I didn't want to put my credit card info in for the free trial, so I transcribed the video into this. Hope you all enjoy: Chicago-Style Vito and Nick’s Thin Crust Pizza Dough Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp. sugar 1-1/2 tsp. instant yeast 1 tsp. salt ¾ cup, plus 2 tbsp. COLD water 2 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil* *On Diners Drive-ins and Dives, they add milk, not olive oil. Not sure how much, since they were making a huge batch and added a half gallon. (No olive oil). Sausage Ingredients: 1-1/2 lbs. coarsely-ground pork 1 tbsp. toasted fennel seeds 1-1/2 tsp. sugar 1-1/2 tsp. salt 1 clove garlic minced fine ¾ tsp. black pepper ¼ tsp. dried oregano ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes Sauce Ingredients: 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 tbsp. tomato paste 2 tsp. sugar ½ tsp. Italian seasoning ½ tsp. fennel seeds Other Ingredients: 3 cups Whole Milk Mozzarella cheese, grated. ½ tsp. Oregano Dough Instructions: Combine all DRY dough ingredients in a food processor for a few seconds to mix thoroughly. Pour the oil into the water, and then slowly feed the oil/water mixture into the running food processor. Run for about a minute or until dough comes together. Lightly grease the counter with a little olive oil & knead the dough a few times, then pat it into a ball. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic. Let rise at room temp for about 2.5 hrs., or until doubled in size. While dough is rising, work on the sauce and sausage. Sausage Instructions: Put the fennel seeds in a ziplock and roll with a roller, to break the seeds open. Add all sausage ingredients together and combine until mixed thoroughly. Place sausage mix in a bowl, cover with plastic, and let “marinate” in the fridge for at least one hour. Sauce Instructions: Add all Sauce Ingredients into tomato sauce and whisk together. Assembly Instructions: Place a pizza stone in the oven. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Heat pizza stone for one hour. After dough is finished rising, lightly flour the counter, and cut dough ball in half. Using your fingertips, poke dough down into two approximately 8-inch flattened rounds. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough further, into two 12” circles. Cut two pieces of parchment paper just larger than the rounds. Place the parchment paper on a pizza peel, and then place the dough on the parchment paper. (From comments, I added parchment paper instead of using corn meal.) Divide the sauce in half and put one half on each round, spread to the edge, using the back of a spoon. Split the sausage mix in half and put dime-size pieces all over each pizza. Divide the Mozzarella cheese in half and sprinkle 1-1/2 cups all over on each pizza (3 cups total). Divide the Oregano in half and sprinkle ¼ tsp. on each pizza. Slide pizza onto pre-heated pizza stone. Cook one at a time unless you have two pizza stones and two ovens. Let cook for 5 minutes, then remove parchment paper. Continue cooking for a total cook time of 10-14 minutes or until brown on top. Let pizza(s) cool for 5 minutes. Cut three times across, rotate 90 degrees, and make three more cuts, for square pieces.
Chicago Style Thin Crust Pizza DOUGH 2-1/2 C AP flour 2 tsp sugar 1-1/2 tsp instant yeast 1 T salt 3/4 C + 2 T cold water 2 T EVOO Stir together in processor, about 60 secs. lightly grease counter. Knead and fold just enough to combine. Put in a greased bowl & cover with plastic wrap. Let rise about 2-1/2 hrs or until doubled in size. SAUCE 1- 8oz can tomato sauce 1 T tomato paste 2 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp italian seasoning 1/2 tsp fennel seeds Whisk together SAUSAGE 1-1/2 lbs coursely ground pork 1 T fennel seeds, toasted. (Put them in a ziplock and run over them with a rolling pin.) 1-1/2 tsp sugar 1-1/2 tsp salt 1 garlic clove, minced to a paste 3/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes Mix in a mixer until well incorporated and tacky. Place in fridge for at least an hour. Dough makes 2 pizzas. Stretch into a round, approx 8 inches. Then using a rolling pin, roll into a 12" round. Corn meal the bottom before baking. Dime-sized sausage on pizza. Cheese all the way to the edge. Regular cheese...no low fat or skim. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of oregano after assembly but before baking. Oven to 500 deg. for 10-14 mins.
The only critique of mine is the sauce, which could be much better. Also, paltry amount of whole milk mozz. (which should be 80% mozz to 20% provolone.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying what you did about Chicago's pizza!! I am so tired of people thinking that all we eat is deep-dish pizza. As you said, this is something geared more toward tourists. I am from the Chicago area even though I've lived in California for 30 plus years and all we ever ate is thin crust pizza. I didn't know anything about deep-dish until I was a teen and it wasn't bready like people from the east coast think. If they had thick bread deep-dish then that particular place didn't know what they were doing because the crust for the deep-dish is also thin. Californians think the same thing also. I have one thing to say about those who think they know about Chicago's pizza, go try it for yourselves!!!
This was a delicious pizza! I added thin sliced onion and mushrooms. Then baked it for 15 minutes at 500 on a pizza pan. (I don't own a stone.) I did put some corn meal on the pan to keep it from sticking which worked well and gave it an authentic feel. The pan worked perfectly! Definitely will make this again.
This recipe is 🔥 I have made it numerous times out in Colorado (I am from Chicago originally). Even my dad was raving about this pizza, and he is a total Chicago pizza snob!
Made the pizza 2 days ago. Gotta say, it was absolutely delicious, and definitely reminded us of Vito and Nick's! This is definitely going into our rotation.
I used the dough recipe and just store bought Italian mild sausage and still wow that is the best tasting pizza ever ,the key thing is the raw sausage cooked on the pizza give's it the most intense flavor ,couldn't find whole milk mozz and just used mozz most store's have in the 8oz block and made it 16 inch and cooked on a pizza screen at 500 low rack and it came out great nicely browned ,that pizza is the best .thank you American test Kitchen.
