Ever since the first BBQ Chicken pizza hit the scene in the 1980’s, consumers have gone stir crazy over it. Since then barbecue sauce has gone from an oddity to a regular on pizzeria menus. It makes a fantastic pizza base and provides regular customers with a nice alternative when they need a break from tomato sauce.
Chicken isn’t the only topping you can use on a barbecue pizza, either. Let’s branch out and explore a pulled pork BBQ pizza, a creation that turns an ever-popular Southern sandwich into a specialty pie without rival.
Since the sauce is really what makes this pizza pop, we’ll start with it. When it comes to bottled sauces, there’s no shortage of available options. The key is to determine what your customers like, because barbecue sauces come in many flavors ranging from smoky to sweet. You may even want to mix two different sauces to create the optimum flavor profile. Either way, you’ll want to test market extensively to see what will work best for your customers. You can’t afford to mess up the sauce, because if it’s off this pizza will not sell.
From there, you’ll want to go with a high-quality pork. To save labor, buy packaged pulled pork instead of committing time to pulling it yourself. Red onions, jalapeno peppers and tomato slices will round out a the flavor, and a bit of fresh cilantro will push your recipe over the edge. While you can go with a smoked mozzarella — which is preferred on a BBQ chicken pizza — try a mixture of mozzarella and Monterey Jack to give your pulled pork pizza a unique taste.
This pizza has a lot of appeal and is great to market during the summer months, when business traditionally drops as customers enjoy their own back-yard barbecues. Give the adjacent recipe a try, and don’t forget to up sell beer with it, because this pizza pairs with beer as well as any pizza on your menu.
Pulled Pork BBQ Pizza
14-inch pizza crust
8 ounces barbecue sauce
¼ cup red onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
7 ounces pulled pork
½ tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup jalapeno peppers, sliced
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Spread barbecue sauce evenly over the crust. Add onion, cilantro, tomatoes, pulled pork, jalapeno peppers and cheese. Bake at 500 F until cheese melts and bubbles.
