Ooni Karu 12

[Tim Campbell]

Re sauce. Far be it from me because I am a home made guy all the way. But I have stumbled into this stuff https://www.raos.com/products/marinara-sauce at both Sam's and Costco at fantastic pricing. I gotta say for a "quickie" when you need some Marinara the stuff is AMAZING! The recipe is different than how I learned from my mother and my grandmother, but different does not mean "not good". I keep a jar in the house or two. For just those times when I need a dollop of "something". Even to the point of "doctoring" it up when I need a quick dinner for wife and I and a little ravioli and meatballs sounds just right. Highly recommended from a "real" "Dego"

That is absolutely my go-to purchasable sauce. So, so good. Worth every **** penny, imho.

 

[Tim Campbell]

Pizzaiolos pie

4 cheese pizza with mushrooms sautéed in garlic infused EVOO

Fresh mozzarella
Whole milk mozzarella
Fontina
Montrachet

View attachment 65408



A minute or so later a little prosciutto on top.

Just a few seconds to finish the za without burning the prosciutto.

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A dusting of Pecorino Romano is cheese #5

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Yum

Edit: the bites that pickup the goat cheese are amazing. Next time I need to use a bit more. The tang with the crispy crust, mushrooms and salty bite of prosciutto is amazing.

Yeah, Dan. Those are freaking delicious looking pies. Unreal. Thanks for the post...that's a high bar.

 

[Tim Campbell]

For me.... It would be about getting better product than I could get by ordering pizza to be delivered. On the other hand, it's not a spur of the moment decision to make pizzas as it is to just order pizzas when you're too tired to do anything else. You got a plan out that you're going to have a pizza night. I worked in a pizza place in high school...im disapointed by most today near me, and all that deliver to my house. I could make some awesome pizza with the right ingredients. The sauce is supercritical. There are spices that tickle me nose somehow.... It can't be just any old generic sauce. I would need to come up with the best sauce for me first.

This is excellent advice from a person who knows what they're saying.

Martin, your pizza dough is still the one I use, and I also worked in a pizza joint.

 

[BFletcher]

Re sauce. Far be it from me because I am a home made guy all the way. But I have stumbled into this stuff https://www.raos.com/products/marinara-sauce at both Sam's and Costco at fantastic pricing. I gotta say for a "quickie" when you need some Marinara the stuff is AMAZING! The recipe is different than how I learned from my mother and my grandmother, but different does not mean "not good". I keep a jar in the house or two. For just those times when I need a dollop of "something". Even to the point of "doctoring" it up when I need a quick dinner for wife and I and a little ravioli and meatballs sounds just right. Highly recommended from a "real" "Dego"

This article agrees with Larry's taste buds: https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2023/01/25/best-marinara-sauce-brands-taste-test/

 

[ZachMendel]

For canned tomatoes there's none better than these. They go well in both cooked and uncooked pizza sauce.

 

[LMichaels]

For canned tomatoes there's none better than these. They go well in both cooked and uncooked pizza sauce.

Never saw them. TO my tastes I am very partial to Cento. But Costco is selling also (what I think are relabeled Cento) and right outta the can I cannot taste any difference between Cento ones and the Costco ones. Another la famiglia fav are the 6 in 1 brand very hard to find but very good.
Also yesterday at Costco I noticed A Kirkland brand Marinara that by it's ingredient and claims looks identical to the Rao brand. 3 jars for the same price as Rao 2 jars. I bought it. I'll give it a taste test soon and report

 

[EricV.]

14 Canned Tomato Brands, Ranked Worst To Best - Mashed

Canned tomatoes are a pantry essential, but not all cans are created equal. That's why we evaluated popular brands and ranked them from worst to best.

www.mashed.com

 

[Brett-EDH]

14 Canned Tomato Brands, Ranked Worst To Best - Mashed

Canned tomatoes are a pantry essential, but not all cans are created equal. That's why we evaluated popular brands and ranked them from worst to best.

www.mashed.com

“Our winning canned tomato brand is Bianco DiNapoli. Vine-ripened, organically grown in California's Yolo County, these tomatoes are adapted from San Marzanos, but tweaked in all the right ways for the unique growing conditions of the Golden State. This is an example of two of the tastiest, largest producing breadbaskets of the world, Italy and California, teaming up exquisitely to make the perfect tomato.”

Read More: https://www.mashed.com/736313/canned-tomato-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/

These are grown right near me yet I’ve never seen this brand locally. Who retails this product? I’ll admit my shopping is done in very few stores but I’ve never seen this can or brand in 30 years here in CA.

 

[EricV.]

“Our winning canned tomato brand is Bianco DiNapoli. Vine-ripened, organically grown in California's Yolo County, these tomatoes are adapted from San Marzanos, but tweaked in all the right ways for the unique growing conditions of the Golden State. This is an example of two of the tastiest, largest producing breadbaskets of the world, Italy and California, teaming up exquisitely to make the perfect tomato.”

Read More: https://www.mashed.com/736313/canned-tomato-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/

These are grown right near me yet I’ve never seen this brand locally. Who retails this product? I’ll admit my shopping is done in very few stores but I’ve never seen this can or brand in 30 years here in CA.

They can be purchased online by the usual suspects, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Ooni etc. It looks like they are also available for pickup at Whole Foods Market:

Where to Buy — Bianco DiNapoli

www.biancodinapoli.com

 

[Brett-EDH]

They can be purchased online by the usual suspects, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Ooni etc. It looks like they are also available for pickup at Whole Foods Market:

Where to Buy — Bianco DiNapoli

www.biancodinapoli.com

Thanks. I ran a local search and only Whole Foods and one speciality store that I buy my Caputo flour at carries this brand. Literally, they’re grown 40 minutes from where I live. Weird. We have access to the Cento SMs which are great. I also buy the Costco pack but the Cento SMs cost less and IMO taste better. Even Wallyworld has the full Cento line in stock.

