Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage. . . Pizza!
The folks over at Food Network Magazine chatted me up the other day and said, “Hey, Stu, you want some St. Paddy’s Day recipes?” To which I responded, “Heh, yeah!” Check this one out for Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza. You read that right pizza. Read on!
| Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza! |
For the dough:
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 3/4 cups plus 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
For the toppings:
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 3 cups sliced green cabbage
- Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pickling spices, tied securely in cheesecloth
- 1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 6 ounces sliced corned beef
- Make the dough: Whisk 1 cup warm water (105 degrees) with the sugar in a bowl; scatter the yeast over the top and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the olive oil.
- Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to make a rough, shaggy dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (Add more flour to prevent sticking, if necessary.) Form the dough into a ball; place in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the toppings: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, season with salt and cook until just soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pickling spices and just enough water to cover. Simmer over low heat, covered, until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the cabbage and set aside (discard spices).
- Place a pizza stone in the oven, if you have one, and preheat to 500 degrees. Toss the potato with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a single layer on a baking sheet until golden, about 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll one into a 14-inch round (keep the remaining dough covered). Place the round on a floured pizza peel (if baking on a stone) or a large oiled pizza pan; drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Scatter half of each of the cheeses, corned beef, cabbage and potatoes on top. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully slip the pizza onto the hot stone, if using, or place the pan in the oven. Cook until golden and crispy, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.
Photograph by Yunhee Kim
Cooking the Unthinkable: Spam
Cooking the Unthinkable is a series that examines some of the more eccentric ingredients. Whether you are a fan of the bizarre or are preparing for the eminent collapse of Western society this series will help you better stomach weird food.
I have never considered Spam luncheon meat to be anything but an economically priced delicacy. I guess that is one of the bonuses of growing up in the South – we don’t have childish or pretentious attitudes when it comes to food. If it tastes good and can’t get away we’ll eat it.
So imagine my shock when a Yankee friend actually turned their nose up at an offered fried Spam sandwich. Seriously?!?!?
It was then that I realized that to many of those oh so judgmental and considerably less-intellectual-than-they-think Northerners, Spam is considered some kind of gross, redneck food. And Southerners are supposed to be the closed-minded, unintelligent bigots.
Spam, after all, is an American icon – nay an American hero! Spam, unlike chowdah, pizza or cheesecake defeated the Nazi scourge, avenged the attack on Pearl Harbor and beat back the tide of Socialism across Southeast Asia. Spam has a very unique history in the lexicon of American cuisine.
What is the biggest argument that anti-Spametics use to justify their infantile phobia? “Do you know what’s in that stuff?” Yes, as a matter of fact I do. You see, if there was anything at all harmful in it they wouldn’t let them sell it. But if it puts your mind at ease Spam is made up of, “chopped pork shoulder meat, with ham meat added, salt, water, modified potato starch as a binder, and sodium nitrite as a preservative.” Thanks to Lisa Jones for doing the research on that in the October 2006 issue of Men’s Health.
Wow pork shoulder and ham – how gross. And that gelatinous goo? It’s aspic. It is served at every swank party in the Hamptons and exclusive 
golf club in America. Spam is magical and if you disagree then you are a Nazi-loving, Pearl Harbor-bombing, puppy-kicking Socialist.
I eventually turned the heart of of that poor Yankee when I showed them how well Spam translates to BBQ. BBQ’d Spam is a true delicacy and it is so easy to make. Simply slice the Spam about 1/3″ thick, throw it on the grill until a nice crust forms, flip and repeat. Finally baste each side with your favorite BBQ sauce (a sweet Kansas City style is best) and return to the grill just long enough to caramelize the sauce. It can be eaten alone or wrapped in white bread.
This flavor combination is so good that I created a pizza using it that I call the SPizza. Here’s the recipe from my 2010 cookbook, Third Coast Cuisine:
| SPizza |
- 1 ready made 12” pizza crust (or use your favorite pizza dough)
- 1/2 cup of a sweet BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 2 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 can of Spam, 1/2“dice
- BBQ dry rub (whatever brand or recipe you prefer)
- Olive oil
- Preheat an oven to 400 degrees (or follow directions on package).
- In a skillet sauté the Spam until slightly brown.
- Spread the BBQ sauce across the pizza crust leaving a small border. In order scatter 2 ounces of the sharp cheddar cheese, onions, diced Spam, smoked cheddar, and finely the remaining sharp cheddar.
- Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is toasty.