This was spectacular. I mixed the sausage the night before, which really allowed the garlic and fennel to perfume the meat. Super crispy crust and juicy sausage as advertised. I couldn’t find whole milk mozzarella, so I had to settle for grating a block of part skim. It worked just fine. Make this. You won’t be sorry. 👍🏻🍕
One thing I have done if I can't find whole milk, low moisture mozzarella is to look for string cheese. Lots of good quality string cheeses are basically low moisture mozzarella and it seems easier to find full fat string cheese than full fat mozzarella at lots of places.
If you go to the deli part of your grocery story (where they slice lunch meat) they usually have whole milk low moisture mozzarella that they can chop a hunk off for you. Good luck in your pizza adventures!
From a former Chicago resident living in California, I have seen no other recepie I want to try first. I love the thin Chicago pizza with triangle corners!!!
I'm in the same boat, from southeast Wisconsin , hour north of Chicago where our pizzas come from this tavern style of Chicago pizza. Can't find anything like it down here in South Texas so now we're looking to do it ourselve
I grew up in Chicago surrounded by my Italian family. Living in San Antonio the last few years has been like a trip to the moon, considering the difference between the big city and a smaller town without the food and family I love. I spend every summer up North with my sisters, carrying my list of restaurants in my luggage. @@jimcab1853
Being a Chicagoan for my first 57 years the Tavern Pizza is the pizza Chicagoan's eat regularly the deep dish is for when family friends come in from out of town.
Thin crust is what Chicagoans generally eat. The "Chicago Deep Dish" is more of a special, once in a blue moon kind of thing, and a thing for all you tourists.
If you don't want to make your own sausage or sauce I find that Johnsonville Sweet Italian is the Chicago Flavor and a jar of Classico sauce with a spoonful of sugar is very much like the sauce on the pizzas I grew up eating flavor wise.
Made this last night, was great, if you want it really crispy I would advise a pre bake for 3-4 min. I just wish I didn't have to log on or join something to print the recipe out.
I made a similar dough and boy was it good. The key is not the food processor it’s the no kneading. It doesn’t bubble when your cook it. You guys outdid yourself
This is just like the pieces that I grew up on back home in the suburbs of Chicago. Thank you for showing me how to make this because it’s very hard to find good pizza in LA.
Nice recipe, we also like Pat's when we go out. We found the recipe sauce to be a bit sweet for us. 8oz canned tomato sauce has about 8g sugar to start, so adding 8g (2 tsp), gets to 16g.
In lieu of the cornmeal, build your pizza on parchment paper. Slide your peel beneath it to transfer to stone or grate (oven or smoker). When on a grate, the parchment can be removed after 5ish minutes because the bottom has cooked enough to prevent any sagging. Makes it soooo much easier. Thank you for this great Thin-Crust Pizza recipe & procedure !
I love the look of those pizzas and could eat one whole pizza in about 20 minutes alone and it reminds me of the pizza I use to buy at a few country stores outside of Saginaw, Michigan each time I drove there and after leaving town. Bryan did a great job with the ingredients and his family must have him making some for them too at home.
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I didn't have deep dish pizza until I was an adult. Our family had an Italian restaurant for 75 years and they made the best thin crust pizza I ever had. Of course, I grew up eating it every week, so there's a bias there. lol. My mother made the pizzas on the weekends and she'd bring one home on Friday nights. When I got older I was allowed to go into the kitchen and make my own. I'll try this and see how it works. He definitely got the sausage right. No food processor though. Using one to make dough is like eating pizza with a knife and fork. It's just wrong. lol
Never heard anyone say tavern style in my entire life, thank you for expanding my vocabulary lol. I think it varies a lot though. My chicago fam and their friends literally just say pizza or chicago pizza when they're talking about the thin/tavern-style. Cheers again for new (to me) name >=)
Thank you for doing this!! I’ve lived on the south side of the city my whole life and no one I know gets deep dish pizza regularly. It’s a once-in-a-great-while choice. 95% of pizza is like what you featured here. For sure, nice and brown on top is the way to go👍👍
As a lifelong North Sider I can say the same thing. Where I am from Deep Dish is like a special occasion order. I always find it strange that people think all we eat here is Deep Dish.
Lived just down the street from Vito and Nick's for 30 years, only had them a few times, they were pretty good but my favorite was Rosangelas across from Little Company of Mary Hospital over by 95th & California.
@@BustedJunkStudio I know exactly what you're talking about! I worked in Oaklawn about 30 years ago, and I can't forget Vito and Nick's, and Rosangelo's. Greatest pizzas I've had. Not even a thin crust Malnati's touches those 2!
I'm from Chicago and our thin crust is the best pizza. Tourists come for the deep dish, the lifers order a deep dish once a year and order a thin crust weekly. :P
@Nice One tons of places that sell deep dish pizza or stuffed pizza also sell thin crust, including Giordano's. There are also thin crust frozen pizzas from places like Connie's, Gino's East and Home Run Inn in stores too. Growing up in what I'm sure you would consider a "bad area", we hardly ever ate deep dish or stuffed pizza. This was the pizza we had at parties, hangouts, pizza nights, trips to pizzeria, etc.
@Nice One I think you mistake hyperbole for a literal statement. I doubt Nick thinks Chicago natives truly only eat one deep dish pizza a year, the point is that most people around the country don't even know Chicago thin crust is a thing. That said, as a kid I spent summers with my grand parents on the south side and grew up eating Aurelio's sausage pizzas. I never had a deep dish pie until I was an adult.
We have a Barnaby's family Inn in Tallahassee Florida and its been here my entire life since 1973. They make the BEST Chicago thin style pizza BUT alas due to Covid after almost 50 years serving our town they went out of business last summer. So many folks here are devastated over this.
Thanks for the recipe!!!’ Too bad I don’t know how to download my pizza picture. It is incredible. It came up just like the one on the video. I have a pizza stone platter that made it truly the way it is on the video. Mine, I did marguerita with fresh mozzarella, slices of tomatoes and fresh oregano. It rocked the plate and the appetite of my family😁 Super!!!❤
For any central IL peeps out there, I worked at Monical's for about six years. Pulling sausage is 10x easier if you wet the fingers that aren't holding the sausage with a bit of sauce. Edit, in addition to the oregano on top add some garlic salt.
