Pulled Pork and Dill Pickle Pizza
So, last weekend my wife Tracy says, "Hey, how about we make a pizza at home and watch a movie?" Me, being a sucker for great pizza and a great movie said sure.
She had a pizza crust in the freezer and it was time to use it.
Then, she told me the words I had been waiting to hear..."Whatever you want for toppings, your choice." Woot!!
For some reason I had pulled pork pizza in mind (must have seen a video or something) and asked her if that sounded good. Her response? "OOhhhh, that sounds really good!!"
So off I went to my computer to scour all the pulled pork pizza recipes I could find. I love reading and watching what other people do and then create my own from that.
Pulled Pork and...??
A common theme with pulled pork pizza was dill pickle and the more I thought about it the more it intrigued me. I love pickles. Deep fried pickles, sweet-hot pickles, bread and butter pickles, dill pickles...about the only pickles I don't like are poorly made pickles. (I also happen to be in the middle of creating my own pickles for catering. The first one is a sweet hot slice and the second - and one I am still working on as of this writing - is a great dill pickle. Look for a post in the near future on this. Hint - a vacuum sealer is a GAME CHANGER for making pickles.)
My wife had some really yummy kosher dill slices in the refrigerator, so there you have it (I love creating a recipe with ingredients I already have in the house). The other ingredients came together and we made the pizza.
"Best Pizza Ever!"
Let's just say, it was one of the best pizzas we have ever had and Tracy actually uttered the words, "Best pizza I've ever had!" WOW!
I called my son Evan (lives 4 doors down) and told him there was some pizza for him and Becca (daughter-in-law) if they wanted. They scarfed down the other half with a similar response.
We had such a hankering, we made the same thing the next night and enjoyed it again. And guess what? Now there's a pizza dough in the freezer, ready for the next time pizza and movie night rolls around.
Smoke on!
Pulled Pork and Dill Pickle Pizza
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 or 2 12-inch pizzas
Great crust is arguably the best ingredient in great pizza. We use the pizza crust recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction as it is one of the best we’ve found.
Ingredients:
- Pizza dough (see recipe below)
- ½ cup BBQ sauce - ¼ cup on dough, ¼ cup on top of ingredients
- ½ lbs. to ¾ lbs. of smoked pulled pork
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 2 jalapeno, seeds and white removed, sliced thin
- 4-5 green onions - chop green chive end into ¼ inch strips, do not use white onion bulb end
- ½ cup Italian Style shredded cheese blend
- ¾ cup Kosher dill pickle chips sliced into strips
- ½ cup triple sharp cheddar cheese blend
- 12-15 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
Instructions:
- Make pizza dough according to recipe below
- Preheat oven to 475°
- Spread dough on perforated pizza pan sprinkled with corn meal
- Lightly coat or spray dough with olive oil
- Top dough with ingredients in order starting with half of the BBQ sauce, then pulled pork, then red onion, jalapeno slices and chives.
- Then add the Italian blend shredded cheese, kosher dill strips, sharp cheddar cheese blend and slice cherry tomatoes.
- Lastly, drizzle the remaining ¼ cup of BBQ sauce over the top.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
Pizza Dough
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 2 12-inch pizza crusts
Follow these basic instructions for a thick, crisp, and chewy pizza crust at home. The recipe yields enough pizza dough for two 12-inch pizzas and you can freeze half of the dough for later. Close to 2 pounds of dough total.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, plus more for pan and brushing on dough
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands and surface
- sprinkle of cornmeal for dusting the pan
Instructions
- Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
- Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video above). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger – if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray– just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
- Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly for 5-10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal.
- Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. I suggest pepperoni & green peppers or jalapeño slices, extra cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza, or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.
- Top & bake the pizza: Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator. Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: This recipe yields enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, a little less than 2 pounds total. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Preheat the oven and continue with step 5, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
- Overnight/All Day Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water in the dough which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) The slow rise gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 4. If the dough didn’t quite double in size overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before punching down (step 5).
- Yeast: Red Star Platinum yeast is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. The rise time will be at least 90 minutes. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2013
Full recipe at: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-pizza-crust-recipe/
When you make this recipe, post your thoughts. If you tweak it, post your tweaks and your results!