BBQ PULLED PORK PIZZA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

To make the pizza dough, place olive oil, honey, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir to dissolve honey into the water (so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the bowl).  Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquid mixture, stir, and let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast becomes foamy.  Add salt and 2 ½ cups of the flour.  Mix using the dough hook attachment.  Gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed until a ball forms.  Empty dough onto a floured countertop and knead for 8-10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic adding flour as needed if sticky.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.  Knead dough briefly and divide into 2 equal parts and form balls.  Let rest for 30 minutes under a clean kitchen towel.  If you are not using both balls, refrigerate each ball in a plastic bag sprayed with cooking spray for up to 5 days.

Preheat pizza stone in a 425-degree oven for 30 minutes will you prepare the pizza.

To make the caramelized onions, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onions, sugar, and salt to the skillet.  Cook, stirring frequently, until they are silky and caramel brown color, about 30-40 minutes.  You do not want them to ‘brown’, so turn the heat down if you start to see this start to happen.  This is a ‘low and slow’ process.

To make the pizza, take one ball of the dough and form into a 14” round.  Spread cornmeal on a pizza peel and arrange the dough on top.  Note – you can also make this pizza on a baking sheet if you do not have a stone or a peel.

Spread the caramelized onions over the top of the crust, leaving a ½” border.  Spread the pulled pork over the top, followed by the shredded cheese.  Drizzle olive oil over the exposed crust edge.  Slide the pizza off the peel and onto the preheated stone in the oven.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly.

Warm the BBQ sauce in the microwave and drizzle over the top of the pizza (I use a squirt bottle, but you can just use a spoon if you don’t have one).  Sprinkle the top with scallions and garnish with cilantro leaves.  Cut into wedges, pour a beer, and chow down!

BBQ Pulled Pork and BBQ Sauce

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven, big even to hold the pork with enough extra room around it for air to circulate.

Remove your pork shoulder from the package and rinse with cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Rub all over with the Cajun Spice to coat well.

When the oil is very hot.  Sear the pork shoulder on all sides, including the ends, until well-crusted, about 3-4 minutes per side.  Remove to a plate.  Add the onions to the pan drippings and cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes until they are soft and fragrant.  Add one of the beers to the pan and stir, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Add the pork back into the pan, on top of the onions and pour the remaining beer into the pan.  The liquid should come about halfway up the meat.  Add a little water if more liquid is needed.

Cover and place in the oven.  Cook for 7-8 hours, turning the shoulder over once after 4 hours.  The pork is done when it is falling off the bone.

While your pork cooks, make your BBQ sauce.  Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a large saucepan and whisk until smooth, bringing to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer on low for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.  The longer this sauce sits the better it gets.  I usually make both the pork and sauce the day before I plan to serve it, but it’s still good same day!

When your pork is done, remove the meat from the pan, to a large bowl and shred the meat with two forks. Set aside.

Skim as much of the fat as you can off the juices in the pan.  I like to pour the juices into a bowl or container and place them in the freezer (once they are room temperature) for an hour or two.  The fat will congeal and is easier to scrape off the top this way.

Combine the liquid (should be about 2-3 cups with fat removed) and 1 ½ cups of the BBQ sauce back in the Dutch oven and stir to combine.  Add the shredded pork and stir to coat.  Taste that yummy goodness!!  Depending on the size of the pork shoulder and amount of liquid you may want to add another ½ – 1 cup of BBQ sauce to taste.

Place the remaining BBQ sauce in a squeeze bottle or serving dish to spoon extra for sandwiches, tacos, pizza, etc…