@@EricThompson-gs9ce Try this recipe sometime.It's not exactly Monical's but pretty close and very tasty. www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/comments/lbco7r/micro_thin_cornmeal_cracker_crust_pepperoni_pizza/
Great video! Most bars that make pizza this way add Hot Giardiniera as a topping. Make sure it’s packed in oil, not brine. Giardiniera packed in brine adds too much moisture to the pizza and will make a soggy crust.
I have tried so many pizza doughs, this is the one I grew up with in my home town in Racine Wisconsin, Wells Bros. Tavern, if you ever get the chance give there's a try. Love this crust!
I've always liked thin crust best. Up until a few years ago, I cooked it just until the cheese melted. Then one day I left it in the oven too long and the cheese was browned. I loved it. So I've done it that way ever since.
I'm from Chicago. A while back I lived in Pittsburgh for four years, and you could not get a pizza where the cheese was more than just melted. I'd order delivery and ask for "well done" "very well done" and 9 out of ten times it was still just melted, sometimes a little golden. I usually put it into my own oven to brown it lol
People from the neighborhood call it Nick n Vitos....long story, lol. I've know the family, grandparents were good friends of Nick's, since I was born. BEST PIZZA EVER!!
This must be fantastic because Julia and Bryan's Detroit style was a blast to make and tasted wonderful! I cannot wait to try this; in fact, I came here to review the Detroit recipe for the purpose of making it today but noticed the Chicago style video and thought what the heck, I'll watch it. So, now, I'm going to give the Chicago a shot this afternoon and see what happens. You guys are amazing...thank you very much!!
I’m from Chicago, now in Florida, and grew up on this kind of pizza. Love Vito and Nicks. I try to tell people that this is true Chicago pizza, not the deep dish. Deep dish is good every once in a while. I’ve mastered making the deep dish pizza at home and have been trying for years to get that true Chicago thin crust tavern pizza taste. I stumbled on this video and will be trying this method tonight. Yours looked perfect, so I’m hoping the taste is just as perfect. I already have all the equipment as well as a really nice pizza oven. I went through 3 different pizza ovens till I found a nice commercial pizza oven that does the trick and gets to 700 degrees. I’ll come back with my outcome after I make the pizza tonight.
Also from Chicago, and have been living in Florida for almost 20 years. It's impossible to find legit tavern style pizza here, at least in the Orlando area. REAL curious to hear how this came out for you.
@@wwlt.trevor0512 reading my original comment. I guess I forgot to come back here with my update. Oops. The pizza oven is amazing and does exactly what I needed it to do. I finally nailed Chicago thin crust pizza. This oven does the job.
Question: When you get to the point where the dough is ready to use, can you store it in the fridge for later use? If yes, what is the best way to "containerize" it?
Kenji Lopez-Alt recently put out a youtube vid on his version and stores it in the fridge 3-5 days in a "Quart sized, lidded deli container". I bought mine at a restaurant supply store and use them for pizza dough and sauces. Handy and stackable.
The key to a Chicago thin crust is letting the dough rise 24 hours room temperature. Then you can ball it up and fridge it for another 48 hours. So you make your pizza with a 3 day old dough. Nice yeasty, beer flavor and of course use corn meal to slide the pie in the deck.
Excellent recipe and results! I've had local "tavern-cut" Chicago pizza a few times but it really is enjoyable to get a slice of authentic deep dish and/or stuffed when visiting. Long wait, too much cheese, many Chicagoans don't bother with it...we've heard, we've heard. 😂
If you live in Chicago, it isn't a lesser known pizza. This is the pizza everyone there eats. Just saying. This is a good recipe though, particularly the sausage recipe which is almost identical to mine which my Italian wife's grandfather made. I moved from Illinois 25 years ago and never found good pizza, as Tavern Style to me is real pizza, so I learned to make my own. I am going to try this one to see how it stacks up to my recipe.
i have been there. What a bargain! By far my favorite pizza hands down. Take some home with you for your freezer. Reminds me of my childhood favorite pizza. Andy's Pizza.
Living on the south side and not too far from this place, I finally went last year to try this pizza. I didn't think it was as good as people say it is. To me it was just okay. I like Home Run Inn pizza or Palermo's pizza better.
The easiest way to get the uncooked pizza off the peel is to roll the dough on a piece of parchment that's lying of a tea towel (so the parchment doesn't slide as you're rolling the dough). Then slip the peel (or a rimless cookie sheet) under the parchment and scoot the pizza & parchment right off the peel onto your stone. After the pizza has been baking for 5 minutes, pull the parchment from under the pizza and finish baking.
Love this suggestion. By any chance do I have to worry about the parchment burning from the direct contact to a preheated baking stone? This def sounds easier
@@Somebodystio I've used this method many times and so far no burning. I do rotate the pizza 180° after about 5 minutes for even baking, then pull out the parchment and continue baking until done. If you're careful, you don't need to use gloves since the paper doesn't get hot.
Thanks for the recipe. Had a Cousin that worked at Phils on 47th near Pulaski ( for a guy from Canaryville) back in the day. Ahh the memories. But I have a ? Is anyone familiar with Capri Pizza? They were on 87th and LaCrosse, If memory serves. They had a great thin crust pan that was really good. Haven't been in Chi since "83, the last time I had it. I'd love to get the 411 on that, anyone???
A Pizzaria here has the option of mozzarella or mozzarella and Romano cheese. I love both cheeses on my pizza for the Romano bite. What are your thoughts on using both?
Hi All, Too the South Sider's, North Sider's don't eat Deap Dish anymore than you do. Suggested improvements to the recipe. Use a cheese blend of Mozzarella, Asiago and Provolone. Don't use Corn Meal! If you're worried about the dough sticking to your Pizza board, put it on a piece of parchment paper, after a minute or two in the oven you'll be able to pull the paper out.
