Chicago-style pizza explained

Chicago-style pizza
Country:United States
Region:Chicago, Illinois
Type:Pizza
Main Ingredient:Pizza dough, tomato sauce, cheese
Cookbook:Deep Dish Pizza

Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas.[1] The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared in the deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner crispier crust than other thin-crust styles. The thin-crust pizza is cut in squares instead of slices, and is also referred to as a "tavern-style" pizza.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Deep-dish

Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno in Chicago, founded by Ike Sewell and Richard Riccardo in 1943.[8] [9] [10] Riccardo's original recipe for a pizza cooked in a pie pan or cake tin was published in 1945 and included a dough made with scalded milk, butter, and sugar.[11] The restaurant's cook Alice Mae Redmond later adjusted the recipe to be made with water and olive oil and a "secret dough conditioner" to make it stretch better.[12] [13] In the 1960s and '70s the dough ball became larger to cover the full sides of the pan, with a higher fat percentage. Redmond later worked at Gino's East, founded in 1966, where she made a fattier, biscuit-like dough.

Uno's original pizza chef Rudy Malnati has also been credited for development of the recipe.[14] [15] Rudy's sons Lou and Rudy Jr., who also worked at Pizzeria Uno, later respectively founded Lou Malnati's Pizzeria in 1971 and Pizano's in 1991, both also known for their deep-dish pizzas.

The thick pizza crust, sometimes made with cornmeal for texture,[16] may be parbaked before the toppings are added to give it greater spring. In traditional recipes, the top of the crust is layered with meats and/or vegetables and mozzarella cheese while the sides rise to the top of the pan, and then a layer of crushed tomatoes is ladled over the top and the whole pizza is baked to completion.[17] [18] Deep-dish pizza is often eaten with a knife and fork, since its thickness and occasional messiness do not lend themselves to eating with the hands as is often the case for thin-crust pizza.

Stuffed pizza

By the mid-1970s, two Chicago chains, Nancy's Pizza, founded by Rocco Palese,[19] and Giordano's Pizzeria, operated by brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio, began experimenting with deep-dish pizza and created the stuffed pizza.[20] Palese based his creation on his mother's recipe for Italian: scarcedda, an Italian Easter pie from his hometown of Potenza in Basilicata at the far southern end of the Italian Peninsula, more commonly known in Italy as pizza rustica Lucana.[21] [22] The primary differences between a stuffed pizza and a deep dish pizza are that stuffed pizzas are typically deeper, have another layer of dough covering the toppings, and have more cheese than deep dish pizza, while deep dish tends to have more sauce.[23]

Thin-crust or tavern-style pizza

See main article: Tavern-style pizza.

There is also a style of thin-crust pizza known as "tavern style".[24] Residents of two cites claim to have originated it in the 1940s: Milwaukee[25] [26] [27] and Chicago.[24] [28] [29]

This pizza has a crust firm enough to have a noticeable crunch and the slices are cut into squares, as opposed to wedges.[24] [30] [31] The name "tavern-style" comes from the pizzas originally being served in taverns, often as an enticement to drink alcohol. This origin in taverns is also linked to the pizza's shape, as the square shape of the slices made it possible for taverns that did not have plates to instead set them on napkins.[32]

, according to Grubhub data and the company Chicago Pizza Tours, thin-crust outsells the more widely known deep-dish style among locals, with GrubHub stating that deep-dish comprises only 9% of its pizza deliveries.[33] [34] In response, Technomics food industry researcher Darren Tristano questioned GrubHub's conclusion on the basis of the delivery service's user demographics, saying that its younger users can not afford deep dish pizza, while NPR noted that the data would not include information on two particular deep-dish chains (though with just 20 restaurants in the city of 2.7million) that are not on GrubHub.[33]

