Dysfunctional Paradise

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Many, many years ago I traveled a lot. This was back in the good old mainframe software development phase of my career. Being an insurance software company meant we dealt with large insurance companies like Allstate; AIG; U.S. Life Insurance; etc. A number of these were based out of Chicago, so I’ve made many a trip to the “Windy City”. One such company I worked with was based in Schaumburg, Illinois – and close by to the company was Gino’s East.

Eating at Gino’s East, and discovering Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza, was life changing – as far as my love of pizza goes anyway. I always enjoyed pizza, but it was never my favorite, but the pizza served at Gino’s East was different. It was this huge pizza pie – literally a pie! – served out of a cast iron skillet. You didn’t pick this up with your hands, you ate it with a fork and knife and savored every layer of flavor from the mozzarella cheese; to the layer of sausage which was basically a 12-inch patty of meat (think hamburger patty – but huge!); and then bacon and finally the sauce covering the entire creation.

Occasionally, I get the urge to make this pizza and relive those times. It’s a super easy recipe to make at home – and I guarantee everyone will love it! Last night during the football game, I did just that and decided to share the recipe I used and add a few pictures to entice you to try this recipe out.

The Recipe:

Like any recipe you want to make, you can do a search on “Chicago Style Pizza” and find just about everything you need to make your own pizza. There are a lot of variations, but basically, they are all the same recipe with some differences in ingredients and maybe variations with how they prepare the pizza. I chose the following recipe because of its simplicity and the high ratings on it. Anyone can make this pizza.

I’m going to lay out making this pizza in steps – as in 5 or 6 steps – and then you’re putting it in the oven to bake. There’s no deviation from what the recipe tells you to do – I just added a few “extra” ingredients not listed in the recipe.

FULL DISCLOSER: I did NOT make my own pizza dough. Yes, there is something about making your own dough that adds a level of flavor store bought dough may lack – but for me the effort and clean up just isn’t worth it. I didn’t use canned pizza dough – I’ll draw the line there – but I did buy a nice pre-made dough from Winco up in Temecula. You can also find pre-made pizza dough at Trader Joe’s – which I’ve used a lot. If you feel the need to make your own dough – go for it.

Step 1 – Prep:

• Set your oven to 425 degrees.
• Brown your sausage. I used 1 lb. of mile Italian sausage. Go for hot sausage to spice it up a little if you’d prefer. I love spicy Italian sausage, but I’m reaching for tums 10 minutes after eating – so mild it is. When you get older – shit like this matters. Lol.
• Cook up some bacon. I use “bacon ends” which are cheaper and great to use in cooking recipes where bacon is called for – like soups, salads, maybe baked potato topper?
• If you’re going to add mushrooms, I would recommend sautéing them at this point. I add butter and garlic salt to mine, and they produce a lot of moisture so cooking them up now cuts down on that.

Step 2 – Prep – Continued:

• Roll out your dough and place it into a cast iron pan that you’ve coated or sprayed with olive oil.
• Let’s talk about cast iron skillets. I’m assuming you have one. If you don’t – you’re off my friends list and we will have no further conversation. Why wouldn’t you have cast iron in the kitchen??!!
• Begin by layering the bottom of the pan with mozzarella cheese. Do yourself a favor and use a block – not pre-shredded.
• Now add the layer of sausage.

• Now added the layer of pepperoni.

• Now add crumbled bacon pieces.
• Now, add whatever you want! My favorites are portabella mushrooms and black olives.
• Finally top with sauce and parm cheese. I used Trader Joe’s pizza sauce because it’s awesome. You’ll find it next to their pizza dough balls.
• Folder the crust top down inside the pan slightly.

Step 3 – Cook It:

• Throw the pan into the oven at 425
• Check it after 20 minutes – if the top crust is too brown cover it in foil
• Go about 15-20 more minutes and then take it out.

Step 4 – Eat It:

• Let it cool a few minutes – as this mother will be hot.
• Cut slices with a knife or cake cutter.
• Enjoy!