferences. The Bertello Pizza Oven offers unmatched versatility with its multi-fuel capabilities, compact design, and authentic wood-fired flavor, making it ideal for personal or family use. On the other hand, the Blackstone Pizza Oven is a powerhouse built for larger gatherings, with high-temperature propane performance and a spacious cooking area.
Both ovens excel in their own ways, and either choice will elevate your outdoor cooking experience.
If you decide to purchase one, I’d greatly appreciate it if you used my referral links. I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps keep my blog alive and allows me to create more helpful content like this:
Thank you for your support, and happy pizza-making!