Bringing back strong 1990s Pizza Hut memories. Sure they are the same still today, but I have not stepped into one since the 1990s as I value my health. Ahahahaha
Pizza hut pan is my favorite fast food pizza and I don't understand how anyone could feel otherwise, unless you have something against crispy buttery overindulgence in which case... fair. But nothing I've seen has come close to that perfec " box kraft Mac n cheese " level of junk food perfection
The Lodge griddle I have really isn't usable for pizza... But for setting atop my induction stove to turn into a big hot metal surface for bacon, burger patties, and toasting the buns, all at the same time? Perfect.
I mean... I've been scouring cast iron at thrift shops for ages.
I'll probably catch flack for it, but I polished off the bottom so as to be better for my induction cook top. I feel like cast iron+induction was a match made in heaven (though I did have to relearn some old habits, like most people I used the flame height to estimate heat into the pan. Now, it's quite a bit more consistent, but also a bit more... technical.)
polishing the bottom isn't hard. an orbital sander, a particulate mask (yes. you need it.). work through the grits. You can do it by hand if you really want to, and you probably don't need to go beyond "fine" grits. (though I took it to extra fine and then hit it up with green buffing compound because... "oooo shiny."...)
It's a POS ikea convection/microwave combo thing. The convection mode maxes out at 250 °C, which is pathetic, but for pizza I put a sheet pan in the middle and blast the grill mode which uses a heating element in the top of the oven.
This halves the volume of the oven, and the grill mode doesn't take a temperature, just one of three heat settings.
So I set it to MAX and let it preheat for a bit, and the result is pretty good.
oh hell yeah. adam ragusea's recipe for pan pizza is the best. i've made all sorts already all based off his recipe: pepperoni, chicken alfredo, chicken barbeque, hawaiian, thousand island seafood (a hong kong favourite), etc; all bangers.
That was my starting point. I slowly tweaked my way to a tomato sauce based on the pureed tomatoes I can get from my nearest grocer, and figured out exactly how to best get the stove phase done.
Once I discovered that this spicy snack sausage I can get here is insane on a pizza, I haven't wanted to make it any other way.
I need to try this. I like a thin, crispy crust and my pizza stone broke while I was moving. I haven't tried making one in my cast iron skillet though.