Chicago's thin crust was the original and only pizza, that I began eating in the 50s, though it existed well before that. The deep-dish pizza came along some time in the 1970s and got a lot of press, but it ain't the original. Tourists go for the deep dish (and it IS delicious) when they eat out in the Loop or upper Michigan Ave., but the thin crust is the pizza of the neighborhoods in the City With The Big Shoulders.
There's nothing original or unique to Chicago style thin crust. It's popular all over the midwest, Chicago is just the only place arrogant enough to lay claim to it.
@@mechmat12345 Or maybe it's all the Italians who settled in Chicago and brought their food and culture. Ever hear of a Minneapolis pizza? The Chicago thin crust pizza is unique in that the crust is thinner and crisper than "average" sold elsewhere, even in New York, and is prepared with more "toppings". You're not just eating crust when you eat ChiTown thin crust pizza.
@@mechmat12345 There's plenty differences of pizza styles in the Midwest for it to make sense to have a video to show how its done in Chicago. This style is nothing like Quad city's style, Detriot style, or St. Louis. Not sure why you keep whining about how Chicago is claiming to have invented this thin crust. Nothing in the video even suggested that.
It’s a win-win with the dough measurements and the sauce. I only cook in pizzas in cast iron skillets. This one will go in my drop dead gorgeous Blacklock 12 inch skillet tomorrow. The meat topping will be some of the homemade turkey breast tamale leftover filling that I popped into ziplock 4 oz. little bags.
The best pizza style in the world. Thank you. The only thing is that it could use significantly more cheese.
I didn't want to put my credit card info in for the free trial, so I transcribed the video into this. Hope you all enjoy:
Chicago-Style Vito and Nick’s Thin Crust Pizza
Dough Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 tsp. salt
¾ cup, plus 2 tbsp. COLD water
2 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil*
*On Diners Drive-ins and Dives, they add milk, not olive oil. Not sure how much, since they were making a huge batch and added a half gallon. (No olive oil).
Sausage Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. coarsely-ground pork
1 tbsp. toasted fennel seeds
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic minced fine
¾ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
Sauce Ingredients:
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. fennel seeds
Other Ingredients:
3 cups Whole Milk Mozzarella cheese, grated.
½ tsp. Oregano
Dough Instructions:
Combine all DRY dough ingredients in a food processor for a few seconds to mix thoroughly.
Pour the oil into the water, and then slowly feed the oil/water mixture into the running food processor.
Run for about a minute or until dough comes together.
Lightly grease the counter with a little olive oil & knead the dough a few times, then pat it into a ball.
Place dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic.
Let rise at room temp for about 2.5 hrs., or until doubled in size.
While dough is rising, work on the sauce and sausage.
Sausage Instructions:
Put the fennel seeds in a ziplock and roll with a roller, to break the seeds open.
Add all sausage ingredients together and combine until mixed thoroughly.
Place sausage mix in a bowl, cover with plastic, and let “marinate” in the fridge for at least one hour.
Sauce Instructions:
Add all Sauce Ingredients into tomato sauce and whisk together.
Assembly Instructions:
Place a pizza stone in the oven. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Heat pizza stone for one hour.
After dough is finished rising, lightly flour the counter, and cut dough ball in half.
Using your fingertips, poke dough down into two approximately 8-inch flattened rounds.
With a rolling pin, roll out the dough further, into two 12” circles.
Cut two pieces of parchment paper just larger than the rounds.
Place the parchment paper on a pizza peel, and then place the dough on the parchment paper.
(From comments, I added parchment paper instead of using corn meal.)
Divide the sauce in half and put one half on each round, spread to the edge, using the back of a spoon.
Split the sausage mix in half and put dime-size pieces all over each pizza.
Divide the Mozzarella cheese in half and sprinkle 1-1/2 cups all over on each pizza (3 cups total).
Divide the Oregano in half and sprinkle ¼ tsp. on each pizza.
Slide pizza onto pre-heated pizza stone. Cook one at a time unless you have two pizza stones and two ovens.
Let cook for 5 minutes, then remove parchment paper.
Continue cooking for a total cook time of 10-14 minutes or until brown on top.
Let pizza(s) cool for 5 minutes.
Cut three times across, rotate 90 degrees, and make three more cuts, for square pieces.
Thanks for that. I didn't like the idea of putting my CC out there either.😁
@@martinfields373 YOU ARE A GEM for doing this! Thank you a thousand times! Richard G.
THANK YOU!!! I was just getting ready to transcribe the instructions myself and you saved me about ten minutes.
Thank you!
Thanks for that
Chicago Style Thin Crust Pizza
DOUGH
2-1/2 C AP flour
2 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 T salt
3/4 C + 2 T cold water
2 T EVOO
Stir together in processor, about 60 secs. lightly grease counter. Knead and fold just enough to combine. Put in a greased bowl & cover with plastic wrap. Let rise about 2-1/2 hrs or until doubled in size.
SAUCE
1- 8oz can tomato sauce
1 T tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
Whisk together
SAUSAGE
1-1/2 lbs coursely ground pork
1 T fennel seeds, toasted. (Put them in a ziplock and run over them with a rolling pin.)
1-1/2 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, minced to a paste
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Mix in a mixer until well incorporated and tacky. Place in fridge for at least an hour. Dough makes 2 pizzas. Stretch into a round, approx 8 inches. Then using a rolling pin, roll into a 12" round. Corn meal the bottom before baking. Dime-sized sausage on pizza. Cheese all the way to the edge. Regular cheese...no low fat or skim. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of oregano after assembly but before baking. Oven to 500 deg. for 10-14 mins.
THANK YOU
Thank you so much
Thank you very much.
Thank you. But isn't it 1 teaspoon salt in the dough rather than 1Tablespoon?
@@EleeiaYes, 1 teaspoon of Tablesalt. Nice catch.
YES!!! Thank you Bryan! This is true Chicago style thin crust pizza and is what we grew up eating. The addition of fennel seeds is a must.
