Any pizza chef worth their salt will tell you that the key to making great pizza at home is to have a good pizza stone. Pizza stones provide a sturdy surface for your crust to sit on and ensure that the entire pizza cooks evenly. One of the most popular (and expensive) stones on the market right now is the Kamado Joe pizza stone.
So, that being said, is the Kamado pizza stone worth it?
The Kamado pizza stone is definitely worth it. In fact, I’d say that the Kamado Joe pizza stone is easily one of the best pizza stones I’ve ever used. It’s designed with a single thick piece of high-quality ceramic that’s designed to stand up to incredibly hot temperatures. It’s easy to clean and works great with any oven.
Check out the latest prices on Amazon here.
I recently purchased one of these after breaking my last pizza stone, and I’ve been quite pleased with how it’s performed over the past few months.
After being questioned by all of my friends about it, I decided that it was time for me to write a conclusive review to answer everybody’s questions. Here’s what to expect!
Review: The Kamado Joe Pizza Stone
My grandfather once told me that anything worth doing is worth doing well. He was a mechanic by trade and always swore by his tools.
For the most part, he was a frugal man, except when it came to his tools.
I never really cared much for mechanics, but I developed a love for cooking at an early age. My mom hated paying to go out to eat, so I realized that if I wanted good food, I was going to have to learn how to make it myself. That’s how I started baking pizza.
Today, I live by my grandfather’s principles, and I only try to use the best tools when it comes to the craft I love.
As I mentioned, one of the most important tools for baking a good pizza is a proper pizza stone.
I’ve tried a lot of them over the past few years, but the Kamado Joe pizza stone is easily one of my favorites.
So, here’s what I like the most about my new stone.
What I Like Most About My Kamado Joe Pizza Stone
Most of my friends don’t have pizza stones. Instead, they either throw their pizza straight onto their oven rack or put it on a cheap metal pan. Then again, most of my friends also only cook frozen pizzas.
I, on the other hand, bake most of my pies from scratch. Once they’re finished, I place them in an authentic wood-fired oven that I keep in my backyard.
The thing about wood-fired pizza ovens is that you absolutely need to use a stone for them.
Most of the cheap metal pizza pans on the market would literally melt in the 900-degree temperatures that my wood-fired oven produces! (Here is a list of the best pizza pans you can buy)
Aside from its ability to stand up to high temperatures, though, there are also a couple of other general features that I really love about my Kamado Joe stone.
Check them out.
Key Features Of The Kamado Pizza Stone
Now, let’s take a minute to review some of the key features of the Kamado Joe pizza stone.
For the most part, it’s a pretty simple tool, so there’s not too much that needs to be elaborated on.
However, there are a few key points that really set this particular stone apart from other pizza stones you’ll find at your local Wal-Mart or discount supermarket.
High-Heat Ceramic
The Kamado Joe stone is made with super-high-quality ceramic that’s designed to stand up to the hottest temperatures.
I’ve literally put this thing inside of my dad’s 1,000-degree Forno Bravo pizza oven and it handles it without any problems whatsoever.
I remember the one time I cheaped out and purchased a cheap $10 pizza stone. It turns out that the ceramic they used to make it was so cheap that the heat caused it to crack in half as soon as the oven preheated to 500-degrees.
Extra-Thick Design
The real reason why the Kamado pizza stone is more expensive than some of the other discount pizza stones on the market is that it’s crafted from an extra-thick piece of ceramic.
It’s easily about 1.5-inch thick, which not only makes it more durable but also helps with cooking.
The thicker the ceramic is, the more heat it can absorb and the faster it cooks your pizza!
Easy To Clean
The Kamado Joe pizza stone is incredibly easy to clean.
Like any pizza pan or stone, it’s eventually going to get dirty as your cheese melts onto it and other toppings fall off of your pizza.
However, it never takes me any longer than a few minutes to completely clean using a bit of baking soda and water.
Check out my in-depth post on how to clean your pizza stone here!
What Sizes Is It Available In?
