Pizza Puffs! (Chicago-style)

Pizza Puffs have got to be Chicago’s most slept on delicacy. I get it, it’s no frills. The humble pizza puff is an amalgamation of modern-day food science and our unending quest for convenience in everything we do. Maybe it’s not the best food to tout as one’s own? False.

The pizza puff has got to be one of THE MOST AMERICAN things that you can put in your body. Long story short, an Assyrian immigrant named Elisha Shabaz got a job with a Mexican man selling tamales in a street cart sometime in the early 1900s. Flash forward 20 some odd years and Shabaz ends up buying the tamale business from the Mexican man and runs it with much success. Sometime in the mid-1900s, a Pizza craze hit Chicago and hotdog stands had to compete. Hotdog stand owners asked Shabaz if he could make something that could compete and BOOM! The Pizza Puff was born.

Walk into ANY hotdog stand here in Chicago and you’re going to see a pizza puff, or sometimes called “Beef/Sausage/Cheese Pies''. I’m not here to bash Shabaz and his legendary company (his little tamales are famous and dank in their own special way, too), I’m only trying to find a way to recreate the magic at home... but yes... this version slaps. You’ll just have to tell me if you think it slaps harder than the O.G. Let's cook 🤘🏼 Adam

Yield: 6

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Homemade Pizza Puffs!

Ingredients

Dough

• 680g All-Purpose Flour
• 100g Lard
• 7g Kosher Salt
• 360g Water, warm (90F)

Meat Sauce Filling

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, small dice
• ½ Green Bell Pepper, small dice
• ½ Red Bell Pepper, small dice
• 1 Russet Potato, small dice
• 1 ½ pounds Italian Sausage
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning *see below
• ½ cup Red Wine
• 1 (28 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste
• MSG, to taste

Italian Spice Blend

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Fennel Seed
• 2 tsp Coriander Seed
• 2 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Dried Basil
• 1 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Red Chili Flake

Assemble

• 1 pound Full-fat Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
• Parmesan Cheese, grated for garnish (optional)
• Neutral Oil, for frying

Instructions

Dough

1. In a large bowl, work the soft lard into the flour with your fingers making sure to leave no large chunks of fat.
2. Dissolve the salt into the warm water, then create a well made of flour in the center of the bowl and pour in the salt water. In the bowl, knead the dough until it becomes semi smooth.
3. Divide the dough into 6 portions and situate them on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Follow the remaining directions for sauce, assembly and frying.

Meat Sauce Filling

1. To a large, high-sided pan over medium heat, add olive oil, onions and a pinch of salt. Sweat the onions for a minute, then add green pepper, red pepper, potato and another pinch of salt, cooking for 5 more minutes. Add in the Italian sausage and break it up with your cooking utensil until the meat is crumbly and there are no large pieces.
2. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes, until the tomato paste begins to stick to the bottom of the pan. Pour in the red wine to deglaze, scraping the cooked vegetables from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Season with more salt, black pepper and a pinch of MSG, then allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Set the mixture aside and allow to cool to room temperature before assembling the pizza puffs. Speed up the cooling process by scooping the sauce onto a sheet tray and sticking it in the freezer while you work on the dough.

Assemble

1. Preheat the oven to 400F AND preheat a heavy-bottomed, high-sided pot with neutral frying oil to 375F.
2. Roll out each piece of dough to ⅙ inch thickness, no need to flour the work surface - the dough is high fat and will not stick easily. Do not make the dough too thick, or it will not cook evenly.
3. Place 2-3 tablespoons of grated mozzarella in the center of the rolled out dough, then a couple tablespoons of the cooled meat sauce, finally top with 2-3 tablespoons of more mozzarella. Fold the pizza puff up into a square pocket and gently press it down to flatten slightly (see video).
4. Fry the pizza puff, seam side down for 4-5 minutes, then flip and repeat for an additional 3 minutes. Once the pizza puffs are golden, remove them from the oil and drain on a wire rack fitted onto a sheet tray. Repeat until all 6 pizza puffs have been fried once.
5. Bake the pizza puffs in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the pizza puffs from the oven and allow them to rest for 5 minutes before serving… or the roof of your mouth is TOAST.
6. Optionally, for a “chicken parm type beat,” top the pizza puff with more sauce followed by more grated mozzarella cheese and broil it until the cheese browns. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese, then CRUSH!

Adam's Notes

• This is sort of an American version of a Panerotti (a fried calzone). You’ll be able to find these at any self-respecting hotdog stand in Chicago.
• The pizza puff was invented in the 1970s and has a very cool story. Steve Dolinsky, a Chicago-based food media person has an excellent piece on the food history behind the puff - peep it here.
• Finishing the pizza puffs in the oven ensures that the dough is cooked through. If done in the fryer it’s harder to control the cook before the pizza puffs overcook on the outside, but remain raw on the inside.
• A finished pizza puff should have a crispy exterior and gooey, molten interior. It is okay if your dough is still slightly soft and semi-translucent, but it should not be raw. If the dough is raw, cook the pizza puffs for an extra 5 minutes until they are cooked to your liking.

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