Buffalo Chicken Calzone is a delicious marriage of two tasty foods with an American spin. Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers Wood Fired Oven for creamy, spicy and cheesy chicken wrapped up in soft pizza dough. Served with a homemade blue cheese dressing dipping sauce, this recipe will turn pizza night into calzone night.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- The chicken gets shredded and sauced before it ever sees the oven. Mixing the buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and mozzarella into the shredded chicken first means every bite of filling is already seasoned, instead of relying on sauce poured over the top later.
- Dough gets a cold rest before shaping. Refrigerating the divided dough balls for at least half an hour firms up the gluten, making it easier to roll out to a full 12–14" round without it springing back or tearing.
- Vents cut into the top do real work. Slicing a few small openings before baking lets steam escape as the filling heats, which keeps the calzone from bursting open at a seam instead.
- The blue cheese dressing doubles as more than a dip. Blending most of the blue cheese smooth and folding the rest in as chunks gives the dressing both a creamy base and texture, and it holds in the fridge for up to a week if you want to make it ahead.
Buffalo Chicken Calzone
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
Italian
Servings
8
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Calories
577
Experience the perfect combination of flavor and texture with our Buffalo Chicken Calzone! Enjoy creamy, spicy, and cheesy chicken, expertly wrapped in pizza dough from our Yoder Smokers Wood Fired Oven. Served with a delicious homemade blue cheese dipping sauce - this is sure to make your next pizza night a calzone night!
Ingredients
- 4 each (~1 1/2 lb) chicken thighs
-
Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 12 oz (3 cups) low moisture mozzarella, grated
-
extra virgin olive oil, for brushing on the surface
-
Cornhusker Kitchen Duck Fat Cooking Spray
- 325g (1 cup 7 tbsp) warm water (110ºF)
-
5g (1 1/2 tsp) Caputo Dry Yeast
-
500g (3 1/4 cup) Antimo Caputo “00” Pizza Flour
-
10g (1 tbsp) Jacobsen Kosher Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup Heat Mavericks Anti Gravity Hot Sauce
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp cayenne
-
1 tsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
-
1/2 tsp Bear & Burton’s W Sauce Worcestersire
- 4 oz (~3/4-1 cup) blue cheese crumbles, divided
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp buttermilk
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
-
1 tsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
Pizza Dough
Buffalo Sauce
Blue cheese dressing
Directions
- To make the pizza dough, pour the warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, then the salt. With the mixer fitted with the hook attachment, mix on medium-low (2nd gear on the KitchenAid) until a ball is formed, about 1 minutes. Once all ingredients are incorporated and a ball is formed mix 7 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size.
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Roll each half into a ball, place in an oiled container. Cover. Refrigerate at least half an hour before use.
- To make the blue cheese dressing, combine half of the blue cheese with the remaining ingredients in the pitcher of a blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a storage container. Add the remaining blue cheese crumbles and stir. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Preheat your Yoder smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 500ºF with the Yoder Smokers Wood Fired Oven installed. Preheat a Lodge 10.5”x15.5” Cast Iron Bakeware Pan inside the oven for 5 minutes.
- Season chicken thighs with Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub. Spray the cast iron with duck fat. Transfer the chicken to the preheated skillet. Cook until seared on the bottom, then flip. Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 175ºF, about 12-15 minutes.
- At the same time, make the buffalo sauce. Place a Lodge 8” Steel Skillet on top of the wood fired oven. Add all ingredients to the skillet. Let the butter melt and sauce begin to simmer. Whisk well. Remove from the grill and let cool slightly.
- Shred the chicken by hand. Mix the chicken with the buffalo sauce, cream cheese and mozzarella.
Roll out your pizza dough to 12”-14” diameter. Add half of the filling. Wet the edge of the dough with water and a brush and fold the dough over the filling. Wet the edge and crimp by hand. Slice a few small vents into the top of the calzone. Brush the top with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub over the top.
- Using a floured pizza peel, transfer the calzone to the wood fired oven attachment. Bake for five minutes, then spin and bake until golden brown on top and browned on bottom, about five to six minutes longer. Remove from the oven. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.
- Slice each calzone into 3-4 wedges and serve with the blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why refrigerate the dough before rolling it out?
A cold rest of at least 30 minutes relaxes the gluten, which makes the dough easier to stretch to a full 12–14" round without it fighting back or tearing as you shape it.
Why mix the sauce and cheese into the chicken before assembling the calzone?
Combining the shredded chicken with the buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and mozzarella first means the filling is fully seasoned and cohesive, rather than relying on the folded dough to somehow distribute a sauce poured in separately.
Why cut small vents into the top of the calzone before baking?
The vents let built-up steam from the filling escape gradually. Without them, pressure can build and cause the dough to burst open at a seam instead of staying sealed.
What internal temperature should the chicken thighs reach?
This recipe correctly targets 175°F internal for the thighs, which is comfortably above USDA's 165°F minimum for poultry.
Can the blue cheese dressing be made ahead?
Yes — it holds well in the refrigerator for up to a week, so it's a good component to make a day or two before you plan to serve the calzones.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — the dough, filling, and dressing can all be made in a standard kitchen; a very hot home oven (as close to 500°F as it will go) with a pizza stone will get you close to the wood-fired result.
Recipe Highlights
Cold-resting the divided dough: Refrigerating the dough balls before rolling firms up the gluten structure, making the dough far easier to stretch into a full round without springing back.
Pre-mixing the filling: Combining shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and mozzarella before it goes into the dough means every bite of the finished calzone is evenly seasoned.
Venting before baking: A few small slices on top let steam escape as the filling heats, preventing the dough from splitting open under pressure in the oven.
Resting after baking: Letting the calzone sit for 15 minutes before slicing keeps the molten cheese and sauce filling from spilling out the moment you cut into it.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 1 wedge
- per serving
- Calories
- 577
- Fat
- 22 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 10 grams
- Cholesterol
- 122 milligrams
- Sodium
- 1647 milligrams
- Carbs
- 51 grams
- Fiber
- 1 grams
- Sugar
- 1 grams
- Protein
- 41 grams
