OK, so in the south, “Hawaiian” pizza comes with Canadian bacon on it. Apparently, most of my northern friends have never heard of such a thing. “Hawaiian” pizza up here comes with ham as a replacement for the Canadian bacon, and it’s just “understood” to be the same thing….I can assure you it’s not! Canadian bacon is a real thing, and it’s a cut of meat that comes from the back of the pig, hence the name “Canadian.” It’s literally north of the bacon (which comes from the belly in case you were wondering).
Ok, biology rant out of the way, I can’t find Canadian bacon up here where I now live. That being said, my preferred substitute is actually salami. Because it’s delicious and is a nice, salty meat to balance out the sweetness of the fresh pineapple. If you have access to real Canadian bacon, by all means, use it if you’d like!
So, most people typically like pizza sauce as a base for their pizzas. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that for several of my favorite pizzas, this one included, I prefer a simpler approach. I brush oil all over my crust and then sprinkle garlic powder and Italian seasonings over it. Simple and delicious. That said, if you prefer pizza sauce, go for it. There’s not a wrong option here.
Next, it’s important to note that I prefer to use fresh cut pineapple over canned. I use this nifty tool here (pictured above) to take the headache out of cutting my pineapple and finishing the job in less than a minute. Whether you opt for fresh or canned, it’s IMPORTANT to pat as much moisture from the pieces you use with a paper towel before putting them on the pizza.
Anyway, once you’ve got your pizza dough rolled out and on a floured pizza pan, it’s time to assemble. Spread the base you chose over the pizza, then add plenty of shredded mozzarella. Last, lay out the salami slices and the pineapple.
Bake in a preheated oven at 450 for 10-15 minutes, or for even more flavor, toss it in a smoker like this one for 10-15 minutes at 450. When the crust is golden and the cheese is melty, take it out, slice it, and enjoy! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments!
Hawaiian Pizza
Equipment
- Oven or Smoker
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough crust
- dash oil
- dash garlic powder
- dash Italian seasoning
- mozzarella cheese shredded
- 7 slices salami
- ½-1 cup fresh pineapple chunks dried as much as possible on paper towels
Instructions
- For this recipe, you will need a pizza dough crust spread out over a floured pizza cooking tray. I recommend my Perfect Pizza Dough recipe, which makes 2 pizzas worth of dough.
To Assemble:
- Once the pizza dough is spread out over the floured pizza tray, add the oil and brush around the entire pizza. Then, sprinkle garlic powder and Italian seasoning lightly all over the pizza as well.If you'd rather have pizza sauce, you can use it instead of the oil and seasonings, but my family enjoys the simple oil base with this pizza.
- Next, top the pizza with as much mozzarella cheese as your heart desires.
- Then, spread out the salami and pineapple all over the top of the cheese.
To Cook:
- Option 1: My personal favorite. Prep/Turn on a smoker to 450° and smoke the pizza for 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts and starts browning, and the crust is crisp and golden.
- Option 2: Bake in a preheated oven at 450° for 10-15 minutes until cooked to the specifications in option 1 above. (12 minutes seems to be my oven's special number)
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