[Review] The Professional Outdoor Oven by Camp Chef

If you really want to upgrade your outdoor camp kitchen, the Professional Outdoor Oven by Camp Chef should be at the top of your list. This year in Baja we loved adding this to our basecamp set up and the only downfall was that we probably ate more cookies than we should’ve but is that really a downfall?! Let’s face it cookies make life more enjoyable. Anyways, the Pro Oven is small enough to pack into your rig but large enough to fit a 1/2 dozen size cookie sheet (or 9×13 pan). 

A bonus is that you also have two included burners on the top of the oven so you can cook your whole meal with one system. These burners work really well and have a built-in windscreen. I didn’t have an ideal setup which put the burners at eye level but still workable. The burners both have 9,000 BTUs/hour output and I really did love being able to bake some rolls in the oven while boiling water for pasta on one burner and cooking up some meat sauce on the other. We were down propane tanks this year too so being able to only have one propane tank hooked up was key. 

The Pro Oven has a dial and temp control for the oven. The oven burns at around 400º F. I didn’t have a thermometer to test just how hot the oven would get up to, but the dial reaches to 400º. I did notice, almost more importantly, that the oven burns consistently. We made Christmas cookies one night and the timing for each batch was the exact same time and outcome. The oven heat output is 5,000 BTUs/hour.

I truly wanted the Pro Outdoor Oven because I really enjoy baking sourdough. I didn’t really put much thought into this I just assumed all would work out well. In order for sourdough to bake up well it needs a hot oven for a long time. I don’t think the oven would quite get up to 450ºF (Camp Chef states 400ºF temp max) which is necessary for sourdough. On top of that, unfortunately, there was a propane shortage in Baja while we were there, so I had to give up on my baking dreams for the time being because we would’ve burned through so much gas and we didn’t have any to spare. I think if gas wasn’t an issue, I could’ve gotten some sourdough loaves to work out well after working out some kinks. We still used the oven a bunch (again probably too much) for baking cookies and other things. 

Like anything, while camping, there are some aspects of it that are not exactly as things are at home. I would check your expectations at the tent/van/camper door and know that this oven maybe won’t get quite as hot as your home oven and may take a little longer cooking times than normal. Overall we were psyched to add this to our outdoor kitchen setup and our neighbors were pretty impressed when the aroma of chocolate chip cookies was spilling out of our camp. Camp Chef is the ultimate supplier of all great things outdoor camp and we are still loving our Yukon Cook System and this year we also added the Ponderosa Outdoor Fire Pit. The outdoor fire pit also elevates your camp set up so be sure to check out that review. If you’re interested in purchasing any Camp Chef gear, doing so using our provided link supports us as we get a small kickback from your purchase. We appreciate the support!

*We received this gear for free in exchange for a review, however, it’s important to know that all thoughts are our own.