The only critique of mine is the sauce, which could be much better. Also, paltry amount of whole milk mozz. (which should be 80% mozz to 20% provolone.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying what you did about Chicago's pizza!! I am so tired of people thinking that all we eat is deep-dish pizza. As you said, this is something geared more toward tourists. I am from the Chicago area even though I've lived in California for 30 plus years and all we ever ate is thin crust pizza. I didn't know anything about deep-dish until I was a teen and it wasn't bready like people from the east coast think. If they had thick bread deep-dish then that particular place didn't know what they were doing because the crust for the deep-dish is also thin. Californians think the same thing also. I have one thing to say about those who think they know about Chicago's pizza, go try it for yourselves!!!
The deep-dish pizza is more of a casserole. Tavern style is the best: thin, cheesy, and very oily.
Tavern style pizza is the best expression of Chicago pizza. Vito's and Nick's is my all-time favorite.
You mean thin crust?
Chicago (thincrust) pizza is the best! Julia is correct. Being raised on it and moving away I long for it. I will be trying this recipe…
Pizza Dough for 2 pizzas
2.5 cup AP flour
1.5 tsp Instant Yeast
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp table salt
3/4 cup + 2 tbs Cold Water
2 tbs EV Olive Oil
Thank you
thank you so much .
thanks buddy
Thanks
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s my go too. Sausage is amazing!
This was a delicious pizza! I added thin sliced onion and mushrooms. Then baked it for 15 minutes at 500 on a pizza pan. (I don't own a stone.) I did put some corn meal on the pan to keep it from sticking which worked well and gave it an authentic feel. The pan worked perfectly! Definitely will make this again.
niki willis, try using semolina instead of
cornmeal. It doesn't burn as easily 😉
Great job. Born and raised in Chicago and I've had lots of Vito and Nicks pizza. Best pizza on the planet.
I love the thinner crust and longer cooked pizza, I can't wait to try this.
This recipe is 🔥 I have made it numerous times out in Colorado (I am from Chicago originally). Even my dad was raving about this pizza, and he is a total Chicago pizza snob!
Wow. I'm from Arlington Heights (Wayne's Pizza) and live in Colorado Springs. Going to make this for the first time. I can't wait.
@@allisonweber8311 I suggest following this recipe but also add in 2 tbsp of whole milk before the water/olive oil for the dough!
Thank you for the recommendation. I'm starting to bake more and the altitude baking is tricky.
I'm with your dad!
Made the pizza 2 days ago. Gotta say, it was absolutely delicious, and definitely reminded us of Vito and Nick's! This is definitely going into our rotation.
I used the dough recipe and just store bought Italian mild sausage and still wow that is the best tasting pizza ever ,the key thing is the raw sausage cooked on the pizza give's it the most intense flavor ,couldn't find whole milk mozz and just used mozz most store's have in the 8oz block and made it 16 inch and cooked on a pizza screen at 500 low rack and it came out great nicely browned ,that pizza is the best .thank you American test Kitchen.
This was spectacular. I mixed the sausage the night before, which really allowed the garlic and fennel to perfume the meat. Super crispy crust and juicy sausage as advertised. I couldn’t find whole milk mozzarella, so I had to settle for grating a block of part skim. It worked just fine. Make this. You won’t be sorry. 👍🏻🍕
One thing I have done if I can't find whole milk, low moisture mozzarella is to look for string cheese. Lots of good quality string cheeses are basically low moisture mozzarella and it seems easier to find full fat string cheese than full fat mozzarella at lots of places.
You can also mix fresh mozzarella with the string cheese!
Whole is not needed. All of the real Chicago places use part skim or sometimes a mix.
If you go to the deli part of your grocery story (where they slice lunch meat) they usually have whole milk low moisture mozzarella that they can chop a hunk off for you. Good luck in your pizza adventures!
perfume the meat ?
From a former Chicago resident living in California, I have seen no other recepie I want to try first. I love the thin Chicago pizza with triangle corners!!!
Chicago is way better than any California city!
Lmao same here Chicago has way better restaurants than California
@@boogitybear2283 Yeah, they love those toddler's birthday party little squares. This is just crispy bar pizza everywhere else.
Im from Chicago.. that's a really good looking pizza. I can smell/taste it through my phone😋😋😋😋
I grew up on Vito and Nick's Pizza. This show has saved my life, since I moved to Texas and I have pizza withdral.
Texas is so overrated! I much rather tolerate Chicago’s Winters than Dallas or Houston Summers!
I'm in the same boat, from southeast Wisconsin , hour north of Chicago where our pizzas come from this tavern style of Chicago pizza. Can't find anything like it down here in South Texas so now we're looking to do it ourselve
I grew up in Chicago surrounded by my Italian family. Living in San Antonio the last few years has been like a trip to the moon, considering the difference between the big city and a smaller town without the food and family I love. I spend every summer up North with my sisters, carrying my list of restaurants in my luggage. @@jimcab1853
Having tasted deep dish pizza and watching Julia's reaction to this pizza, you'd have to say that Chicago has the best pizza in America!
Being a Chicagoan for my first 57 years the Tavern Pizza is the pizza Chicagoan's eat regularly the deep dish is for when family friends come in from out of town.
@@stevenseul361 Better than Lou Malnati's?
@@mercuryrising2424 They're both good it's just if you live in Chicago land you will regularly eat the Tavern and occasionally eat deep dish..
Thin crust is what Chicagoans generally eat. The "Chicago Deep Dish" is more of a special, once in a blue moon kind of thing, and a thing for all you tourists.
Life long south sider and I can attest to this.
Thin crust and square cut. Every Friday night.
Speak for yourself. Up in Dunning, I will always go for the casserole we call deep dish pizza over the thin cardboard stuff.
@@michaelkline9647 Good for you - I stated what Chicagoans eat -
Michael Kline ....where the heck is Dunning?
If you don't want to make your own sausage or sauce I find that Johnsonville Sweet Italian is the Chicago Flavor and a jar of Classico sauce with a spoonful of sugar is very much like the sauce on the pizzas I grew up eating flavor wise.
Thanks!
Made this last night, was great, if you want it really crispy I would advise a pre bake for 3-4 min. I just wish I didn't have to log on or join something to print the recipe out.
