Homemade "Detroit-Style" Pizza
The pizza going viral on my Substack right now, and my opinion about Southern pizza (sorry)
Viral as in 42 likes! Hey, that’s a big deal on Substack.
As someone who was born and raised in Northern Illinois, with a husband who was born and raised in New York City, neither one of us plays when it comes to pizza.
When we moved to The South, we sadly were brought to the realization that good pizza was not as easy to find…at all.
When you are used to having a variety of quality pizza spots close by, it’s so disappointing to try a spot that people say is good, only to find out that it’s Southern people’s definition of good.
Hey, I don’t blame them! This is all they’ve ever known. Just like how I believed I knew good barbecue before I came to The South.
And, I’m not saying that food isn’t good in The South. I love living in The South and enjoy food here (at first I didn’t have the greatest opinion, but we found some great restaurants). There’s just different cuisine here that you know will be good—barbecue, chicken & waffles, biscuits, etc.—and pizza isn’t usually one of them (unless you research and try many spots to finally find one that’s good). You can’t go to a random mom and pop pizza spot and expect the same quality you would see in The North around the corner, and that’s the life we chose.
Side note: If this offended you, that is not my goal. I am merely trying to share that different parts of the country have their own specialties.
So, we resort to making it ourselves a lot of the time!
Would I call this a 100% authentic Detroit-Style Pizza recipe? No. I’m not from Detroit, and only ever had this style pizza one other time in my life.
Also, it doesn’t look as aesthetically pleasing as regular Detroit-Style pizza and doesn’t necessarily have toppings that this pizza might usually have since I just grabbed what I could find in our fridge (and made it
with a pie and cake pan since I didn’t have any metal rectangular pans).
But, I was inspired by some YouTube videos as of late, so I did my best to recreate it.
It turned out really good and was husband-approved!
I hope you enjoy.
The Toppings
(Random things I found in my fridge)
Poblano peppers
Half of a red onion
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Garlic
Ground beef Italian sausage
Tomatos
Cilantro for garnish
Oregano
Freshly dried basil (thanks mom)
Homemade Beef Italian Sausage
I don’t eat pork, so I make my own sausage with ground beef. All you do is take some ground beef and season it generously with flavors like fennel seed, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic, paprika, black pepper, and of course salt!
I just spoon out little pieces, added it to the pizza, and it turned out so delicious.
The Recipe
(save it for later)
This looks amazing!