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Chicago-style pizza is a deep-dish pizza style developed in Chicago. The term also sometimes refers to "stuffed" pizza, another Chicago style. True Chicago-style pizza features a buttery crust which stands up to 3 inches tall at the edges, slightly higher than the generous amounts of cheese and chunky tomato sauce, acting almost as a large bowl. Chicago also has many pizzerias serving thin-crust pizzas, some of which are in a style unique to the Windy City, but as a term Chicago-style pizza generally refers to deep-dish styles.
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The Chicago-style "deep-dish" pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno, in Chicago, in 1943,[1] reportedly by Uno's founder Ike Sewell, a former University of Texas football star. However, a 1956 article from the Chicago Daily News asserts that Uno's original pizza chef Rudy Malnati developed the recipe.[2]
The pizza begins with a simple, thick layer of dough (made with olive oil and cornmeal) that is laid into a deep round pan and pulled up the sides, then parbaked before the toppings are added to give it greater spring; the pan is generally oiled heavily in order to create a fried effect on the outside of the crust. The crust is covered with cheese (generally sliced mozarella) and covered with meats, usually in a solid layer, or patty, just above the crust, Italian sausage (a Chicago staple), as well as vegetables such as onions, mushrooms and bell peppers. A sauce, usually uncooked, of crushed or pureed tomatoes is then added. Typically this is finished with a grated cheese blend. On the usual pizza, about a pound of cheese is used.Template:Fact Deep-dish pizza is usually eaten with a knife and fork, since its thick gooeyness makes a slice of pizza larger than eight or ten inches messy to eat with the fingers.
Besides Uno, famous deep-dish restaurants include Uno's companion restaurant Due, which was opened just down the block by Sewell in 1955. However, a year before, in 1954, the Original Gino's Pizza, located on Rush Street, opened its doors, and 12 years later in 1966, Gino's East opened. Other deep dish restaurants include Edwardo's, Connie's, Giordano's, Carmen's, Bacino's, Pizano's (which is owned by Rudy Malnati's son, Rudy Jr.) and Lou Malnati's. Lou Malnati's was founded by another of Rudy Malnati's sons.
In 1972, the Chicago Tribune reported that a steakhouse chain called "Gulliby's at S.O.P." offered "pub dining rooms that feature deep-dish pizza and sandwiches."[3]
Chicago deep-dish pizza is famous throughout the world. Accordingly, many Chicago deep-dish pizza restaurants will ship their pizzas, partially baked, within the continental U.S.
By the mid-1970s, two Chicago chains, Nancy's Pizza, founded by Rocco Palese, and Giordano's Pizza began experimenting with deep dish pizza and created the stuffed pizza.[4] Palese based his creation on his mother's recipe for scarciedda, an Italian Easter pie from his hometown of Potenza.[5]. The Giordano brothers worked for Rocco as cooks and split off on their own in the early 70's. Chicago Magazine articles featuring Nancy's Pizza and Giordano's stuffed pizza popularized the dish.
Stuffed pizzas are often even taller than deep-dish pizzas, but otherwise, it can be hard to see the difference until it is cut into. A stuffed pizza generally has much higher topping density than any other type of pizza. As with deep-dish pizza, a thin layer of dough forms a bowl in a high-sided pan and the toppings and cheese are added. Then, an additional layer of dough goes on top and is pressed to the sides of the bottom crust.
At this stage, the thin dough top has a rounded, domed appearance. Pizza makers often tear a small hole in the top of the "lid" to allow air and steam to escape while cooking, so that the pizza does not explode and injure the pizza maker, and also to allow the sauce to permeate the pie. Pizza sauce is ladled over the top crust and the pizza is baked.
Pan pizza in Chicago is similar to the deep-dish style, and baked in a similar deep-sided pan, but its crust is quite thick -- a cross between the buttery crisp crust and focaccia. Toppings and cheese frequently go on the top of a pan pizza, rather than under the sauce as is traditionally the case with deep-dish and stuffed pizza. The placement of the cheese and toppings on top make the pan pizza variety similar to a thin-crust pizza with a thicker and larger crust.
There is also a thin-crust pizza unique to Chicago, generally described as such, but sometimes referred to as "flat" pizza.[6] The crust is thin and firm enough to have a noticeable crunch, unlike a New York-style pizza, yet thick enough to be soft and doughy on the top.
The crust is topped with a liberal quantity of Italian style tomato sauce, which is usually quite herbal or highly spiced, and typically contains no visible chunks of tomato. Next, a layer of toppings is added, and finally a layer of mozzarella cheese.
Traditionally, like St. Louis-style pizza, this pizza is cut into squares, also known as party cut, as opposed to a pie cut into wedges. However, the consistency of the crust and the quantity and choice of the tomato sauce and cheese are what separate this style from East Coast-, Roman- and St. Louis-style pizzas, and it makes the pizza from most neighborhood pizzerias immediately distinguishable from that offered by national chains such as Papa John's or Pizza Hut.
In rare instances, Chicago style thin-crust pizza is found outside the Chicago area. Giordano's has opened six restaurants in Florida, due to the large transient population which lives there, including a dense Midwestern contingent. Chicago export Casa Bianca, located in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles, is also well known for this style.
Most recipes resulting in a thick or heavy pizza require substantial cooking time, especially in the larger sizes, and at busy hours can result in a substantial wait for diners. An evening order for a medium pizza at Pizzeria Uno in Chicago can take 45 minutes or more between order and service.
Chicago restaurants who have franchised nationally often modify their preparation method to reduce the order-to-service cooking time to that comparable to other national brands.
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