I made a similar dough and boy was it good. The key is not the food processor it’s the no kneading. It doesn’t bubble when your cook it. You guys outdid yourself
This is just like the pieces that I grew up on back home in the suburbs of Chicago. Thank you for showing me how to make this because it’s very hard to find good pizza in LA.
Nice recipe, we also like Pat's when we go out. We found the recipe sauce to be a bit sweet for us. 8oz canned tomato sauce has about 8g sugar to start, so adding 8g (2 tsp), gets to 16g.
This is authentic. Sausage with fennel seeds and cooked under the cheese is what I am used to.
In lieu of the cornmeal, build your pizza on parchment paper. Slide your peel beneath it to transfer to stone or grate (oven or smoker). When on a grate, the parchment can be removed after 5ish minutes because the bottom has cooked enough to prevent any sagging. Makes it soooo much easier. Thank you for this great Thin-Crust Pizza recipe & procedure !
parchment paper isnt good or rated at 500+ degrees
@@QuentinH-o9x I don’t cook pizza at 500
The cornmeal is essential to a Vito and Nick's pizza. Do not skip it.
Vito and Nick is the best pizza in America. There’s nothing like it. This recipe makes me feel like I’m at home
I grew up in Chicago eating Aurelio's thin crust pizza. Loved it.
Big Johns Pizza in Whitehall Michigan makes a great Chicago pizza..square cut,edge to edge Pizza from Heaven..Since 1959
Thank you for the free advertising. My guess is you are Big John or Big John’s predecessor.
@@patrickking3896 no,I eat there every time I go home to Montague. Been eating it since 1966 when we moved to Montague from Manistee.
Fred Oakes ... that is so awesome to have a great pizza place.
I love the look of those pizzas and could eat one whole pizza in about 20 minutes alone and it reminds me of the pizza I use to buy at a few country stores outside of Saginaw, Michigan each time I drove there and after leaving town. Bryan did a great job with the ingredients and his family must have him making some for them too at home.
Julia, you are my favorite. You can cook anything you want for me.
Get photos!
I have been looking for a this crust pizza! I love in Chicago! That's one of the best pizzas in the city!
Thank you!
I’ve made this pizza recipe many times hands down the best homemade thin crust pizza. So easy to make Only from Chicago thanks cooks country
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I didn't have deep dish pizza until I was an adult.
Our family had an Italian restaurant for 75 years and they made the best thin crust pizza I ever had. Of course, I grew up eating it every week, so there's a bias there. lol. My mother made the pizzas on the weekends and she'd bring one home on Friday nights. When I got older I was allowed to go into the kitchen and make my own.
I'll try this and see how it works. He definitely got the sausage right. No food processor though. Using one to make dough is like eating pizza with a knife and fork. It's just wrong. lol
Food processor's just a tiny Hobart if you think about it
That seems odd since we saw locals while on our long holiday in Italy eating pizza with their knives and forks.
What was the name of your restaurant?
@@claxhammer The Round-Up. Served pizza and italian food.
I lived by Vito & Nick's on Pulaski. We ate that pizza almost once a week! Your's looked great. And yes, they had to be dark! Thanks for sharing.
Growing up in Chicago, I never knew anyone that liked deep dish pizza. Thank you!
Love it! Although in Chicago, it’s referred to as “Tavern-Style Pizza,” Tourists eat Deep Dish and Stuffed Crust, real Chicagoans eat Tavern-Style.
I've never called it Tavern-Style; I have always called it thin or Southside.
Hmm, I have never heard it called Tavern Style, just thin crust. :-)
Never heard anyone say tavern style in my entire life, thank you for expanding my vocabulary lol. I think it varies a lot though. My chicago fam and their friends literally just say pizza or chicago pizza when they're talking about the thin/tavern-style. Cheers again for new (to me) name >=)
tafoyaerik, Thank god I'm making one tonight, all this talk about pizza has me drooling.
I didn't know stuffed crust pizza was a Chicago invention.
Thank you for doing this!! I’ve lived on the south side of the city my whole life and no one I know gets deep dish pizza regularly. It’s a once-in-a-great-while choice. 95% of pizza is like what you featured here. For sure, nice and brown on top is the way to go👍👍
As a lifelong North Sider I can say the same thing. Where I am from Deep Dish is like a special occasion order. I always find it strange that people think all we eat here is Deep Dish.
This looks amazing and just like it does back home! Only thing that's missing (that I've been told makes a huge difference), is the Chicago tap water!
Like watching everything you make. Looking forward to seeing more!😊
Vito and Nick's is by far the best you will ever have!
Father and Son's is delicious, and so is their pizza bread, it's soooo good.
Dragonawski’s in Barnes and Eau Claire WI is the uht most greatest ultra thin pizza in thee world! I promise. I wouldn’t let you down
only if you like a side of racism with your pizza. Obbie's and Little Frank's are good
Lived just down the street from Vito and Nick's for 30 years, only had them a few times, they were pretty good but my favorite was Rosangelas across from Little Company of Mary Hospital over by 95th & California.
@@BustedJunkStudio
I know exactly what you're talking about! I worked in Oaklawn about 30 years ago, and I can't forget Vito and Nick's, and Rosangelo's. Greatest pizzas I've had. Not even a thin crust Malnati's touches those 2!
Not from Chicago but love thin crust and this looks delicious
Just made for for friends from chicago. They said best pizza ever. Love you guys. Best pizza ever. Sausage was key. Again thanks!
I'm from Chicago and our thin crust is the best pizza. Tourists come for the deep dish, the lifers order a deep dish once a year and order a thin crust weekly. :P
I'm a fan of Aurelio's. Way tastier than the deep dish.
100% truth!
@Nice One tons of places that sell deep dish pizza or stuffed pizza also sell thin crust, including Giordano's. There are also thin crust frozen pizzas from places like Connie's, Gino's East and Home Run Inn in stores too. Growing up in what I'm sure you would consider a "bad area", we hardly ever ate deep dish or stuffed pizza. This was the pizza we had at parties, hangouts, pizza nights, trips to pizzeria, etc.
