Get the Pork Belly and Honey Crisp Apples Pizza Recipe
Pork and fruit pairing: A Match Made in Heaven
Jay Z & Beyonce, peanut butter & jelly, ketchup & mustard, pork & fruit! It just works. Some things are simply made for each other, and I am sure by now you know that I love to mix pork and fruit for pizza toppings. It is an endless and seasonal pairing that you can have so much fun with. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, you will always find a perfect pork and fruit pairing.
Chris Decker, Managing Partner, Metro Pizza, Las Vegas
For this month, I am putting together for you the crunchy honey crisp apple that I have pickled in apple cider vinegar. The pickling gives it a punch of acid to accompany its already sweet flavor. The acid also prevents the apple from browning, so this will be an easy item for you to store and use later. Along with this fruit, I added some pork belly. We all love pork belly, right?! I slice it into lardons and fry it in a pan. Once browned I transfer the pork belly to a paper towel lined plate to get the excess fat off and to cool.
Next, what would you pair pork and apples with? I am from the East Coast, so for me it is a delicious cheddar. Get the best one you can find. I will give you a hint on great cheddar: it has to be white. Yellow cheddar is for school lunches. I just add a little bit to some whole milk mozzarella so it enhances the richness and does not overwhelm the pizza. Lastly, and sort of the secret assassin of this pizza, is the mustard greens. Tart, some say “hot” as far as flavor, but adding this and its pop of green color to this pizza is what really brings it all together.
Chris Decker is managing partner at Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, NV. Instagram: @everythingbutanchovies
- *For the pickled apples: 2 honey crisp apples
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- *For the Lardons: 6 ounces pork belly
- *For the mustard greens: 1 head, rinsed and dried. Cut around thick stalk and discard. Chop leafy greens into ribbons.
- *For the Pizza
- 8-10 ounce dough ball
- 2 ounces whole milk mozzarella
- 2 ounces cheddar
- Peel and quarter the apples, then dice to desired size. I did about a ¼-inch dice — not too big, not too small. Just enough to bite into and know that they are there.
- Add the apples to a container and set aside.
- While you are dicing the apples, add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a sauté pan and bring to a boil, stirring to make sure the sugar and salt dissolve in the solution.
- When the liquid comes to a rapid boil, pour it over the diced apples and let cool in the refrigerator, uncovered.
- When they are finally cool, wrap and set aside in the refrigerator for later. They will last for up to a week.
- For the pork belly lardons, I slice them into thick matchsticks and add to a pan on medium-high heat and cook evenly.
- Let cool on a towel lined plate.
- In that same pan add the chopped mustard greens and cook in the pork fat.
- Salt and pepper, to taste. I tend to go heavy with pepper on this as the pork fat is already salty.
- For the pizza, use an 8-10 ounce dough ball and stretch to desired size.
- Top with 2 ounces of whole milk mozzarella and 2 ounces of cheddar.
- Next, top with the sautéed greens and pork.
- Bake at 550 F for 8-10 minutes until your desired bake is achieved.
- Let cool, slice and then add the drained pickled apples.
Browse more pizza recipes from Chris Decker.
