Let Chef Tom show you how easy it is to enjoy the authentic taste of a traditional Italian pizza with his Meatball Pizza Recipe. Using scratch-made meatballs, San Marzano tomatoes and easy pizza dough, try this recipe for a great slice.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Steaming the meatballs in a covered skillet before pizza baking: Adding a splash of water and covering the skillet lets the meatballs cook through gently first, so they don't dry out before ever hitting the high heat of the pizza oven.
- Grated truffle salami mixed into the meatball blend: Grating dry salami directly into the beef-pork mixture distributes concentrated umami and truffle flavor evenly through every bite, instead of leaving it as a separate topping.
- Squeezing the shallots dry before mixing: Removing excess moisture from the grated shallots keeps the meatball mixture from turning wet and loose, helping the balls hold their shape both in the skillet and on the pizza.
- Slicing the meatballs in half before topping the pizza: Halving them exposes more surface area to the sauce and cheese, and lets them lie flat against the dough instead of rolling around as whole spheres.
Meatball Pizza
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
6-8
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
11 minutes
Calories
804
Chef Tom fires up the Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven for Meatball Pizza featuring scratch-made meatballs, fresh San Marzano tomato sauce and easy pizza dough!
Ingredients
-
8 oz Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Ground Beef
- 8 oz ground pork
- 4 oz black truffle dry salami, grated on a box grater
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup pecorino romano, finely grated
- 1/4 cup shallots, grated, squeezed dry in towel
- 2 cloves garlic, grated on microplane
-
1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning
- 1 tbsp pesto
- 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 Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
-
1 1/2 cups canned Ciao San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 6-8 basil leaves
-
1 1/2 tsp Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning
- 12 meatballs, halved (recipe above)
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella pearls
- 1/4 cup (2 oz) ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup (1/2 oz) powdered Pecorino Romano cheese
- 12 pickled sweet peppers, sliced
For the meatballs:
For the pizza dough:
For the pizza sauce:
For the pizza toppings:
Directions
- To make the 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 minute. Once all ingredients are incorporated and a ball is formed mix 8 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size.
- Turn out 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 pizza sauce, combine all ingredients and blend or process to desired consistency. Store in refrigerator.
- Preheat your Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven over high heat (15-20 minutes before you’re ready to cook).
- To make the meatballs, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Using the paddle attachment, start mixing the meatballs slowly, then gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Beat the mixture until it becomes tacky and holds together, about 60-90 seconds.
- Form the meatball mixture into 12 (2 oz) balls. Transfer to an oiled Finex 12” Cast Iron Skillet and cover with the lid. Add about 1/4 cup water to the skillet to help steam the meatballs (don’t worry the meatballs will form a nice crust when cooking on top of the pizza later).
- Turn the oven heat down to low. Slide the skillet into the oven and position on the side of the deck furthest from the flame. Cook for about 10 minutes until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 155ºF, shaking and rotating the skillet occasionally to cook evenly.
- Remove the meatballs from the skillet. Let cool, then slice each meatball in half.
- To make the pizza, first stretch the pizza dough thin on a floured pizza peel. The dough should be roughly the same size as your peel, about 12” in diameter. Make sure there is just enough flour on the peel to keep the dough moving when shaking the peel.
Top the dough with enough pizza sauce to cover the entire surface. Arrange 12 meatball halves cut side down on the sauce. Distribute half of the mozzarella pearls over the sauce, as well as dollops of half of the ricotta. Add sliced pickled peppers and sprinkle the pecorino Romano over everything.
- Shoot the pizza onto the deck of the pizza oven. Turn the heat to medium. Rotate the pizza every 30 seconds to brown evenly, cooking until the crust is browned on the bottom and around the edges and the cheese on top is melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and repeat with the remaining ingredients for a second Meatball Pizza.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why steam the meatballs in a covered skillet before adding them to the pizza?
Adding a splash of water and covering the skillet lets the meatballs cook through gently first. They still form a nice crust later when they finish browning on top of the pizza in the high heat of the oven.
Why grate truffle salami directly into the meatball mixture?
Grating it in distributes concentrated umami and truffle flavor evenly through every bite, rather than leaving it as a separate topping that only some bites would get.
Why squeeze the grated shallots dry before mixing them in?
Removing excess moisture keeps the meatball mixture from turning wet and loose, helping the balls hold their shape both while steaming in the skillet and later on the pizza.
Why slice the meatballs in half before topping the pizza?
Halving them exposes more surface area to the sauce and cheese and lets them sit flat against the dough, instead of whole spheres that would roll around and cook unevenly.
What internal temperature should the meatballs actually reach?
Step 8 pulls them at 155°F, but USDA's minimum safe internal temperature for a ground beef and pork blend is 160°F. Cook to at least 160°F in the skillet before transferring them to the pizza, rather than relying on the additional oven time to make up the difference.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
2 out of 5 — the dough, sauce, and meatballs can all be made indoors, but achieving the high, even heat a pizza oven provides for the final bake is difficult to replicate in a home oven.
Recipe Highlights
Steamed-then-baked meatballs: Cooks through gently before crisping on the pizza.
Grated truffle salami: Distributes umami flavor evenly through the mixture.
Dried shallots: Keeps the mixture firm enough to hold its shape.
Halved meatball toppings: Sits flat against the dough for even melting and browning.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 23.11 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 804
- Carbs
- 85 grams
- Protein
- 42 grams
- Fat
- 30 grams
- Sodium
- 1398 milligrams