Excuse me Sir/Madam
Are you saved?
If you died tonight are you going to heaven?
Jesus loves you.
@Nice One I think you mistake hyperbole for a literal statement. I doubt Nick thinks Chicago natives truly only eat one deep dish pizza a year, the point is that most people around the country don't even know Chicago thin crust is a thing. That said, as a kid I spent summers with my grand parents on the south side and grew up eating Aurelio's sausage pizzas. I never had a deep dish pie until I was an adult.
60619 checking in. With an RC is what my Friday nights looked like growing up.
Once again confirmed...Chicago has theeee best pizza!! 🍕
They put sauce on top of cheese!! You sit on a throne of lies!!
💯
I agree! Chicago is my favorite big city in the World not just America!
Just settle down, you been to Naples or Sicily? Chicago's got good pizza but not theeee best!!
@@SoundBoss5150
That's like 3 places, you tourist.
That looks SO GOOD! I need to see if I can make this. I’m salivating
That is our Chicago thin crust, with fennel sausage. Yum. The BEST!
Glad I found this!
This looks amazing!
I’ve been looking for this!! Thank you. 🍕🍕🍕♥️
Thats exactly what I go for when I make my own! 👌
I love a cracker crust. Sammy's pizza in Green Bay Wisconsin! 💪💪 I worked there after high school and alot of packer players would come in!
We have a Barnaby's family Inn in Tallahassee Florida and its been here my entire life since 1973. They make the BEST Chicago thin style pizza BUT alas due to Covid after almost 50 years serving our town they went out of business last summer. So many folks here are devastated over this.
Thanks for the recipe!!!’
Too bad I don’t know how to download my pizza picture.
It is incredible. It came up just like the one on the video.
I have a pizza stone platter that made it truly the way it is on the video. Mine, I did marguerita with fresh mozzarella, slices of tomatoes and fresh oregano.
It rocked the plate and the appetite of my family😁
Super!!!❤
Omg.... I'm starving and this looks amazing!!!
For any central IL peeps out there, I worked at Monical's for about six years. Pulling sausage is 10x easier if you wet the fingers that aren't holding the sausage with a bit of sauce.
Edit, in addition to the oregano on top add some garlic salt.
Monical’s is the best restaurant cracker crust pizza folks. A bit pricey, but worth the cost. I’ve been trying to make that crust for years.
Waiting for dine in to open back up for Monical's
@@EricThompson-gs9ce Try this recipe sometime.It's not exactly Monical's but pretty close and very tasty. www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/comments/lbco7r/micro_thin_cornmeal_cracker_crust_pepperoni_pizza/
I'm an ISU alum and their pizza was pretty good.
Lifelong Chicagoian, that just tried Monicals for the first time. Way overpriced and barely edible
Making this tonight! Have all of my ingredients ready and the sausage made. I so hope it works out!
this is what I have been looking , thin crust pizza. I cant wait to try it. thanks for sharing it.
Good recipe. I cooked it on my cast iron pizza pan. Thanks
Great video! Most bars that make pizza this way add Hot Giardiniera as a topping. Make sure it’s packed in oil, not brine. Giardiniera packed in brine adds too much moisture to the pizza and will make a soggy crust.
I'm trying this next!
I have tried so many pizza doughs, this is the one I grew up with in my home town in Racine Wisconsin, Wells Bros. Tavern, if you ever get the chance give there's a try. Love this crust!
Yep...
Ketchup and fennel pizza. Yum
Made the sausage today for tomato sauce. Excellent!!! Can’t wait to try the pizza!
This was such a great video! Thank you so much for the tutorial!!!
I've always liked thin crust best. Up until a few years ago, I cooked it just until the cheese melted. Then one day I left it in the oven too long and the cheese was browned. I loved it. So I've done it that way ever since.
I'm from Chicago. A while back I lived in Pittsburgh for four years, and you could not get a pizza where the cheese was more than just melted. I'd order delivery and ask for "well done" "very well done" and 9 out of ten times it was still just melted, sometimes a little golden. I usually put it into my own oven to brown it lol
Made this recipe and would highly recommend it, because it just taste good for starters. Also a pretty easy recipe.
HOW DID IT TURN OUT IN YOUR OVEN? HOW LONG WAS THE COOK TIME?
@@gotrescuedauto3584 longer if you don’t have a stone or steel. But they said 12-14 minutes at 500 with a stone
@@Granger744 - I MISSED THAT PART HAHAHAHAHAHAHA THX
People from the neighborhood call it Nick n Vitos....long story, lol. I've know the family, grandparents were good friends of Nick's, since I was born. BEST PIZZA EVER!!
This must be fantastic because Julia and Bryan's Detroit style was a blast to make and tasted wonderful! I cannot wait to try this; in fact, I came here to review the Detroit recipe for the purpose of making it today but noticed the Chicago style video and thought what the heck, I'll watch it. So, now, I'm going to give the Chicago a shot this afternoon and see what happens. You guys are amazing...thank you very much!!
I’m from Chicago, now in Florida, and grew up on this kind of pizza. Love Vito and Nicks. I try to tell people that this is true Chicago pizza, not the deep dish. Deep dish is good every once in a while. I’ve mastered making the deep dish pizza at home and have been trying for years to get that true Chicago thin crust tavern pizza taste. I stumbled on this video and will be trying this method tonight. Yours looked perfect, so I’m hoping the taste is just as perfect. I already have all the equipment as well as a really nice pizza oven. I went through 3 different pizza ovens till I found a nice commercial pizza oven that does the trick and gets to 700 degrees. I’ll come back with my outcome after I make the pizza tonight.
Also from Chicago, and have been living in Florida for almost 20 years. It's impossible to find legit tavern style pizza here, at least in the Orlando area. REAL curious to hear how this came out for you.
And?!!
Wayne, I'd be interested in knowing which oven you decided to purchase. TY!