Toppings

The typical toppings commonly found on pizzas in most of North America (such as sausage, pepperoni, onions, and mushrooms) are also standards in Chicago-area pizzerias. A survey in 2013 indicated that while the most popular pizza topping in most of the United States is pepperoni,[35] [36] in Chicago the most popular topping is Italian sausage.[37]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Elizabeth . Elliott . 2018-11-21 . Deeper Than Deep-Dish . 2024-07-14 . American Historical Association.
  2. Web site: Ali . Tanveer . Ludwig . Howard . January 13, 2015 . A Guide to Chicago Pizza: From Deep-Dish to Tavern-Style and Beyond . https://web.archive.org/web/20160101171634/http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150113/chicago/guide-chicago-pizza-from-deep-dish-tavern-style-beyond . 2016-01-01 . January 2, 2016 . DNAinfo.
  3. Web site: Kindelsperger . Nick . June 2, 2014 . The Best Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago . https://web.archive.org/web/20160106080646/http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/the-best-deep-dish-pizza-in-chicago.html . 2016-01-06 . January 2, 2016 . Serious Eats.
  4. Web site: Deep Dish vs. Thin Crust - The True Chicago Pizza . 2023-07-16 . Visit Oak Park . en.
  5. Web site: 2019-07-22 . Chicago's Real Signature Pizza Is Crispy, Crunchy, and Nothing Like Deep Dish . 2023-07-16 . Bon Appétit . en-US.
  6. Web site: Mai . Jeffy . 2017-03-13 . Chicago's Essential Tavern-Style Thin-Crust Pizza Restaurants . 2023-07-16 . Eater Chicago . en.
  7. 2021-05-16 . Why Tavern-Style Pizza Is Chicago's Signature Food . 2023-07-16 . Chicago Magazine . en-US.
  8. Web site: Who Cooked That Up? . https://web.archive.org/web/20070508145230/http://members.cox.net/jjschnebel/ddishpiz.html . May 8, 2007.
  9. News: Kim . Eric . 2024-05-10 . The Most Surprising Thing About Deep Dish Pizza? It's Not That Deep. . 2024-05-12 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: Bendersky . Ari . 2012-05-08 . Chicago's Deep Dish History: It All Started With Uno's . 2024-05-12 . Eater Chicago . en.
  11. Web site: May 7, 2024 . The Secret History of the Original Deep-Dish Crust . 2024-05-12 . Chicago Magazine . en-US.
  12. Web site: Tennison . Patricia . 13 April 1989 . REVEALED: SECRET BEHIND PIZZAS AT GINO'S EAST . 2021-02-17 . chicagotribune.com . en-US.
  13. Web site: History Of Deep Dish Pizza - History of Gino's East . 2021-02-17 . Gino's East . en-US.
  14. News: February 18, 2009 . Who Invented Deep Dish? . https://web.archive.org/web/20130807044257/https://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-02-18/news/0902180055_1_chicago-pizza-ric-riccardo-pizzeria-uno . August 7, 2013 . Chicago Tribune.
  15. Web site: About Us . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180929111700/http://pizanoschicago.com/about.php . 2018-09-29 . 2017-04-09 . Pizano's Pizza and Pasta.
  16. Web site: Kavanagh . Olivia . 2022-04-12 . Baking School In-Depth: Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza - Bake from Scratch . 2024-05-12 . en-US.
  17. Web site: Schmalbruch . Sarah . Why Chicago deep dish pizza is better than New York's version . 2024-05-12 . Business Insider . en-US.
  18. Web site: Deep Dish Pizza Recipe . 2024-05-12 . NYT Cooking . en-US.
  19. News: Chu . Louisa . September 19, 2016 . Family's Stuffed-Pizza Dynasty Began with a Fight . September 21, 2016 . Chicago Tribune.
  20. Book: Pollack . Penny . Everybody Loves Pizza . Jeff Ruby . 2005 . Emmis Books . 1-57860-218-1 . 33.
  21. Web site: Our Story . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181023200134/http://www.nancyspizza.com/our-story.html . 2018-10-23 . 2017-04-09 . Nancy's Pizza.
  22. Web site: Scarcedda . Cuore Basilicata . it.
  23. Web site: Stuffed Pizza vs Deep-Dish Pizza? . Doreen's Pizzeria. July 11, 2019 .
  24. News: López-Alt . J. Kenji . 2023-03-17 . Kenji López-Alt Spent 5 Months Studying Chicago Thin-Crust Pizza. Here’s What He Learned. . 2024-08-21 . The New York Times . en-US.
  25. News: Joy . Powers . Jack . Hurbanis . 2021-04-27 . A Look Into The History Of Milwaukee Style Pizza . 2024-08-21 . WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR . en.
  26. Ann . Christenson . 2021-04-06 . What Is Milwaukee-Style Pizza? And Who Made it First? . 2024-08-21 . Milwaukee Magazine . en-US.
  27. News: Lori . Fredrich . 2022-10-14 . What you knead to know: Milwaukee-style pizza . 2024-08-21 . OnMilwaukee.
  28. News: Kat . Odell . 2023-07-28 . The Pizza That’s Taking Over the US . 2024-08-21 . Bloomberg . en.
  29. News: Omar . Mamoon . 2023-03-24 . Chicago Tavern-Style Pizza is Sweeping America . 2024-08-21 . Esquire . en-US.
  30. News: Vettel . Phil . Kevin Pang . 2009-07-23 . Pizza slices: Two foodies debate the merits of wedge versus 'party cut' . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090726105418/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-090722-pizza-cut-debate,0,7968080.story . 2009-07-26 . 2009-07-23 . Chicago Tribune.
  31. Web site: Chahwala . Jaison . March 13, 2017 . 20 Great Spots to Taste Real Chicago Pizza: Tavern-Style Thin Crust . March 13, 2017 . Eater Chicago.
  32. Web site: McClelland . Edward . June 30, 2020 . Tavern Style Isn't Just Chicago's Signature Pizza, but Its Signature Food . August 22, 2022 . Chicago Magazine.
  33. Web site: John . Derek . 2013-12-20 . Deep Dish or Thin Crust? Even Chicagoans Can't Agree . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150528171754/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/12/20/255601925/deep-dish-or-thin-crust-even-chicagoans-cant-agree . 2015-05-28 . 2018-03-06 . . The Salt.
  34. News: Rousseau . Caryn . 2014-09-19 . It's not all deep-dish pizza in Chicago . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201112003847/https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/life/food/2014/09/19/chicago-pizza-tour-slice-pie-deepdish/15907921/ . 2020-11-12 . 2017-01-17 . . Associated Press.
  35. Web site: Lutz . Ashley . October 10, 2013 . Here's a Pie Chart of the Most Popular Pizza Toppings . August 23, 2017 . Business Insider.
  36. Web site: November 12, 2013 . The Top 10 Most Popular Pizza Toppings . August 23, 2017 . Huffington Post.
  37. Web site: Kindelsperger . Nick . August 21, 2017 . Why Are Chicagoans So Obsessed with Italian Sausage on Pizza? An Investigation . August 23, 2017 . Chicago Tribune.

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