Meatball Pizza

Yield: 2 pizzas - 6-8 servings

For the meatballs:

• 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

For the pizza dough:

• 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

For the pizza sauce:

• 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

For the pizza toppings:

• 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

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.

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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.