 

[ZachMendel]

Thanks. I ran a local search and only Whole Foods and one speciality store that I buy my Caputo flour at carries this brand. Literally, they’re grown 40 minutes from where I live. Weird. We have access to the Cento SMs which are great. I also buy the Costco pack but the Cento SMs cost less and IMO taste better. Even Wallyworld has the full Cento line in stock.

That's really neat! Definitely let me know what you think of them if you give them a try!

 

[LMichaels]

So here are some photos of products I have found most tried and recommend. I have not tried the Kirkland Organic Marinara but will very soon. I have not yet tried the Kirkland Organic Marinara, but everything else I have pictured here I HAVE tried and really do highly endorse.

 

[Brett-EDH]

That's really neat! Definitely let me know what you think of them if you give them a try!

i'm feeling compelled to to a side by side by side of Bianco v Cento SM v Costco SM.

The Bianco's are $4.19 28oz can at WF. Which is more than (IIRC) what i get Cento SMs for (maybe last buy was at $3.49 or $3.79. And I haven't bought the Costco SM's since before summer so I'm assuming they're $12.99 for a 3-pack, or $4.33 each in 28oz size.

 

[LMichaels]

I look at it this way. If Lidia can use Cento so can I but quite honestly I have tried a blind taste test of the Kirkland ones, and I can't tell them apart either right outta the can or cooked. There is a brand they sell at Costco that looked "promising" supposedly certified SM called "Nina". I bought them. Absolutely horrid. Whether you tasted them in the can or cooked into sauce they tasted like you made them outta plastic

 

[Brett-EDH]

I see this brand often in commercial settings here in CA. They're quite good too.

Home – Stanislaus

The Stanislaus Difference: For us, striving to make our tomatoes the best of the best isn't just business, it's personal.

stanislaus.com

 

[Jay D in Jersey]

So here are some photos of products I have found most tried and recommend. I have not tried the Kirkland Organic Marinara but will very soon. I have not yet tried the Kirkland Organic Marinara, but everything else I have pictured here I HAVE tried and really do highly endorse.
View attachment 65637View attachment 65638View attachment 65639View attachment 65640View attachment 65641View attachment 65642View attachment 65643View attachment 65644

The Rao's marinara is fairly mainstream near us. I mean even Lidl sells it.
It's good. Far better than any other grocery store offerings. They make a pizza sauce too. But at $6.00 for a small jar, I'm heading into the territory of just buying a good pizza...of which there are literally hundreds in the Philly area.

 

[LMichaels]

The Rao's marinara is fairly mainstream near us. I mean even Lidl sells it.
It's good. Far better than any other grocery store offerings. They make a pizza sauce too. But at $6.00 for a small jar, I'm heading into the territory of just buying a good pizza...of which there are literally hundreds in the Philly area.

I would simply use the marinara on pizza. Heck what do you think we put on pizzas when my wife makes dough? You guessed it. My marinara. Rao (or the Kirkland) is NOT going to replace my homemade. It's simply a quickie last minute meal alternative.
When I make marinara I don't cook a huge pot of it so I rarely have "over flow" on hand or in the freezer. (I do sometimes and in those times no jar sauce will replace it). My "endorsement" is simply as an adjunct or addition when needed for an emergency pizza or pasta "fix"

 

[Jay D in Jersey]

I would simply use the marinara on pizza. Heck what do you think we put on pizzas when my wife makes dough? You guessed it. My marinara. Rao (or the Kirkland) is NOT going to replace my homemade. It's simply a quickie last minute meal alternative.
When I make marinara I don't cook a huge pot of it so I rarely have "over flow" on hand or in the freezer. (I do sometimes and in those times no jar sauce will replace it). My "endorsement" is simply as an adjunct or addition when needed for an emergency pizza or pasta "fix"

I do find that most jarred/canned pizza sauce is average at best...too much oregano IMO. I might start using Marinara instead. Being from Northern NJ...15 miles West of NYC, I've got pretty focused taste when it comes to pizza. I'm just starting down the road of DIY pizza...almost exclusively on the Weber or Broilmaster. Just added a pizza steel to the mix.

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah a steel is something I am considering. Though when I asked Dave Santana to make my new grates for my Wolf, he obliged my request for very tight spacing. As I do like simply placing the pizza directly on the grates. But, I am considering a large flat/heavy piece of carbon steel to mimic that "directly on a hot stone" effect of the Italian wood fired oven. Once spring/summer gets here I will be evaluating

 

[Jay D in Jersey]

Yeah a steel is something I am considering. Though when I asked Dave Santana to make my new grates for my Wolf, he obliged my request for very tight spacing. As I do like simply placing the pizza directly on the grates. But, I am considering a large flat/heavy piece of carbon steel to mimic that "directly on a hot stone" effect of the Italian wood fired oven. Once spring/summer gets here I will be evaluating

I got this one except it's 3/16" not the 3/8" and I paid $35.

THERMICHEF by Conductive Cooking - Round Pizza Steel Plate for Oven Cooking and Baking (3/8" Thick Deluxe Version, 14" Round) - Made in USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085S67C5L/?tag=tvwb-20

My biggest challenge is/will be dough. I've been using the pre-made thin crust ones that come rolled in parchment paper. They're OK but not very tasty. Next step is Trader Joe's pizza dough. With the steel placed over the two right side burners with the sear burner in the middle...the steel gets hot pretty fast. The journey begins!