BBQ Chicken (or pork!) Pizza

I modeled this pizza after one I had at a restaurant. I loved the addition of black beans and corn, and knew I could easily replicate it!

For the first time, I made pizza crust from scratch. I followed Tammy's recipe, and it was SO easy. You can make this pizza on a store bought crust (like Boboli), but if you have the 45 minutes to wait for the dough to rise, I would recommend making your own crust. It's really very easy, and SUPER cheap.

You don't need a bread machine, or even a mixer. You can make the crust totally by hand. If you have a bread machine, by all means let it do the work for you! Start by combining the water, sugar and butter in a large bowl. Add some of the flour and stir.



Then add the rest of the flour and the yeast and stir until it is incorporated and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Take the dough out and knead it on a lightly floured surface. (I just throw a handful of flour on my clean counter top and knead it there.) To knead, just fold the dough over and press "through" with the heel of your hand. Rotate the dough, fold again, and press. Continue this for about 6 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.



Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Put it somewhere warm, and let it rise for 45 minutes. (I put mine in the oven, with the oven NOT on.) It will be all tall and bubbly after 45 minutes.



Take the dough out of the bowl, and punch down gently to remove the air bubbles. Liberally butter a 16 inch pizza pan (or use a pizza stone) and press the dough onto the pan or stone.



If you check out Tammy's recipe, she recommends using cornmeal under the crust. I didn't have any. I think it would make a huge difference, so I will try that next time, along with possibly adding some herbs and spices to the dough. Sprinkle the dough with 1/2 tsp. salt and then add the toppings.

If you're using a store bought crust, start here!

This recipe normally uses chicken, but because of my over-abundance of pork, that's what I used and I can report that it was GREAT. Toss your cut up meat with some bbq sauce to coat. Then spread the rest of the bbq sauce over the crust. Top with the meat, black beans, corn and onion.



Finally, top with the cheese, both mozzarella and parmesan!

Bake the pizza on the BOTTOM rack of your oven so that the crust gets fully cooked. Mine baked for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!!



For more great recipes, check out Mouthwatering Mondays, Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, and Tasty Tuesday.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Crust:
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. active rise yeast

Toppings:
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1-2 cups chopped chicken or pork
1 cup black beans
3/4 cup corn
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

If you're using a bread machine, put all crust ingredients in machine and set to dough setting. When it is completed, skip down to the press dough out stage.

If making dough by hand, mix water, sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add part of the flour and stir. Add the rest of the flour and the yeast and stir well until flour is incorporated and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead the dough for 6 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat so all the dough is "greased." Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm spot to rise for 45 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl and punch down until air bubbles disappear. Liberally grease a 16" pizza pan and press dough out. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. salt over top of crust.

Place meat in a small bowl and toss with 1/2 the bbq sauce. Spread the remaining sauce over the crust. Top with meat, black beans, corn and onion. Sprinkle mozzarella then parmesan over the top.

Bake on the bottom rack at 425 for 15-20 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted and browned on the edges.

Note: the topping ingredient measurements are for a 16" crust. If you are using a smaller crust, you may need to adjust.