BBQ Pizza

Note: The above dough recipe makes enough for 3 pizzas; whereas the toppings are for 1 pizza. So you can use the dough to make 2 other types of pizzas, or just triple the toppings amounts and make 3 of the same!

For the dough:
Make the dough by adding the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Mix. Add the water and mix until blended. I use my KitchenAid for this process to keep everything in the bowl during the rising process. You can also mix it with your wooden spoons or hands. Mix for about 30 seconds. The dough should be a bit stiff.

Cover the bowl with a towel, and let it sit at room temperature until the dough has doubled in volume, about 2 hours. You can do this ahead of time as well. To do this place dough in an oiled container, big enough to house the dough, cover with a sheet of oiled plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Once risen, divide dough into three portions. Add some flour to a large pastry board, place a portion of the dough onto the board. Form it into a large enough piece to place in your cast iron skillet, just enough to have the dough come up the sides a bit. An 8 inch cast iron skillet is about right. Don’t put the dough into the skillet yet; just keep it on your pastry board for now. You can freeze the other 2 sections of dough or use to make other types of pizza.

Preheat your oven to 475 F, and place your cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat.

Have your ingredients ready.

Once the oven is preheated, use kitchen mitts to remove the extremely hot cast iron skillet from the oven.

Toss in the butter, and give that a swirl. Add the portion of rolled out dough and place on the bottom of the cast iron skillet, being careful not to burn yourself. Try to push and form the dough just so it creeps up the edge of the skillet.

Add the pizza sauce and barbecue sauce on top of the dough, and mix that with a spoon, covering the majority of the dough.

Top with most of the shredded cheese, leaving a bit for the topping.

Add the chopped rib meat, then top with the thinly sliced onions and jalapeño peppers. Top with any remaining mozzarella cheese.

Use your kitchen mitts and place the cast iron skillet back into the oven. Cook the pizza for about 25 minutes. Around that time, take the skillet out of the oven and run a butter knife around the skillet. Gently lift to make sure the bottom of the crust is golden brown. If not you can put it back into the oven for a bit of additional time. Once browned and the cheese is nice and melted, remove the pizza from the oven.

Drizzle with a bit more of the barbecue sauce. Let the pizza rest for about 10 minutes, then carefully lift it out onto a pizza board, or cutting board before serving. Slice into wedges and enjoy.

This pizza was pretty darn amazing. Not only will you fall in love with the crust, but also a nice sweet heat. I like barbecue pizzas to begin with, but that added jalapeño pepper really balances out that sweetness, and smokiness of the sauce and ribs.