Week #14: Indiana - Daddy Mac Pizza

State:  Indiana

So for this pizza, I really was in the air between the pork tenderloin sandwich that is popular in Indiana or the Daddy Mac, which is popular in Indianapolis.  I decided to go with the Daddy Mac, because who doesn't like pulled pork and Mac & cheese?  Exactly.  The challenge for me this week was I had a cold with severe congestion, so I can't taste anything unless it is really strong.  There are a few changes I would make to this pizza, so please see the "Learning Moments" section.  Overall, the pizza had a good taste and worked out pretty well.  The photos are not the greatest either, so I need to work on that as well.  Hope you like it and get inspired to make your own.   

Ingredients Needed:

1 lb of Pork Shoulder 

1/4 a cup of diced onion

1 cup of shredded white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 packet of Mole Sauce - From scratch or store bought
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 cup of half & half
1/4 cup of butter 
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 crust - I did a recipe for a personal size pizza dough

Sauce: 

Since I was sick, I did the lazy way of making a marinade for the meat.  I used a Mole Barbacoa sauce from Rick Bayless.  I was going to make one from scratch, but congestion got the better of me.  The sauce was pretty good, but it definitely needed some doctoring to make it taste the way I wanted to.  You can find great mole recipes out there and I saw one that was for a Dr. Pepper flavored chipolte sauce, which sounded really good.  Once this cold leaves me, I am going to make a mole sauce and then add the recipe to this blog.  The problem with this cold is I can't taste anything unless it is vinegar...lol.  

Meat:

So for the meat, I cut up 1 lb of pork shoulder into small pieces.  Usually, for pulled pork you would let the meat cook over a slow period so you can just pull it apart.  I was a little short on time and did not have a Dutch oven, so I cooked this within a 2 hour period over a stove.  First I trimmed off all the fat and seared the sides of the meat in olive oil till their was no red.  I then added in diced onions and cooked until translucent.  After this, I stirred in the mole sauce and cooked on simmer until all of the juice absorbed into the meat.  This process may take an hour or hour and a half.  Once this happens, you should be able to pull the pork apart with your fork.  The next time I make pulled pork, I will do the slower and bigger pieces, with a homemade mole sauce.  :)

Pasta:

I was pretty lazy with the Mac & Cheese as well.  I boiled noodles for 15 minutes till they were soft and drained the pasta.  Then I added in half & half, Parmesan & sharp white cheddar cheese, and butter.  I cooked until the liquid absorbed and added salt/pepper to taste.  Next time, I think the Mac & Cheese would be better if it had a sharp yellow and a yellow American cheese.  

Pizza:

After all ingredients have been cooked and prepped, I start working on the pizza.  Add a thin coat of olive oil to the base.  This will enhance the flavor of the pizza.  Then add a layer of Mac & Cheese to the base, covering the pizza completely.  Then, add the pulled pork to the pizza covering parts of the pasta without doing too much.  Then use a little more cheese for the top of the pizza to enhance the cheese flavor of when you take a bite.  Please see learning moments section to see recommendations for altering original recipe.

Pairing:
When pairing a wine with this pizza, a robust red wine would be ideal for this pizza.  My vote would be a Malbec or Chianti, something that is soft and goes well with the cheesiness!  When pairing a beer, I would go with a good porter.  My vote would be a porter with a coffee and vanilla notes.  Something that will enhance the flavor of the pizza.  I am not aware of too many craft beer companies coming out of Indiana, or at least that sell beer in Florida.  From my research, I would go with a beer from New Albanian, Sun King, and Three Floyds Brewing companies.   

Learning Moments:
No excuses, but....I had and still have a cold with congestion, so my cooking skills were suspect this week.  I still wanted to keep the tradition alive, so I went through with it.  The problem was I couldn't taste the food I was cooking, unless it was really strong and my wife Monica, the taste tester was in the same situation I was.   The pizza was good from what I was told by my coworker and from my wife.  For some reason, I didn't make a base to the pizza and after eating the first slice, I knew that it would have been a lot better with a cheese sauce base.  Secondly, I would use an American cheese instead of the Parmesan and maybe a yellow sharp, really sharp cheese or a Gruyere.  All in all, this pizza turned out pretty good, but this may be one that I redo at the end of the challenge.  We will see.  :)

On Gluten-Free Crust