Hot Sausage Cast-Iron Skillet Pan Pizza

Dec 4, 20242 min read

Ingredients

1 cup diced canned tomatoes

2 tablespoons sundried tomato paste

1 large clove garlic, crushed

1 scant teaspoon (1/3 palm full) oregano

A pinch of sugar and salt

A few leaves of torn basil, plus a few torn to serve

1 pound ball dough from market or your favorite pizza parlor or EZ Pizza Dough, recipe follows

EVOO, for drizzling, and about 1/4 cup in a cup for brushing

1/2 pound hot Italian sausage

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1/2 tablespoon AP flour

Salt and pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes

About 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

About 1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese

2 tablespoons water

About 1 tablespoon acacia honey

1 scant teaspoon Calabrian chili paste or chili flakes

Basil leaves

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast (look for pouches marked "For Pizza")

2 tablespoons EVOO, plus some for bowl to rest dough

1 tablespoon acacia honey

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 cups AP flour

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.