Wednesday, September 14, 2011

BBQ Pizza?




So what do you do with all that leftover Pulled Pork from yesterday's Barbecue?? 



You make...

Pizza!!! 



Ya silly.

Barbecue Pulled Pork Pizza

My cousin Marty recently discovered this somewhere in Montana and has been after me to come up with my version.


Give it a whirl.

INGREDIENTS
  • About two (2) to three (3) cups of leftover Barbecued Pulled Pork, about three good hand-fulls
INGREDIENT NOTE : There is no cheating here. Go and get yourself an eleven-pound (11 lbs. or 5 kg.) Pork Shoulder, brine it overnight, give it a rub, spark up the grill, and come back in fourteen (14) to eighteen (18) hours. However, there is a "cop-out" method listed in the VARIATIONS section below, for those with instant gratification needs. But, you will be a "pantie-waist" and the source or much ridicule and derision for going that route. Wuss.
  • About two (2) cups of your favorite Barbecue Sauce
INGREDIENT NOTE : As I mentioned above, do not cheat here. Make your own sauce, it's not that hard. If you absolutely have to go with store-bought, I recommend Stubb's®. But, seriously, man-up and make your own and avoid being told that you're a "sissy".
  • A ball of Mozzarella Cheese, about one-pound (1 lb. or 500 g.)
  • Three (3) medium-sized Vidalia Onions, or Maui, or Walla Walla, or any Sweet Onion
  • Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl
  • Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
  • Some Brown Sugar
  • Some All-Purpose (AP) Flour
  • A ball of Pizza Dough, about one-pound (1 lb. or 500 g.)
INGREDIENT NOTE : Pizza Dough is very easy to make at home and I advise you to do it. Recipes can be found on-line and in virtually every cookbook around. However, for those people afraid of flour and yeast, many Über-Marts have frozen pizza dough available (I know that Trader Joe's makes a good one). If I'm not making my own dough or using frozen, what I'll often do is stop by my favorite local pizza shop and ask them for a ball of their own dough, uncooked. Most pizza shops will happily sell you a ball of dough for about five bucks; though, you may get some funny looks when they ask you what kind of toppings you want on your raw dough.

TECHNIQUE
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat along with about three (3) good glugs of Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl to warm up.

Peel the Onions and slice them into very thin half-moon shapes.

When the skillet is hot add the Onions and give them a good stir to coat with the hot oil. Sprinkle with some Kosher Salt, a few grinds of fresh Black Pepper, and about a tablespoon of Brown Sugar. Give everything a good stir to combine, cover with a lid and sauté for about ten (10) minutes or until translucent and softened.


While the Onions are softening, using a box grater, coarsely shred up the whole ball of Mozzarella Cheese and place it into a bowl.


After the Onions have softened, remove the lid and reduce the heat to very low. Continue to sauté the Onions, uncovered, for another fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes, stirring frequently to keep them from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan, until they are a caramelized dark golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.


Spark up the oven to 550°F (288°C) and move the rack to the lower third.


Grease the bottom of a 12x17-inch (30x43 cm) baking sheet with some Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl. Flour up your hands with some AP Flour and roll the Pizza Dough out onto the greased baking sheet; you can simply use your hands to stretch the dough out to your favorite Pizza shape or you can use a lightly floured rolling pin or empty wine bottle, it's up to you.


Once you have your Pizza rolled out, slather the top of the Pizza with a liberal amount of your favorite Barbecue Sauce, don't be stingy! I usually use about a cup here, but this is up to you; what you don't use here, will be needed later, not to fear.


Cover the Barbecue Sauce with as much shredded Mozzarella Cheese as you like. I generally use about a cup here, but, again, this is up to you and you will be using the rest later.

Place the Pizza into a 550°F (288°C) oven for about fifteen (15) minutes or until the bottom is crispy and the crust is golden brown. Don't worry if it takes five (5) minutes longer; everyone's oven is different.


While the Pizza cooks, combine the remaining Barbecue Sauce and the leftover Pulled Pork in a bowl.


After fifteen (15) minutes or when the Pizza is done, remove it from the oven and set it aside for a few minutes. Turn the oven to broil and rearrange the racks to about eight-inches (8 in. or 20 cm.) from the flame or heating element.


Evenly spread the Pulled Pork/Barbecue Sauce mixture all over the top of the cooked Pizza. Evenly spread the caramelized Onions (thought we had forgotten about them, didn't you?) all over the top of the Pulled Pork. Cover everything with the remaining shredded Mozzarella Cheese.

Place the Pizza under the broiler for two (2) to three (3) minutes to melt the Cheese and crisp up.
SERVICE
Serve at will with your favorite Beer!

VARIATIONS
Okay, okay, you don't have eighteen hours to make your own Pulled Pork Shoulder, so, what're you going to do besides wimp out? For the truly desperate and very lame, head on over to your local take out barbecue joint and buy a pulled pork "platter" with sauce on the side and no side dishes, but, really, what's the point? Use the take-out pulled pork the same way as you would your own, far superior, pulled pork but check it for saltiness and adjust accordingly (you may need to use less or more Barbecue Sauce to hide the lousy take-out BBQ flavor).

©2011 L. M. Sorré, Wait At The Bar

Let me know what y'all think....


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