Wisconsin Bratwurst Pizza

To make the cheddar cheese beer sauce, add the beer into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Toss the flour with the cheese in a small bowl. Once the beer is boiling, add the cheese and flour mixture, dial down the heat to a simmer and stir constantly. Toss in some salt and pepper. Stir and once everything is nice and melted pour it into a serving bowl. Set aside.

Make the dough by adding the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Mix. Add the water, and with your wooden spoons or hands, mix until blended. I use my KitchenAid for this process to keep everything in the bowl during the rising process. 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, and place in an oiled container, big enough to house the dough, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Add the brats into a medium sized pot. Toss in half of the sliced onions and the entire beer, and bring this to a simmer. Cook for about 25 minutes. Remove the two brats from the pan, put them onto your cutting board and slice into about 1/2 inch rounds. Set both the brats and the pan aside.

Preheat your oven to 500 F and place your pizza stone or sheet pan in the oven to preheat. Once preheated, let the stone stay in the oven for about 10 minutes to get nice and hot.

Once the dough has risen, divide it into two portions. Set the second section aside for another pizza or freeze it for a later use. Put one of the portions onto a lightly floured large pastry board. Use a rolling pin or your hands and form the dough into a large enough piece to fit onto your pizza stone.

Place the dough on the preheated stone or pan, then add the pizza sauce, making sure you get a nice, thin coating around the entire pizza dough.

Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese, then scatter the remaining thinly sliced onions on top of the cheese. Place the sliced brats onto the pizza, then drizzle 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese beer sauce on top of the pizza.

Place into the preheated oven and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly and the crust is a dark golden color.

Remove the pizza stone from the oven and slide the pizza onto a pizza sheet or cutting board. Shower the pizza with the chives, and let the pizza rest for about 10 minutes before slicing into it.

OK, the result is truly an awesome pizza. At first glance one might think it is just a sausage pizza, but then you get that awesome aroma from the beer brat. Biting into it yields everything you would want in a great brat. And then you get the onion and that cheddar cheese beer sauce that melts right into the pizza … Need I say more? This pizza is a real winner, and I am glad that I can introduce you to some of the fine things that Wisconsin has to offer. I hope you enjoy!