Jalapeño Popper Pizza
-
By Tom Jackson
- Sep 25, 2020

Recipe Items
Chef Tom fires up the Clementi Clementino Wood Fired Oven for his Jalapeño Popper Pizza featuring scratch-made dough, cheese stuffed jalapeños, smokehouse bacon, blue cheese crumbles and buttermilk dressing!
Jalapeño Popper Pizza Recipe
Yield: 3 – 12” pizzas
Ingredients
- 1 batch pizza dough, divided into 3 dough balls (recipe here)
- Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce
- Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (recipe below)
- 8 oz low moisture mozzarella cheese
- 18 jalapeño poppers (recipe below)
- 8 oz bacon, diced (recipe video here)
- 4 oz smoked blue cheese crumbles
- Fresh parsley, minced, for garnish
For the Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Noble Saltworks Hickory Smoked Salt
- Black pepper, to taste
For the jalapeño poppers:
- 9 whole jalapeños
- 4 oz white cheddar, fine grated
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 tbsp Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub
Instructions
Build a fire in your Clementi Clementino. Slide the fire off to the side with the fire basket. Continue to feed the fire small splits of wood and stabilize the temperature around 600ºF.
To make the Jalapeño Poppers:
Slice off the stem, then slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and ribs.
Combine the cheeses and Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub. Mix well.
Scoop the cheese filling into the halved jalapeños. Place in a Lodge 10” Cast Iron Griddle and transfer to the refrigerator.
To make the Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To make the pizza:
Render the diced bacon over medium-low heat in a skillet until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Transfer the chilled jalapeño poppers to the 600ºF oven. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the tops are browned, the cheese is bubbling and the jalapeño begins to soften. Remove from the grill.
Add splits of wood to the oven to increase the temperature to about 800ºF.
Stretch one of your pizza dough balls to roughly 12” wide. Place on a floured pizza peel.
You might also enjoy: Surf n Turf Pizza
Drizzle the buttermilk ranch dressing and Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce over the dough. Spread 2-3 oz mozzarella over the sauce and dough. Nestle 6 jalapeño poppers into the mozzarella, so that one popper will sit on each slice of pizza. Sprinkle bacon and blue cheese crumbles over the surface of the pizza.
Launch the pizza into the center of the deck of the oven. Place the door on the oven. Cook until the crust next to the fire is browned. Slide the pizza to the oven door opening. Spin the pizza around about 1/3. Slide back into the oven and replace the door. Repeat this process until all sides and the bottom of the pizza are browned. If the top needs more browning, lift the pizza up toward the top of the oven for 5-10 seconds. Remove from the oven.
Finish the Jalapeño Popper Pizza with an additional drizzle of the buttermilk ranch dressing and Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce. Top with minced fresh parsley. Slice in between the poppers to serve.