Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Just tried this on a cold slice. Really good!

Regarding spicy sausage.

I'm starting to think the soppressata piccante that I keep hearing mentioned in reference to 'artisanal' pizzerias is a US thing. Granted it seems to be of better quality than the average supermarket pepperoni -but I think it may be more generic than is sometimes claimed.

The closest I can find from Italy would be a calabrian soppressata but this has a distinctive shape - flatter because it is 'pressed'. There are of course countless variations on salami and sop. but the only other *common* one i've seen which might fit the bill would be salami piccante napoli style. There are also 'artisan' pepperonis but these are basically thinner versions of the salami piccante napoli...same coarse cut salami + heat.

So what makes an 'authentic' soppressata piccante? I'm curious...
FP

Awesome awesome awesome guide. I am largely ignorant in all things hamburger and this article is nothing less than a serious education for an ignoramus such as myself.
Thankyou!
Curious - does 'Steak haché' count as a hamburger style? I've only heard of, not partaken in that french speciality.
FP

Jeff Varasano had it timed at 7 minutes, I believe.
15 in a 750F (purportedly) oven sounds excessive. >10 minutes could start to seriously burn a pizza cooked on a stone in my plain 'ol electric oven (@550F)...not to say Di Fara pies don't get burnt though!
I guess there's EST and then there's DFT (Di Fara Time) :)
FP

Dogdamn! That foie dog looks ridiculous.
Too bad I won't find anything like that round here. Chicago dogs and italian beef...I miss them both.

"“pizza-crazy people who travel with digital cameras.”
Who are these people?! :)
FP

@seriouspizza Honestly I couldn't care less if what I eat is neapolitan pizza (by VPN standards) or not. It's just got to taste good!
Neapolitan pizza is a starting point imho. It's like pizza history, or pizza culture. It's important to learn about where pizza comes from but where you take it from there is what distinguishes great pizza.
I'd agree though that 'real' neapolitan pizza is and always will be best made in Naples with LOCAL ingredients. I am both amused and saddened when I read about 'artisan' pizzaiolos who cite mozzarella di bufala, san marzano toms and caputo flour as the perfect ingredients before reciting VPN guidelines, chapter and verse as 'the BEST pizza anyone could make'. They seem to miss the point that VPN exists primarily to preserve a geographically-specific pizza heritage. It's not a coincidence that the aforementioned ingredients are LOCAL to Naples...duh!

From what I can see, there are plenty of places around the world to get a technically perfect but soulless neapolitan pie. It really isn't rocket science (although it might cost you a pretty penny depending on where you live in the world) to obtain'authentic' (ie facsimile) Neapolitan pizza.
That's where I think Anthony Mangieri got it wrong in publicity/inteviews etc. - he made a big deal about authenticity rather than representing what he was REALLY making which was the best pizza he could with the best ingredients HE knew. I'd pay good money to eat THAT.

FP

@Nick Solares
Cool article and great pics.

Interesting about Keste's pizza as "lacking in salt". From everything I've heard, the pizza there is pretty salty (>3% wrt flour apparently). Perhaps it was an off day? or perhaps the formula has changed? If not, then I can only imagine the pizza in Naples must have been very 'well seasoned' indeed.

FP

Great article (series of articles).
The 'slurry' in the sauce is something I end up using a lot in quick 'asian' meals. However, I don't do the cornstarch-in-marinade thing nearly so much. I find that unless I'm using a lot of oil to cook the meat, this just ends up really messy with bits of cornstarch/egg sticking to and burning in the pan/wok. @Chichi Wang Any ideas on how to avoid this while keeping oil/fat levels down?

FP

@Don

Yes, the containers were covered with plastic - actually a clear plastic shower cap - which was removed so I could take the pictures. Didn't mean to mislead you! So to anwer your question - yes, covering is advisable (certainly for the refrigerated stage).
FP

Final comment on farina semola. It seems there are two types of farina semola di grano duro.
One is coarser and used for pasta. The other is 'semola rimacinata' which literally means 'remilled' and therefore, I presume, more suitable for bread. The DOP specification for Pane di Altamura specifies this 'remilled' flour for bread making. Hard to find outside of Italy.
FP

I remember Delancey and Brandon mentioned/featured in 'Chris Bianco's Pizza Making Philosophy'
@Delancey Congrats on your opening!

FP

My italian spelling went to pot. granO not grana.