Buffalo Chicken Calzone
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By Tom Jackson
- May 12, 2023

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.
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
- Saica Sicilian Extra Virigin Olive Oil, for brushing on the surface
- Spray Duck Fat
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 Kosher Sea Salt
Buffalo Sauce:
- 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
Blue Cheese Dressing:
- 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
Instructions
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.
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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 Saica Sicilian Extra Virigin 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.
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Slice each calzone into 3-4 wedges and serve with the blue cheese dressing for dipping.
8 servings.