Pastured Sausage and Jalapeno Pizza

April 23, 2010
When we were in Antigua last December our resort had a lunch restaurant with a wood-fire pizza oven. Well, it wasn’t just a lunch restaurant it was actually open until about 5:00pm. The pizza was delicious, and I’m not going to lie, there were some fourth-meals consumed in the afternoon between lunch and dinner.
A few days before we departed we decided to try the Messicana pizza. This is a bit of an inside joke because everything supposedly Mexican in nature is “Mexicana” in Brazil, which is actually pronounced “meh-sh-cona”. So it is interesting to see what some cultures associate with Mexican cuisine. Trust me, we aren’t the only ones who completely screw it up. For example, the Mexicana pizza where we lived in Brazil often had Doritos on it. I rest my case.
This pizza in Antigua was topped with sausage, and jalapenos. At first I wasn’t incredibly motivated to try it, but once we finally did (very late in our trip) we were beating ourselves up that we hadn’t ordered it sooner. Such a simple combo, but it is so good.

This past weekend when my parents were in, I made my Brown Biscuits with the pastured pork sausage I got from Pike Valley Farm. I held some of it back to use later in the week for this pizza. Fortunately I also had some pizza crust in the freezer so it was a quick meal.

I don’t have a favorite crust at the moment. I typically use the recipe on the back of the Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat flour bag and substitute White Whole Wheat Flour to make it a little lighter. Turns out great.

For the sauce, I use tomato puree in my basic marinara and usually add a little more crushed red pepper to spice it up a bit. Although with the jalapenos on this pizza, that wasn’t really necessary.

Sausage Jalapeno Pizza

2 pizza crusts, about 8 to 9 inch
½ cup pizza sauce
¼ lb. pastured pork sausage, browned
1 cup cheese, shredded (I like cheddar with this combo)
½ cup sliced jalapenos

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. I know I’m a bit odd with this, but I don’t like my pizza dough to be uncooked or soggy in the middle. The only way I’ve been able to master this with at-home pizza is to bake it for about 5 to 7 minutes before adding the toppings.

Divide the sauce and spread on each pizza. Top with the sausage (with pastured you won’t need to do any draining or rinsing), then the cheese. Next spread your jalapenos evenly on each pizza. Bake 7 to 10 minutes more until cheese is browned and bubbly.

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  • 5 Star Foodie April 23, 2010 at 11:54 am

    Fabulous pizza! I love the addition of jalapenos!

  • Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) April 23, 2010 at 2:07 pm

    I NEED to make this. You had me at jalapeno’s! Hope you have a lovely weekend!

  • Lo April 23, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    Pizza always seems to hit the spot, doesn’t it? And I love it that you’re not afraid to add a little kick. The red pepper flakes and jalapenos together are fabulous!

  • Debinhawaii April 24, 2010 at 12:33 am

    Sausage pizza has to be my favorite and the jalapenos are a great touch too. Looks yummy! 😉

  • tiny homes April 24, 2010 at 1:49 am

    What a fabulous combination for a great pizza! I love it!

  • Joanne April 24, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Whoa your pizza looks fantastic. I’ve always loved sausage on pizza but the jalapenos take it to a whole new level.

  • Anna April 24, 2010 at 10:13 am

    Doriiiiiiiiitos ???? Oh Boy! My people are very creative. LOL. It looks like a delicious combo. I adore Jalapenos.

  • OysterCulture April 24, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    I personally think jalapenos make a pizza – that kick is just what is needed. Sounds amazingly tasty.

  • ♥¸¸.•*¨Skip to Malou¨¨*•.¸¸♥¸ April 24, 2010 at 9:48 pm

    sausage and jalapeno on your pizza is a perfect combination… you make pizza making sound so easy and quick…

  • Lori April 25, 2010 at 9:14 am

    Thanks for all the kind words. I agree, a nice kick is good for any pizza. Love jalapenos!

    Anna – Ha, ha! Yeah, it was interesting. Had it both in Maringa and Curitiba, but maybe just a southern thing. 🙂

  • Andrea (Off Her Cork) April 26, 2010 at 7:09 am

    Doritos seem like a 12 year old thought of it, no? Hilarious! And I bet a huge hit at sleep overs. 😀

    I don’t think your odd for the oven temp, I crank mine up to 425. I don’t like soggy crust either! I let it back for probably 20 minutes or so. It’s been so long since I’ve had actual honest sausage on pizza that this looks fab.

  • kat April 26, 2010 at 9:39 am

    Matt would adore this with all those jalapenos.

  • Tangled Noodle May 2, 2010 at 8:17 am

    This will be a must-make recipe for the Noodle household Thursday Night Pizza! I’ve worked up my chile pepper tolerance to jalapeño level so I’m looking forward to this!

  • polwig May 11, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    I love jalapenios and this is a great spicy option for all these people like me that feel the hotter the better… yummy

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