Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

Chef John does it again! WITH ONE IMPORTANT CHANGE: I followed this recipe exactly and watched the video, but the sausage was not even close to being done cooking when the rest of the pizza was finished, it was still completely raw. I now precook the sausage before putting it on the pizza. This dough is the best pizza crust I've ever had. I used Chef John's pizza sauce recipe and simmer an extra 30 minutes or so until very thick. TIP: If you opt to cut off the excess dough instead of folding it over, roll the extra dough and place it on top of the layered cheese and sausage, poke holes all over to allow steam to escape, then spoon pizza sauce over the dough with parmesan. Turns this (already fabulous) recipe into a Chicago style stuffed pizza like you’d find at Giordano’s!

Best Pizza ever! I'm from Chicago and after one bite of this pizza, my husband and I both agreed this is the BEST PIZZA WE'VE EVER HAD! I watched the video which was very helpful Thank you to the reviewer who reminded to cook the sausage first! I used 1 tsp of salt and with all that cheese it was still a touch too salty for my taste, so I'll use a little less salt next time. I'd also increase the corn meal to about 3/4 C for starters and use 5 cups of sauce. After reducing the 4 cups, it seemed like barely enough. Thank you!!

I have been making pizza daily for almost 25 years, and I give you 1 piece of advice, pre-cook the sausage, it will release A LOT of grease and will come out better in the pie.

This was delicious! I made chef John’s Pizza sauce and it was awesome. Worth the extra step to make your own. We used ground beef seasoned with Italian seasoning, mushrooms and pepperoni. Will definitely make again.

I made this with whole wheat flour & it turned out good except I would add more sugar to balance out the heavy whole wheat I used. I also used a can of tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, onion powder, and minced garlic for my sauce & it turned out really great.

This pizza dough is amazing. Since we prefer a thin crust I cut the dough in half and froze it. The other half I rolled out and used in the cast iron skillet to make the deep dish pizza. In this way, we had a deep dish without excessive dough. Will make again. I also made it in bread machine on dough cycle instead of by hand.

So easy and turned out perfect.

I also pre cooked the sausage Otherwise followed chef John’s recipe Doubled recipe to make two One pepperoni one sausage and fresh basil Excellent pizza recipe It makes a LOT of dough but it is a great pie

Amazing! I added more corn meal and did not have the same cast iron skillet, so I used two smaller pans - one cast iron, one metal. Both turned out great and so flavorful! Definitely cook the sausage before!

I came across the video on YouTube by accident,. Having seen a couple Chef John videos before, I watched and was intrigued. Being a Brooklyn boy who only knew NYC foldable and Sicilian, similar to Detroit style, Being retired withcovid-19 in the air, I gave it a try. Butter in dough was certainly different and tasty too.. Used saute mushrooms and spinach, homemade sauce but a 10 inch cast iron, came out a bit better than expected. 15 minutes+ is better wait time than 10. Used the extra dough to make bread knots. Well worth trying for the experienced or nubie cook.

In general, five stars. But even among Chicago style pizzas (which I've eaten too many of), I have preferences. And next time I'm reducing the cornmeal a bit, doing all of the flour (I abstained a little per the recipe) and substituting all butter for the olive oil and butter fat content. I think that will bring it closer to what I want. Otherwise, this is incredible! The sauce is the sauce I've been trying to recreate for years. The house smelled like Chicago all day...in the best way. Chef John is my breakfast buddy on YouTube in this stay-at-home time and of all the recipes I've tried in the last few weeks, this is the finest. But there are so many I haven't made yet! Such fun! - Thanks, Chef John.

Since the recipe did not call for pre-cooking the sausage, I baked the pizza for 40 minutes and left it rest for 15 after it came out. Sausage was done, but I can see where pre-cooking and draining off excess grease would be a plus to the final product. I also used a canned pizza sauce which, although thick, could have benefited from a spoonful or two of tomato paste for consistency. Very good flavor.

love it!!!!!

I made this last minute last week. I movie I’ve been wanting to see came out on blu ray so I wanted a meal while I watched. I don’t own a cast iron skillet so I used a round cake pan. The dough was just a tad undercooked in the center but other than that it was delicious. I added pepperoni to mine. I did get myself a cast iron skillet and will be trying this again in a few days.

This recipe was delicious! The only tip I would give is to just be careful with the dough as it is being kneaded in you stand mixer. Ours climbed up the bread arm and got a bit of oil on it from the machine so we had to discard a portion of it. Thank you Chef John for this delicious pizza!

I followed the recipe but used a little less hard mozzarella. The crust was delightful...tasted great. Unfortunately...the middle never got firm enough to slice. Stayed jiggly. I loved the crust so much,..wondering what else it could be used for !

I browned the sausage first but followed everything else to the letter! I used your sauce recipe too! This will be in our rotation! Thanks!!

Tried it and loved it! We'll certainly make this recipe again and again.

It’s is yummy! We cut the amount of the red pepper flakes in half and added more salt. So far so good. It’s still simmering but tastey!

I used rapid rise yeast which made my crust puffier than expected. So I pinched off part of the main dough and created a second layer in the pizza. Loaded this up with spicy Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, red and yellow peppers, and all of the cheeses. For my first time making this I’m super excited to have a new kind of pizza to make to break away from standard pizza. I’ll be sure to load up more sauce next time too. This wasn’t difficult like I’d built up in my head. Love this! Thanks Chef John!

Jon from Tampa,FL Excellent recipe. I moved to Florida from Chicago. Now I don't have to miss the pizza anymore. I substituted sliced meatballs for the sausage and added zucchini. Delicious. I proofed the yeast by adding the sugar to the water and the yeast. It rose great. The pizza was AWESOME!!! Thanks Chef John.

The recipe turned out amazing. I used 2 - 9" springform pans rather than cast iron. It was a huge hit with the family and will definitely be a staple in my house.

I've made this several times and it's fantastic. I would recommend for anyone who enjoys good food. It's not a temperamental recipe so if other varieties of pizza are intimidating for you, try starting with this one.

Delicious pizza, I made my own pizza sauce.

Very easy to make. I browned the sausage before cooking as other commenters have mentioned, and it turned out great!

I'm making it again only this time I am using spicy Italian sausage. This is an excellent recipe.

I made this pizza for a party. EVERYONE raved about it and asked for the recipe. But I didn’t give. LOL!!! I made it again and used 1/2 diced tomatoes and 1/2 Oliverio’s peppers (which I pulsed in the processor). Try it, you’ll like it!

Best Deep-dish I've ever had. I used a 12" iron skillet and Chef John's HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE PIZZA SAUCE. 3 cups sauce was perfect.

will make with proper cheese next time still amazing!

Excellent!! Possibly my new favorite pizza pie.