The Kamado Joe pizza stone is available in two different sizes; the “Classic” and the “Big Joe” size.
I went ahead and purchased the “Big Joe” just because I like to cook extra-large pizzas for the whole family.
However, the Classic size should be more than enough for most casual pizza chefs.
Classic
The Classic Kamado Joe has an 18-inch diameter, making it bigger than Pizza Hut’s extra-large-sized pizza. You could honestly fit two small personal pizzas on here without a problem!
“Big Joe”
The “Big Joe” is designed for the serious pizza chef (or those who have a giant oven). It has a 24-inch-wide diameter, meaning that you could technically fit two small or medium-sized pizzas on the stone at the same time, or a gigantic 2-feet-wide pizza. The choice is yours!
How Durable Is The Kamado Pizza Stone?
The Kamado is easily one of the most durable pizza stones I’ve ever had. This is mostly due to its extra-thick design.
I have yet to drop mine (usually a death sentence for a pizza stone), but I’ve definitely set it down roughly on more than a couple of occasions.
It’s still in one piece, though, so I’d definitely say it can take a light beating.
Can I Use The Kamado Pizza Stone In Any Oven?
Yes! Since the Kamado Joe pizza stone is designed to stand up to extra-hot temperatures, you can use it in any oven, from your household conventional oven to a high-heat brick oven.
Can I Use The Kamado Pizza Stone In My Grill?
Although it’s not quite as common, you can definitely use it in your grill!
Once when my power went out, I just put a bunch of charcoal in my grill, placed the stone on top of the grate, let it heat up, and then cooked my pizza inside like a regular oven.
Why You Should Get The Kamado Pizza Stone
There’s nothing like the taste of a delicious, home-made pizza. And if you’re looking to up your pizza game, then you should definitely consider getting a Kamado pizza stone.
Not only will it give your pizzas an amazing crispy crust, but it will also help them cook evenly and prevent them from sticking to the pan.
No More Messes In The Oven
A couple of days ago, I wrote a post on how to make taco pizza. As much as I love them, though, I have to admit, the sheer amount of toppings that go onto them makes them an incredibly messy pizza to make.
The few times that I’ve tried to cook one in my conventional oven, I always end up with a huge mess to clean up from the bottom of the oven later on. Bits of cheese, tomato, sauce, and small chunks of ground beef fall off of the pizza as I’m turning it only to be charred to a crisp at the bottom of the oven by the heat coils. One time it even made so much smoke that it set off my fire alarm!
As long as I use my pizza stone, however, it tends to catch any little bits of topping that fall off the pizza. This means less mess inside of my oven, no smoke pouring out of my oven, and no loud fire alarms!
Even Cooking
The main purpose of a pizza stone is to ensure that the pizza cooks evenly. This is one of the biggest problems that pizza chefs face. Since pizzas are so large and thick, you’ll often end up having one side of the pizza cooked more evenly than the other. This means that one side may be too soft, while the other side is starting to burn.
Ceramic stones are excellent conductors of heat, which means that they absorb the heat in the oven and then transfer it through the bottom of the pizza crust. This does two things:
- It allows the entire pizza to cook evenly.
- It gives the bottom of the crust a crispy, browned texture that you would expect from a wood-fire oven (even if you’re just using a regular countertop oven or conventional oven).
Faster Cooking
This kind of goes hand-in-hand with what I was just saying about how the stone helps the entire pizza cook more evenly. Not only does the ceramic pizza stone absorb the heat, transfer it through the pizza, and help it to cook more evenly, but it also helps it to cook faster! On average, my pizzas are done 15% to 20% faster when I cook with a pizza stone than they are when I just put it straight on the oven grate.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a high-quality, versatile (I even tried to cook Naan bread on it!), and well-designed pizza stone, then you can’t go wrong with the Kamado Joe pizza stone.
It’s made from an extra-thick slab of porcelain which not only makes it durable but also helps your pizza cook faster and more evenly.
Since the stone stays warm for longer, it will also keep your pizza nice and hot for a solid 15 to 20 minutes after you take it out of the oven!