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Authentic Chicago Deep Dish...in Excruciating Detail

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    Authentic Chicago Deep Dish...in Excruciating Detail

    This thread is all about authentic Chicago Style Deep Dish, but cooked on my Komodo Kamado, of course. I did a thread similar to this on Kamado Guru once. Put the entire site to sleep. If you caught that one, feel free to skip this one. Heck, skip it if you're not interested too. I won't be offended. Or you may find you need a nap in the middle. That's fine. We'll still be here when you wake up.

    First, let's parse the name. Most deep dish I see posted on the internet is NOT Chicago style, yet most people feel the need to insert that word "Chicago" in front of "Deep Dish", no matter how heretical it may be. Bottom line is there are a lot of deep dish pizzas out there, many quite good, but only some of these qualify as Chicago Style. Nothing wrong with making and enjoying those other pies, just don't offend a great city by calling it Chicago Style when it's not.

    So what makes it "Chicago Style"? To me, it comes down to two key things: The crust and the tomatoes.

    First, the crust. Many people think Chicago Style pizza crust is similar to a loaf of bread -- very doughy. Others think there is cornmeal in the crust. Don't get me going on that one. Let's just say I agree with this: http://www.realdeepdish.com/2009/05-...lling-you-out/. Both of these are WRONG! The classic Chicago Style pizza crust, such as you'll find at Lou Malnati's, Pizzeria Uno, or Gino's East, has a biscuit-like texture. A bit crisp on the outside, giving way to a biscuity crumb on the inside. Again, if you like cornmeal in your dough or making pizza out of a loaf of bread, by all means keep doing it. Just don't call it Chicago Style or you'll be labeled either a heretic or a Cubs fan!

    Next, the tomatoes on a Chicago Style pizza have a distinctly bright flavor, and are usually a bit chunky as well. The closest I've come to replicating that flavor is with a particular brand: 6-in-1 All Purpose Ground Tomatoes. They aren't chunky enough, but the flavor is spot on and you can always add some high quality diced or hand crushed tomatoes for chunkiness.

    Let's start with the dough. Here's my favorite dough recipe for a 13" Deep Dish pizza. The recipe you'll find at http://www.realdeepdish.com is also excellent and I used to make one very similar to that, but I like this better:

    350g AP Flour - 95%
    20g Semolina - 5%
    170g Water - 46%
    64g Corn oil (17%)
    14g Olive oil (4%)
    1/4 tsp Salt - (.35%)
    1/2 tsp Sugar - (.5%)
    2g instant dry yeast - (.5%)

    First, mix all the dry ingredients except for the yeast, then pour in the oil. Remember, since we're not making bread, we're trying to *avoid* gluten formation, so we don't want to proof the yeast and we don't want to over-knead the dough.
    IMG_2121.jpg


    Partially mix in the oil, then add the water and partially mix that too. Then sprinkle the yeast on top.
    IMG_2122.jpg


    Stir that in until just barely combined, then knead the dough in the bowl with one hand for no more than two minutes. Now cover it with plastic and let it rise in the oven with only the oven light on for heat for up to five hours. It will rise, but not much.
    IMG_2123.jpg


    While that's going on, we also want to drain the tomatoes in a strainer over a cereal bowl. Some people like to spoon them right from the can. I prefer to let the water drain out so that the pizza isn't too wet.
    IMG_2124.jpg


    I also like to de-fat my pepperoni so that we don't get a grease slick on top. Put the pepperoni on a plate between paper towel sheets, then nuke for 30 seconds. Amazing how much grease is pulled out.
    IMG_2126.jpg


    Sliced and sautéed my onion for just a bit. No pics of that. Instead I give you my fancy new teak cutting board. Sweet, no?
    IMG_2127.jpg


    After five hours, the dough has risen, but gluten matrix is weak to non-existent. No way that dough would pass the windowpane test.
    IMG_2128.jpg


    Grease my decades old, highly seasoned steel deep dish pizza pan. I've been doing deep dish pizza much longer than I've been doing barbecue. Bought this one while I was still in college and realized the need to master this before leaving Illinois for good.
    IMG_2129.jpg


    Spread the dough, and pinch it half way up those two inch sides.
    IMG_2130.jpg


