The Magnificent Mile Sausage Shield
Chapter 2 — The Sauces & Toppings
A Chicago deep-dish pizza is not a casserole; it is a masterpiece of thermodynamic engineering. The dough is a short, pastry-like crust fortified with corn oil and butter, built strictly to hold back a flood of molten dairy and crushed tomatoes. Suspended between them is the shield: a raw web of seventy-thirty pork butt that renders its fat straight into the crumb while venting steam through intentional gaps. Treat these baker's percentages with absolute reverence, respect the conduction heat of your baking steel, and you will understand exactly why this magnificent beast commands the respect of the Second City.
Before you start
Begin the dough twenty-four hours in advance.
This cold ferment is non-negotiable for proper starch hydration and authentic flavor development.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour440 g
- warm water220 g
- corn oil55 g
- unsalted butter55 g
- active dry yeast3 g
- kosher salt3 g
- ground pork butt450 g
- ice water35 g
- kosher salt7 g
- black pepper1 g
- garlic powder1 1/2 g
- sugar1 g
- fennel seed1 1/2 g
- low-moisture part-skim mozzarella450 g
- mild provolone150 g
- crushed tomatoes400 g
- dried oregano1 tsp
- Pecorino Romano30 g
Method
- 01
Mix the short dough and initiate the cold ferment.
In a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water until frothy, then add the corn oil and melted butter. Add the flour and three grams of salt, mixing on low just until combined, then knead for exactly two minutes—no more—to prevent gluten formation. Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- 02
Establish the primary bind for the sausage shield.
Whisk the remaining seven grams of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, sugar, and fennel seed into the ice water. Pour this over the extremely cold ground pork and knead vigorously by hand for two to three minutes until the meat transitions from crumbly to a sticky, cohesive mass. Refrigerate for at least two hours to cure.
- 03
Calibrate the oven and prepare the baking matrix.
Place a baking steel on the lowest rack of your oven and preheat to 450°F for at least one hour to replicate the intense bottom-conduction heat of a professional deck oven. Generously grease a 14-inch deep-dish pan with corn oil or solid shortening.
- 04
Shape the dough and construct the cheese foundation.
Remove the dough from the fridge ninety minutes prior to baking. Press it evenly across the bottom and one and a half inches up the sides of the pan, pinching the top edge to create a thin rim. Shingle the sliced provolone and mozzarella directly onto the raw dough, pressing tightly into the corners to form an impermeable seal.
- 05
Apply the raw sausage web.
Take small, quarter-sized pinches of the cold, cured sausage and flatten them between your fingers, laying them over the cheese. Connect the pieces into a loose web, ensuring you leave tiny gaps to allow steam to vent; do not create a solid, impenetrable puck.
- 06
Crown with tomatoes and bake.
Spread the drained crushed tomatoes evenly over the sausage shield and dust generously with dried oregano and Pecorino Romano. Bake on the preheated steel for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting loosely with foil at the 25-minute mark if the tomatoes begin to char.
- 07
Rest the pizza to set the internal structure.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit undisturbed for ten minutes so the cheese sets and the rendered pork fat reabsorbs. Carefully lift the pie out with a spatula, cut into wedges, and serve immediately.
Notes
Do not pre-cook the sausage.
Applying the meat raw ensures it bastes the pie from the inside out. The forty-minute bake will easily bring it well past food-safety temperatures.
Drain your tomatoes relentlessly.
Failing to remove the excess liquid from the crushed tomatoes will compromise the structural integrity of the sausage shield and turn the pastry crust into a swamp.