So you remember back in April and May when I was sent to the New York area for five weeks? Well, I tried to taste all of the customary New York culinary items. I went to Roxy’s with Liz and sampled a bit of New York style cheesecake… excellent. Ordered a New York street hot dog, and while it didn’t taste bad, it also didn’t cause my stomach and bowels to explode. Walked into a kosher deli and ordered a big ol’ sandwich. It made me a little verklempf. And of course, I tried the New York pizza… six times.
I ordered in twice from local places claiming to have authentic local pizza. Tried a slice from one of the multitude of cloned Ray’s Pizzas, the one in midtown, not the original downtown. Ate a couple of pieces downnear Times Square with Liz. Stopped at a little hole in the wall pizza and beer bar and partook of two slices for lunch one day. And finally ran into the Wall Street Deli and grabbed a sausage slice on my way to the subway after riding the Staten Island Ferry. So I’d say I had a pretty good sampling of the legendary New York Pizza and I’ve gotta say… meh.
Yes, seriously. Meh. None were bad, but none of them knocked my socks off. The crust was great, and the cheese was stretchy. But most of them had pretty bland sauces. Toppings were OK, but the sausage wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. And a few different times, I saw them do the Sbarro trick. Want a slice of pepperoni and mushroom? Take a pepperoni slice, throw on a few mushrooms and put it back in the oven long enough to have the cheese melt around it. Let’s just say I was a little disappointed.
I’ve tried a few different Chicago style pizzas in my life. When I won that X96 Pie contest with the Peppermint Fudge Pie, I was given a trip to Chicago. While I was there, my brother and I went to Giordano’s for a deep dish Chicago-style pizza. It was at least 2 inches thick and stuffed with cheese, sausage and pepperoni. Besides the basic bottom crust, another layer of crust laid over the top of the pie, entombing the toppings and coated with a slathering of spicy tomato sauce. We carved into the brick of a pie and started feeding our faces.
And I felt like I died and went to heaven. Perfect combination of spicyness and sweetness in the sauce. The juices from the sausage and pepperoni had bonded with the cheese into this perfect molten melding of deliciousness. And the crust? The crust was buttery with a mix of garlic. Yes, there was a lot of crust, but what I could shove into my face was great.
I’ve also tried the pies at Gino’s East, which is just as good, if not better. And Connie’s Pizza had locations in Downtown Chicago, Elgin, Near Loyola, and Holladay, Utah (yes, 2000 East and 6200 South) so I’d get takeout from them all the time. And so far, I’ve had yet to have a disappointing pizza.
So sorry NYC, I love you as a city, but you lose as a pizza mecca. Chicago is my winner.
Now Connie’s is gone, so you can’t order from there anymore. Sweet Home Chicago in Draper and South Jordan has some pretty good pies as well. But you can also make this pizza masterpiece in your own home as well. It does take a little time to prepare the crusts and it does take a while to cook (40 minutes), but if you’re willing to take the time to make it, you’ll be extremely pleased with it.
This is one of the few things I cook that require its own special pan. To pull the pizza off, you have to have a deep dish pizza pan. You can pick them up almost anywhere. The metal ones work wonderfully. You can butter them up before placing the crust inside. That way you have no sticking to the pan and the added bonus of the butter being sucked into the crust during the cooking process. I personally use a deep dish pizza stone. Why? Because I received it as a gift for my wedding. It does work very well, but they can be pricey and don’t offer any significant benefit over the metal ones. Use whatever one you’d like.
I have posted recipes for Pizza Dough and Pizza Sauce previously and they work great in this recipe, but you can use your personal favorite as well.
Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza
Serves 4 very hungry people or 6 regular people
2 14” pizza crusts
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups pizza sauce
Any toppings you’d like (anything like pepperoni, sausage, salami, ham, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions, etc.)
1 ½ pounds shredded mozzarella cheese
Use the butter to grease the inside of a deep dish pizza pan. Lay one pizza crust into the pizza pan and press flat and stretch up and over the edge of the pan. Spread 1 cup of sauce on top of the crust to form a thin layer throughout. Sprinkle a light layer of cheese across the sauce to cover it, then add in the toppings you’ve prepared. Add the rest of the cheese to bury the toppings. Place the second crust over the entire pizza and pinch the edges together to form a seal for the filling and a ring to hold in the next layer. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the pizza, then spread until equally thick. Place in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top crust edges are a shade deeper than golden brown. Cut and serve after letting it rest for about 5 minutes.
Now on a good day, I can eat four pieces of pizza from your pizza chain. In comparison, two slices of this deep dish will make me want to lay down and rest. But it warms up on the microwave really well, so you can munch on it for a few days at lunch.
So make a pie, share it for family and friends and feel like you’re sitting off the river in Chicago. As for New York… definitely visit and enjoy one of the best cities in the world, but save your pizza money for cheesecake and cannolis.
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