Chipotle Pulled Pork Pizza

Here's another use for the leftover chipotle pulled pork. This was made with a portion that I had frozen in a zip top bag. I decided to make this at 5 this afternoon and by 7 we had a homemade pizza better than anything we could have ordered. Normally if I am planning to make pizza, I make the dough early in the day so that it has plenty of time to rise, but this worked out just fine.

I added fresh rosemary and red pepper flakes to the dough to give the crust a little extra zing. I also went very lightly on the cheese because we are still recuperating from the holidays and so I have been cutting back wherever I can without compromising the flavor. Feel free to add more cheese if you're so inclined. We didn't miss it at all. The spinach is also of the frozen variety. This entire pizza was made with either staples that I always have on hand or something that I pulled from the freezer, but you would never guess that by the taste. Here's what you'll need:

  • 1 recipe pizza dough ( I added about 1 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1 TBL fresh rosemary)
  • olive oil
  • ricotta cheese
  • chipotle pulled pork
  • 1 shallot
  • parmesan cheese, grated
  • fresh rosemary, chopped
  • serrano pepper
  • frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture

Start by rolling out the pizza dough. We like it pretty thin, but if you like it thick that works too.

Drizzle the crust with olive oil. I added a little red pepper infuse olive oil as well.

Add the pulled pork.

Add the spinach.

Thinly slice the shallot and separate into rings and add to the pizza.

Slice the Serrano pepper and add. I leave the seeds in because we like spicy food, but remove the seeds if you want a milder flavor. 

Mince the fresh rosemary and add.

Now add as much ricotta as you want. I just spoon on dollops.

Top all of the ingredients with the greated parmesan.

Bake on a pizza stone in a preheated 500 degree oven until the crust is brown.

At this point I should say that I can't live without my pizza stones. If you want a crust that is really crisp on the outside but still tender on the inside, you need to use a pizza stone. Cookie sheets and the metal pizza pans just don't do the trick. I keep my stone in the oven all the time so I don't have to worry about storing them. They also have the added benefit of keeping the temperature of the oven even.

Enjoy!

Lynn



Chipotle Pulled Pork (and a bunch of ideas for the leftovers)

I love something that I can put in the oven and forget about and this pork recipe fits the bill. It also makes enough to have plenty leftover for meals later in the week. I'll put some suggestions for the leftovers at the bottom of this post. Here's what you'll need: 

  • 1 pork shoulder butt
  • 2-3 yellow onions
  • 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 1 can cola
  • 1 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Slice the onions and layer them on the bottom of the roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the pork and set it on top of the onions. 

Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the pork, pour the cola in the pan, and dump the chipotle peppers and the sauce over the top. Cover tightly with foil and put in the oven. Cook for at least 6 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in the middle reaches 185 degrees. The exact time will vary depending on the size of the pork.

When it's fully cooked, remove it from the oven and carefully take off the foil. Using 2 forks, shred the meat. Serve with some of the juice and some of the onions. This is so tender and juicy! You're going to love it!

The first night I make this, I serve it just like this with a couple of side dishes. You can use the leftovers a million different ways. If you click on these links, you can check out some of my favorites: 

As you can see, I could go on and on...

Enjoy, 

Lynn