Cast Iron Sausage Pizza Recipes

THE BEST SAUSAGE PIZZAS

Steps:

• Divide dough in half. With greased fingers, pat each half onto an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan. Prick dough thoroughly with a fork. Bake at 400° until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain., Spread pizza sauce over crusts. Top with cheese, onion, green pepper, mushrooms and sausage. Bake at 400° until golden brown and cheese is bubbling, 12-15 minutes. If desired, top with grated Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes and fresh oregano leaves. , Freeze option: Wrap unbaked pizzas and freeze for up to 2 months. To use, unwrap and place on pizza pans; thaw in the refrigerator. Bake at 400° until crust is golden brown, 18-22 minutes.

SAUSAGE PAN PIZZA

Steps:

• For the dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the water, sugar and yeast. Let it sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low speed, add the oil and salt, then gradually add the bread and whole-wheat flours. Increase the speed to medium high and mix, adding just enough additional bread flour so that the dough no longer sticks to the bowl, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky, 7 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, mix by hand and knead on a lightly floured surface.) Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it once or twice to coat it in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place for 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
• For the pizza: If the dough was refrigerated, let the dough sit at room temperature for about an hour before shaping.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place a 14-inch cast-iron pan into the oven to preheat while you prepare your other ingredients.
• Add the sausage to a medium pan over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking it up into crumbly pieces, until browned throughout and no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside.
• Flour a work surface and rolling pin, then roll out the dough to a 14-inch round.
• Remove the cast-iron pan from the oven and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to coat. Carefully place the dough into the pan and push the edges up against the side of the pan. Drizzle the dough with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Top with the tomato sauce in an even layer. Then, sprinkle on the kale, sausage, mozzarella, grated Parmesan, thyme, lemon zest and some salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then slice and serve straight from the pan!

HOT SAUSAGE CAST-IRON SKILLET PAN PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 525 to 550 degrees F, as high as it goes, with rack at center. Preheat cast-iron skillet, 10 to 12 inches, over medium-high heat. Preheat a second smaller cast-iron or other skillet over medium-high heat for the sausage.
• Gather your ingredients.
• In a food processor, whizz up sauce: tomatoes, paste, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt and a few leaves of basil.
• Stretch dough into an even round that will cover large skillet.
• Drizzle a little EVOO in smaller skillet. Cut sausage from casing, add to pan and lightly brown and crumble. Turn pan off.
• Sprinkle a little cornmeal and flour in larger skillet and press dough into and up sides as much as possible. The pan is hot -- reminder. Brush the dough with EVOO and season with a little salt and pepper or red pepper flakes. Top the dough with the sauce and sausage, scatter the cheeses over the sausage and place in oven.
• To the sausage skillet, add a little water, honey and chili paste and stir to combine (reheat your pan if it's not warm enough to heat the honey).
• Bake the pizza 15 minutes to deep golden brown and bubbly. Drizzle or brush the pizza with the chili honey mixture and top with torn basil.
• To a mixer with dough hook attached, add warm water and yeast and let the yeast bloom and foam, 5 minutes.
• Add EVOO, honey and salt and turn on mixer. Add the flour gradually to form dough. Transfer to a bowl drizzled with a little EVOO and cover; let stand 1 hour.
• Cut dough in half; wrap half the dough and freeze for later use.
• Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, thinly slice the fennel and the red onion and place in a bowl. Add juice of orange and lemon and season with salt and pepper. Pit olives and coarsely chop; add to bowl. Add capers and arugula or kale. When ready to serve, add EVOO, 2 slow turns of the bowl, toss and serve.

CAST-IRON PIZZA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large skillet, cook sausage, green pepper and onion over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, 8-10 minutes, breaking up sausage into crumbles; drain. , Roll half of dough into a 12-in. circle. Transfer to a 10-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet. Layer with half of each of the following: mozzarella, Parmesan and pizza sauce. Top with the sausage mixture, pepperoni, mushrooms and 1/8 teaspoon oregano. , Roll out remaining dough to fit top of pie. Place over filling; seal edges. Layer with remaining pizza sauce, cheeses and oregano. Bake until golden brown, 18-22 minutes.