Barbecue chicken and pork belly pizza

Or, what to do with that leftover pork belly and roasted chicken

Lunch
Dinner
Leftovers

My Thoughts

With it just being me and The Picky Eater in the house (okay and the furry ones) we end up with a lot of leftovers, especially when I roast a chicken or smoke something in the smoker. That's where this pizza came from. This is a great way to use up the leftovers from that roasted chicken that doesn't feel like eating leftovers, plus The Picky Eater really likes barbecue chicken pizzas, so there you go. But, to be honest it needed something else and it was summer and I had smoked a pork belly (it was summer and, I mean, I made bacon people!) so I diced some of that and tossed it with some some of the honey sriracha and that was what it was missing. The pork belly adds a smoky sweetness that the chicken just couldn't bring to the party. FYI, if you're not using leftovers, use bacon and you can use chicken from you deli or roast off a chicken breast. That will make your bake much easier

The How To Do It

  1. Preheat your oven to 500°. That's as high as my oven will go. If your oven can go higher then by all means go for it.
  2. Spray the pizza peel, pizza pan, or any baking sheet that can stand the heat with non-stick spray. Stretch out your pizza dough out onto the peel. Okay, no, I did not skip some steps. I don't make my own pizza dough. Chalk it up to being too lazy, but I just don't. I get fresh made dough from one of the local grocery stores I use. Honestly, I don't think I could do better though I will probably give it a try someday. At least not enough better to make it worth the cleanup.
  3. I like to roll the edges of the pizza dough and brush them with melted butter and granulated garlic. This is completely optional, but it does leave you with some tasty bread stick-like bits.
  4. Use a fork to poke holes into the dough so that the steam that builds up as the dough heats can escape. Otherwise you get giant bubbles all over the pizza and frequently the toppings will fall off.
  5. Cover the dough with the barbecue sauce. Don't worry the recipe follows or use your favorite store bought kind. The recipe after this is the same one as the sauce for the ribs.
  6. Slide the dough with the sauce into the oven and let it bake for about 2 1/2 minutes. This allows the dough to partially bake and the sauce to dry out a bit. Otherwise I end up with really soggy pizza dough at burns on one side and is flabby on the other. This may be my oven however, so live and learn.
  7. Slice the mozzarella thin and add it to the pie. I use fresh mozzarella from the deli at the same grocery store I get the dough from. You can also use grated mozzarella but it doesn't melt as nicely or get as stringy.
  8. Grate the provolone and sprinkle it on the dough.
  9. Thinly slice the red onion and place it on the pizza. Thinner is better here, at least in my opinion. That is the opinion of my wife (aka, The Picky Eater) as well, but that's because she is not a fan of onions.
  10. Roughly chop the cilantro and sprinkle a little less than half onto the pie.
  11. Cut up the chicken (you can shred it with your hands too) and add it to the dough. Instead of using left over roasted chicken, you can roast a chicken breast and use it.
  12. Dice the pork belly into roughly 1/4" cubes and toss it onto the crust. You can also use bacon for this, but I would suggest partially cooking it before putting it on the pizza. It will be a little iffy as to whether or not it cooks all the way if you put it on raw. The pork belly has already been cooked so there's no worry there.
  13. Slide the pizza into the oven and let it cook for 6-9 minutes. For my oven it takes 7 1/2 minutes, but it may (and probably will) vary for you. Keep an eye on it until you're sure.
  14. Remove the pizza and let cool.
  15. Drizzle the honey sriracha sauce on the pizza and sprinkle the remaining cilantro.

Bad Murphy Barbecue Sauce

  1. Mince one medium shallot. I like shallots for this because they are a little milder in taste and a little sweeter, but you could use a quarter of a red onion if that's what you've got.
  2. If you are using the completely optional hot peppers, dice them up now. If you are using the peppers be sure to wear latex gloves and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES! The capsaicin (the chemical in a pepper that makes it hot) can make your skin burn as well as your mouth and I cannot even imagine getting it in my eyes (best to beware of touching ANY sensitive parts).
  3. Sauté the shallots (and peppers if you are going that route) in a medium saucepan.
  4. Another warning about the peppers. Be careful about leaning over the pot while sauteing. The capsaicin can be vaporized with the water and get into your eyes as well. It wouldn't be quite as bad as getting it directly in, but it still would not be fun.
  5. Add the beer (I use something like a summer ale - light, fruity and not too strong of a flavor) and let cook for about five minutes.
  6. Add the ketchup, molasses, honey, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, spicy mustard, and apple cider vinegar and stir to combine.
  7. Next, add all the dry ingredients and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. This is to let the dry spices heat up and release any stored-up oils into the sauce (it just tastes better when you do this).
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Smoked pork belly

  1. Preheat your smoker to 225°.
  2. Score the skin side of the pork belly with a sharp knife. I actually cut almost all the way through the skin. This allows the oil, rub, and smoke to get into the meat from all sides. Also, when we put the pork belly in the oven later, it allows the skin to puff up and get crazy crispy.
  3. Coat the pork belly with olive oil, and generously sprinkle with the dry rub (don't worry, the recipe follows this one and it is the same one used for the ribs).
  4. Place the pork belly in the smoker. The time I listed above can vary quite a bit depending on how large a piece a meat you have and even is it thinker and shorter or long and thinner. You're going to want to use a thermometer to keep up on the internal temp. You're aiming for 165° here.
  5. About 15 minutes before you are finished smoking the pork belly, you will want to preheat your oven to 450°.
  6. Once the pork belly is finished in the smoker, place it on a baking sheet skin side up, drizzle oil on it and put it in the oven.
  7. Roast the pork belly until the skin starts to puff up and blister. This should take not more than 15 minutes and will probably take a lot less, so keep a close eye on it or the skin will burn (that's not tasty, but the dog will still eat it).
  8. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes and maybe even longer. You'll know that it is cool enough when you can hold it comfortably in one hand to stabilize it for cutting. This is the hard part because this piece of porky heaven smells amazing when it comes out of the oven. If you don't though, you will have a rough time cutting into it. It needs to cool down so the fat inside it can solidify a bit. Cutting into it when it is screaming hot will make it almost impossible to cut into slices. Also, you run the risk of having lava-hot fat come flying out of the thing. It is not pleasant. Actually, it is insanely painful. How do I know? Let's just say I know and move on. And we won't mentioned again.
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Ingredients

Barbecue chicken and pork belly pizza
1 lbs
pizza dough
¾ lbs
mozzarella
1 cup
provolone
¼ cup
red onion
¼ lbs
roasted chicken
¼ lbs
smoked pork belly
½ cup
cilantro
3 tbsp
unsalted butter
1 tsp
granulated garlic
¼ cup
honey sriracha sauce
Barbecue sauce
2 cups
ketchup
1 med
shallot
½ cup
beer
¼ cup
molasses
¼ cup
honey
1 tbsp
dijon mustard
1 tbsp
hot whole grain mustard
1 tsp
cayenne pepper
1 tsp
ancho chili powder
1 tsp
chipolte chili powder
2 tsp
granulated garlic
1 tbsp
smoked paprika
1 tsp
smoked tumeric
1 tbsp
Worcestershire sauce
½ cup
apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp
avocado oil
½ tsp
kosher salt
½ tsp
black pepper
Smoked Pork Belly
1 ½ lbs
pork belly - skin on
1 tbsp
olive oil
¼ cup
dry rub
*This is a guess. It depends on the size.
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