Pellet Fan

Here's How I.... => Cook Everything Else (Pizza, Appetizers, Desserts, etc) => Topic started by: BobKz on May 26, 2021, 09:21:15 PM

Title: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: BobKz on May 26, 2021, 09:21:15 PM
We started this after I fell in love with Chicago pizza from a restaurant in IL (name escapes me). My wife researched a recipe and surprised me with it and now all other pizzas are just "meh"...

I took it one step further and started grilling it on the pellet grill. Texture, taste, crust... All gets better when cooked with wood even though it's not being smoked.

My wife makes the dough & sauce from scratch. I'll try to get the full recipe from her but I'll bet any dough & sauce will work. I do know the dough has cornmeal and flower. I'm not sure if that's all pizza doughs? Anyways..

She uses a spring pan (for baking cakes, etc). We learned the hard way this is almost required to get the pizza out of the pan after the bake. Works awesome.

She works the dough evenly across the bottom & sides a little ways. Then cheese, the homemade sauce, toppings (we did pepperoni & sausage, 1/2 pepperoni and 1/2 no toppings), then parmesan.

I had the pellet grill heated up to 425 and put the pizzas on for 30min. About half way I raised the pizza to the first rack so the bottoms didn't get too done.

After 30min pull them off the grill, let them cool for 5-10, and serve 😊



Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on May 26, 2021, 09:45:19 PM
looks great, thanks for sharing

what grill did you use
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: BobKz on May 26, 2021, 09:59:04 PM
Coyote 36" pellet grill. I love it.. gets to temp quick, even heat across the grates, fits a lot of food. Definitely recommend it. However this was an upgrade from a 24" Cabela's brand so yeah... It should be better lol
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: pmillen on May 27, 2021, 03:37:51 AM
It's 2:30 in the morning (I'm sitting up with a sick dog), I'm hungry and read this.  Now, I want pizza—that pizza.
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: urnmor on May 27, 2021, 07:54:35 AM
Great looking pizza
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: 02ebz06 on May 27, 2021, 09:28:27 AM
Looks great!  :clap:
Unfortunately, I've never been a fan of deep dish pizza. Too much dough for me.
I make NY Style, and on occasion thin crispy crust (Pizza Hut style) or Neapolitan style.
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: bregent on May 27, 2021, 12:37:19 PM
>Too much bread for me.

I know what you are saying - but in reality, a deep dish pizza typically has much lower bread to filling ratio.

For example, my 14" Chicago dough weight is 25oz, but has about 60oz of cheese, sauce and meat. In contrast, my 18" NY dough ball is 21oz, but only gets about 20oz of toppings.  So you really end up eating less bread.
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: bregent on May 27, 2021, 12:45:19 PM
Bob, those pies look great!  Note that if you really don't need spring pan if you butter the baking pan before pressing the dough - there's no chance of it sticking. Also, it's hard to tell what form of cheese you are using. It's a good idea to use sliced cheese and press it into the dough to form a barrier to keep the sauce from soaking into the crust.  Here's a few threads on some I've assembled to show what I mean.

https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=3994.msg48074#msg48074

https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=6528.msg68465#msg68465
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: BobKz on May 27, 2021, 01:38:28 PM
Those pizzas look awesome!! Great tip with the cheese! We used shredded but I really like the idea of using sliced 👍 the pan you used is also different. Looks like a better pizza pan. The first one we used was a little deeper making it tough to dig out.

Not sure if she butters it either... I'll ask.

And I was never a deep dish guy either until I had a good one lol. The crust is really not all that thick. But you can load up on the flavor with sauce & toppings. Definitely want a fork for these...

I still avoid the thick crust when reduced to delivery pizza or frozen 😬
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: bregent on May 27, 2021, 04:16:52 PM
This is the pan I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YKGS4A
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: BobKz on May 27, 2021, 05:38:33 PM
Just ordered 2 - thank you!
Title: Re: Homemade Chicago Pizza
Post by: Bentley on May 27, 2021, 09:00:45 PM
They really do look good!