    You can use 8 to 16 ounces of mozzarella, depending on how cheesy you want it. This mozzarella is from a cow I own in the Shenandoah Valley, then delivered the whole, unpasteurized milk to an Italian Grandmother nearby to make the cheese for me.
    IMG_2132.jpg


    I lied. Safeway had this in stock. I'm using 12 ounces of the stuff.
    IMG_2131.jpg


    Then top the cheese with the sautéed onions.
    IMG_2133.jpg


    Now ready for the tomatoes. Here's what they look like after draining all afternoon.
    IMG_2134.jpg


    Look at all that water.
    IMG_2135.jpg


    Most, but not all of the drained tomatoes go on the pie.
    IMG_2136.jpg


    Now sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano. I prefer fresh basil, but none available today.
    IMG_2137.jpg


    Grate some parmesan directly on top.
    IMG_2138.jpg


    Then all of that de-fatted pepperoni.
    IMG_2139.jpg


    Onto the KK at 450.
    IMG_2140.jpg
    IMG_2141.jpg


    Turn it after about 15 minutes. Don't know if I really needed to do that in the KK, but always do it in the oven and it's a habit,
    IMG_2143.jpg


    And after about 15 minutes more, we're ready.
    IMG_2151.jpg


    Let it rest for five minutes.
    IMG_2153.jpg


    Remove it from the pan.
    IMG_2154.jpg


    Plated.
    IMG_2155.jpg


    Perfect. Here's the bottom.
    IMG_2158.jpg

    Last edited by Pequod; April 24, 2017, 11:49 AM.

    #2
    Dude this is awesome!!! Thank you for sharing this. This is going "Sticky"

    Breadhead will love this one

    Skip Perfect timing, given our convo on the deck the other night.

    Comment


      #3
      Better than Lou Malnatis at home? Nice job!

      Comment


        #4
        Not too much detail at all - we love detai. And thanx for posting this.

        Comment


          #5
          Pequod , that pizza looks fantastic! Very nice cook!! Great post.

          Comment


            #6
            That looks unbelievably awesome! I have never been a deep dish fan, but this might change my mind.

            Comment


            • Pequod
              Pequod commented
              Editing a comment
              Those who aren't deep dish fans usually haven't had it done the right way. Just sayin'. 🖖

            • Spinaker
              Spinaker commented
              Editing a comment
              This is true! Pequod

            • JGo37
              JGo37 commented
              Editing a comment
              Yeah, I'm not a fan either - I'd call it WORSHIP.

            #7
            I've never been to Chicago, so I've never had the authentic pie. However, we did have an Uno's close by for a number of years. I remember that the crust was "different" from NY style pizza, and it did have chunky tomatoes too. It was not my favorite pie, but I did enjoy it occasionally. Do you know how close that chain's pizza is to the real thing?

            Comment


            • Buck Flicks
              Buck Flicks commented
              Editing a comment
              You can order Giordano's via mail -mine arrived in Texas in late summer and were still frozen - and were still pretty good. Not as good as fresh, but when you live in Texas and want authentic Chicago style, it will do in a pinch. We used to have Uno's in Texas, but I think they've closed down.

            • JGo37
              JGo37 commented
              Editing a comment
              Funny thing is Uno's had the best Chicago Dogs in O'Hare until those kiosks changed about a year ago. Now the dogs are no good.

            • patcrail
              patcrail commented
              Editing a comment
              RonB it wasn’t even in the same ballpark! If it didn’t come from the original Uno, or the one & only twin opened in in the Clifton neighborhood of Cincinnati in the 80s, it was one of the chain stores, and I have it first-hand that they changed the entire recipe to cook in 30 minutes because customers wouldn’t wait the hour.... damned shame, it’s an entirely different pizza

            #8
            Most of the famous Chicago spots use San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce:

            Or something similar.

            This is a great accomplishment. Looks very worthy. Kind of like Malnatti, which I'm not a huge fan of. Giordano's has a similar crust but a bit of cornmeal dusting in the pan to make the release work better.

            The problem with most Chicago recommendations for great pizza is that everyone who grew up here grew up within spitting distance of a place that they went do repeatedly during their formative years (a lot like Cubs fandom, tbh). As a result, that's always the platonic ideal. Steve Dolinsky (who did not grow up in Chicago, but resides here) did a two month pizza quest, came up with the following:



            Malnatti doesn't go dark enough on the crust, for my liking, I think. Pequods is my favorite I've had.

