Tony’s popular recipe: Detroit Pizza

By pdmgu.com 01/19/2025 #pizza

Pizza Expo is almost here, so it’s time to pay tribute to a style that won it all several years ago: Detroit.

I remember having Shawn Randazzo at one of my seminars several years ago and telling the audience that this guy might win it all the next day… and he did. The following year, Jeff Smokevitch won with his Detroit pizza. It was a style that was relatively new to the competition circuit and it was the beginning of a renaissance. Here is a recipe for one of the most popular Detroit pizzas at my restaurants. I call it The Motorhead. Enjoy!

Tony’s popular recipe: Detroit Pizza

Author: Pizza today

Type of recipe: pizza

1 18-ounce dough ball
8 ounces white cheddar
6 ounces of brick cheese
2 ounces whole milk mozzarella
8 ounces of tomato sauce
2 ounces cup-n-char pepperoni
1 ounce sliced Italian salami
1.75 ounces of mushrooms
2 ounces precooked bacon bits
2 ounces raw Italian sausage (nickel size)
1½ ounces ricotta
0.2 ounce basil chiffonade
Unsalted butter or Crisco
Torn Romano
Dry oregano
Olive oil

Mix white cheddar, brick and mozzarella cheese together in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the sauce over medium heat with a splash of oil. Stir continuously and keep warm.
Butter has 10 x 14 Detroit pan.
Push the dough out to the corners of the pan. Make sure the dough is coated with butter or Crisco. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1-1½ hours.
Par-bake pizza in a 525-550 F oven.
Remove the pizza from the oven and place the following ingredients on it in this order: salami, mushrooms, pepperoni, bacon and sausage. Make sure you leave a ½-inch border of the ingredients away from the cheese.
Spread your cheese evenly over the entire pizza to the edge of the pan. Carefully push the cheese to the edge and build an inner wall against the pan.
By building the cheese against the inner wall of the pan, you achieve a nice crown of roasted caramelized cheese if it is baked correctly. Continue cooking the pizza.
When done, carefully chisel the pizza out of the pan with a thin metal spatula. You may need to let the pizza sit for a few minutes after baking before doing this. This will make it easier for the edges to come off.
Cut into desired slices. I prefer four so everyone gets a corner.
Add sauce in two stripes across the top of the pizza.
Finish with Romano, dollops of ricotta, basil and oregano.