@@wwlt.trevor0512 reading my original comment. I guess I forgot to come back here with my update. Oops. The pizza oven is amazing and does exactly what I needed it to do. I finally nailed Chicago thin crust pizza. This oven does the job.
Vito & Nick's Pizza....one of the best thin crust pizzas in Chicago if not the best!!!
Fantastic Chicago thin crust pizza.
Very good. I'm hungry!
We Chicagoans, love our thin crust pizza 🍕. Oh man!!!
Question: When you get to the point where the dough is ready to use, can you store it in the fridge for later use? If yes, what is the best way to "containerize" it?
Kenji Lopez-Alt recently put out a youtube vid on his version and stores it in the fridge 3-5 days in a "Quart sized, lidded deli container". I bought mine at a restaurant supply store and use them for pizza dough and sauces. Handy and stackable.
Here to say, it’s not called “Chicago style” its called Tavern Style (if I’m not trying to start a fight) or it’s truly Milwaukee Style crust.
Anybody out there remember Little Joe's on 63rd st? this video brings back memories.
Excellent recipe! Thanks for using common measurements instead of having to weigh everything… not everybody has a scale.
The key to a Chicago thin crust is letting the dough rise 24 hours room temperature. Then you can ball it up and fridge it for another 48 hours. So you make your pizza with a 3 day old dough. Nice yeasty, beer flavor and of course use corn meal to slide the pie in the deck.
Excellent recipe and results! I've had local "tavern-cut" Chicago pizza a few times but it really is enjoyable to get a slice of authentic deep dish and/or stuffed when visiting. Long wait, too much cheese, many Chicagoans don't bother with it...we've heard, we've heard. 😂
Deep dish isn't a pizza but more of a pie with layered toppings. It is heavy and takes forever to bake.
If you live in Chicago, it isn't a lesser known pizza. This is the pizza everyone there eats. Just saying. This is a good recipe though, particularly the sausage recipe which is almost identical to mine which my Italian wife's grandfather made. I moved from Illinois 25 years ago and never found good pizza, as Tavern Style to me is real pizza, so I learned to make my own. I am going to try this one to see how it stacks up to my recipe.
Indiana has Pizza King for tavern style pizza. So good.
i have been there. What a bargain! By far my favorite pizza hands down. Take some home with you for your freezer. Reminds me of my childhood favorite pizza. Andy's Pizza.
Living on the south side and not too far from this place, I finally went last year to try this pizza. I didn't think it was as good as people say it is. To me it was just okay. I like Home Run Inn pizza or Palermo's pizza better.
Love the recipe. Thanks
The easiest way to get the uncooked pizza off the peel is to roll the dough on a piece of parchment that's lying of a tea towel (so the parchment doesn't slide as you're rolling the dough). Then slip the peel (or a rimless cookie sheet) under the parchment and scoot the pizza & parchment right off the peel onto your stone. After the pizza has been baking for 5 minutes, pull the parchment from under the pizza and finish baking.
Love this suggestion. By any chance do I have to worry about the parchment burning from the direct contact to a preheated baking stone? This def sounds easier
@@Somebodystio I've used this method many times and so far no burning. I do rotate the pizza 180° after about 5 minutes for even baking, then pull out the parchment and continue baking until done. If you're careful, you don't need to use gloves since the paper doesn't get hot.
Love this tip. Thank u!
Thanks for the recipe. Had a Cousin that worked at Phils on 47th near Pulaski ( for a guy from Canaryville) back in the day. Ahh the memories. But I have a ? Is anyone familiar with Capri Pizza? They were on 87th and LaCrosse, If memory serves. They had a great thin crust pan that was really good. Haven't been in Chi since "83, the last time I had it. I'd love to get the 411 on that, anyone???
I like just about any pizza unless it's floppy. I usually like a thicker chewy crust but this looked good.
A Pizzaria here has the option of mozzarella or mozzarella and Romano cheese. I love both cheeses on my pizza for the Romano bite. What are your thoughts on using both?
Can this dough be made by hand, or does it require a food processor or mixer? Thank you.
Hi All,
Too the South Sider's, North Sider's don't eat Deap Dish anymore than you do. Suggested improvements to the recipe.
Use a cheese blend of Mozzarella, Asiago and Provolone.
Don't use Corn Meal! If you're worried about the dough sticking to your Pizza board, put it on a piece of parchment paper, after a minute or two in the oven you'll be able to pull the paper out.
Is plastic wrap necessary? Or would a damp kitchen towel work equally well?
Trying this tonight
Chicago's thin crust was the original and only pizza, that I began eating in the 50s, though it existed well before that. The deep-dish pizza came along some time in the 1970s and got a lot of press, but it ain't the original. Tourists go for the deep dish (and it IS delicious) when they eat out in the Loop or upper Michigan Ave., but the thin crust is the pizza of the neighborhoods in the City With The Big Shoulders.
There's nothing original or unique to Chicago style thin crust. It's popular all over the midwest, Chicago is just the only place arrogant enough to lay claim to it.
@@mechmat12345 Or maybe it's all the Italians who settled in Chicago and brought their food and culture. Ever hear of a Minneapolis pizza? The Chicago thin crust pizza is unique in that the crust is thinner and crisper than "average" sold elsewhere, even in New York, and is prepared with more "toppings". You're not just eating crust when you eat ChiTown thin crust pizza.
@@mechmat12345 There's plenty differences of pizza styles in the Midwest for it to make sense to have a video to show how its done in Chicago. This style is nothing like Quad city's style, Detriot style, or St. Louis. Not sure why you keep whining about how Chicago is claiming to have invented this thin crust. Nothing in the video even suggested that.
That's a LEGIT pie, I'd put the oregano on after it's out the over but that sausage nails it.
Great Pizza!
It’s a win-win with the dough measurements and the sauce. I only cook in pizzas in cast iron skillets. This one will go in my drop dead gorgeous Blacklock 12 inch skillet tomorrow. The meat topping will be some of the homemade turkey breast tamale leftover filling that I popped into ziplock 4 oz. little bags.
You need to drop the pizzas on a screen or a cookie wire rack so the bottom does not get soggy at all.