            You're right. Uno original vs. Uno the chain is kind of night and day.

            Comment


              #9
              The only deep dish I've ever had was the Uno chain. I was in high school at the time. It was so unimpressive that I've never had it again. I'll definitely give this a shot. Thanks for the details.

              Comment


                #10
                I should also mention that I like using a full fat mozz, and then do a process with my vacuum sealer that is similar to how you defat your pepperoni. I slice the ball of real mozz, or tear it into shreds, place it between paper towels, in a flat sheet, then vac seal it for ten minutes. Presses all the moisture out of the cheese, resulting in something like the skim mozz, only with better texture and flavor.

                Comment


                • Dr ROK
                  Dr ROK commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Thanks for this great tip. I often times have excess water on top of my pizzas when using full fat mozzarella and have sliced it and sat on paper towels in the fridge overnight. Helped some, but I do believe this process would do a much better job and it's a lot quicker!

                #11
                Looks yum. I'm gonna try this out! Thanks.

                Comment


                  #12
                  Would a cast iron skillet, possibly partially pre-heated, be a decent substitute for the pizza pan?

                  BTW, EXCELLENT and informative write-up. Thank you.

                  Comment


                  • Pequod
                    Pequod commented
                    Editing a comment
                    I know some people do. I've never done it, so can't testify to the results. You can get a decent deep dish pan for a reasonable price. There are good recommendations on these at http://realdeepdish.com. Just look for one with two-inch sides. Sloped or straight doesn't really matter.

                  #13
                  Nice looking pizza Pequod 👍🍕

                  Its pretty cool that you've worked at getting your deep dish pizza just right. I've never tried deep dish pizza ever. It's not something I was around as a kid. Dominos has it on their menu but I don't order pizzas from chains so I doubt it's something I'll be adding to my home cooked menu soon.

                  I bet your KK is fantastic for baking pizza. I'd love to fire that cooker up to 900° and bake an authentic Neapolitan pizza on it. That would take about 90 seconds per pizza pie.

                  Comment


                  • Pequod
                    Pequod commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Just say "no" to deep dish from Dominos!

                  • Huskee
                    Huskee commented
                    Editing a comment
                    At the risk of tomatoes being thrown, I love Little Caesar's deep dish. If it's not overcooked they are sooo good. They blow Jet's away which I hear a lot of people rave about. Never had Dom's or a good homemade one.

                  #14
                  Potkettleblack - All good inputs, thanks! My goal here was to help people stop making sucky deep dish and then blaming it on Chicago. Hopefully I succeeded in providing a "baseline" with this tutorial from which anyone can depart. Kind of Malnati's-ish or Uno's-ish. Certainly plenty of room to navigate from there. Personally, I like to use smoked fresh, whole milk mozzarella on occasion (and almost always on thin crust!). That may make me a heretic, but at least I'm not a Cubs fan!

                  For all who still care : Chicago pizza isn't all Deep Dish! Chicago thin crust (cut square!) and stuffed are entirely different animals and, in my mind, are equally awesome when done right. Like wine regions in France, there are pizza terroirs in Chicago and the outlying regions as well. I grew up in the South Suburbs, and the original Aurelio's in Homewood is always my first stop for thin crust when I go home. The original Sanfratello's (now gone) had a bready deep dish that was beyond compare. I can still taste it in my mind. And then I spent 10 years at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana three hours south where Papa Del's still reigns supreme for a deep dish that's bready, dense, and they actually cook their sauce. Breaks all the rules, but it's my (and many alums') favorite deep dish of all time -- I just take care not to call it Chicago Style. It's Champaign-Urbana style and it's freakin' awesome!

                  Comment


                  • Potkettleblack
                    Potkettleblack commented
                    Editing a comment
                    There's really five types of Chicagoland pizza: Thin, tavern, Neapolitan, Deep and stuffed. As a NYer who now lives here, I like them all, but have a weird love of Tavern.

                  • Potkettleblack
                    Potkettleblack commented
                    Editing a comment
                    But Neapolitan is my true thin love.

                  #15
                  Great - Now I have to buy a pizza pan! The wife and I went to Lou Malnatti's (sp?) last time we were in Chicago and the pizza looked a lot like this. It was awesome! This looks great - I have to give it a try. Thanks for the detailed instructions!

                  Comment

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