- Remove to a cutting board and with a basting brush apply the olive oil to the edges of the crust.
- Sprinkle the entire pizza with dry rub especially the oiled edges.
- Slice and serve.
Outdoor Cooking: Grilled Pizza
Most people have run into this scenario: You’re having a pool party and everyone starts getting hungry. Half the camp wants to crank up the grill and the other half want to order pizza. There is no reason you cannot have both. Pizza translates well to the grill.
The secret to a really good pizza is a blast of heat from the bottom to cook the crust with a slightly softer heat to warm toppings and melt cheese. That is right in the wheel house of your grill. The open flame, be it from charcoal or gas, is perfect for crispy crust and closing the lid will surround the toppings with a blanket of cozy heat and a kiss of smoke flavor.
Pizza, grilled or not, can be broken down into two elements – crust and toppings.
For the crust you can purchase some of the pre-cooked “skins” out there like Boboli or Mama Mia’s. You can even get creative and turn various breads into crust like Italian loaf, naan or pita. You can also stop by your favorite pizza parlor and purchase raw dough balls from them and put them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Or you could make the dough from scratch with this handy recipe:
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast or 1 oz brewer’s yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees)
- 3 cups AP flour
- 1/2 cup semolina flour
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast on the warm water and stir to dissolve it. Set aside until the yeast starts forming bubbles – about 5 minutes.
Sift the flour. Pour the flour into a large bowl or on a work surface. Mold the flour in a mound shape with a well in the center. With a wooden spoon, draw the ingredients together. - Mix everything with your hands to form dough. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Place the dough on the floured surface. Knead the dough briefly with your hands pushing and folding. Knead just long enough for the dough to take in a little more flour, and until it no longer sticks to your hands.
- With your hand, spread a little olive oil inside a bowl. Transfer the dough into the bowl. On the top of the dough, make two incisions that cross, and spread with a very small amount of olive oil. This last step will prevent the surface of the dough from breaking too much while rising. Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth, and set the bowl aside for approximately 1½ – 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume. The time required for rising will depend on the strength of the yeast and the temperature of the room.
- When the dough is double its original size, punch it down to eliminate the air bubbles. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into three equal pieces. Knead each piece to form a ball – these are called dough balls.
- On the work surface, using a rolling pin and your hands, shape one piece of dough into a thin round layer. Make a pizza about 12 inches in diameter – this is called a skin.
I like to make large batches of pizza dough at one time and then freeze the dough balls in individual zip top bags until I want to make a pie. They take a few hours to defrost at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
Now that you have your skin ready you can either throw it on the grill by itself to cook part of the way (par-cook) before topping it and returning it to the grill or you can top it first and then carefully move it to the grill. The latter will take some practice but you’ll be rewarded with a more cohesive pie. Regardless of which way you go I suggest investing in a peel – the giant spatula that pizza parlors use. You’ll thank me later.
As for toppings, well, that’s up to you. You can stick to tradition with tomato sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella or experiment with less conventional adornment. It is outdoor cooking so why not replace the marinara with BBQ sauce, pulled pork for the pepperoni and pepper Jack for the mozzarella? Try basil pesto with grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes and feta for a pie that is a good deal more authentic than many in this country know.
For the kids you can make a chili dog pizza with turkey chili, sliced turkey hotdogs and cheddar cheese. Adults can garnish theirs with relish, kraut, onions or even jalapeños. You can take a grilled pizza skin and cover it with yogurt drizzled with honey and sliced fruit for dessert.
Sift the flour. Pour the flour into a large bowl or on a work surface. Mold the flour in a mound shape with a hole in the center. Using a spatula, draw the ingredients together. Then mix with your hands to form a skin.
Sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Place the dough on the floured surface. Knead the dough briefly with your hands pushing and folding. Knead just long enough for the dough to take in a little more flour, and until it no longer sticks to your hands.
With your hand, spread a little olive oil inside a bowl. Transfer the dough into the bowl. On the top of the dough, make two incisions that cross, and spread with a very small amount of olive oil. This last step will prevent the surface of the dough from breaking too much while rising.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth, and set the bowl aside for approximately 1½ – 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume. The time required for rising will depend on the strength of the yeast and the temperature of the room.
When the dough is double its original size, punch it down to eliminate the air bubbles. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into three equal pieces.
On the work surface, using a rolling pin and your hands, shape one piece of dough into a thin round layer. Make a pizza about 12 inches in diameter.
