Overlooking the things that will get you thrown out of Philadelphia altogether (adding ketchup and using Swiss cheese), rules around what makes a good cheesesteak would take hours to debate. To chop, post-cook or not? "Wit' or wit'out?" (onions). Cheese Whiz or provolone? If provolone, sharp or mild? Is white American allowed? And what about green peppers?
About all you’ll get one hundred percent of people to agree on is a cheesesteak involves bread, meat, cheese, and sometimes onions. Most will add that this isn’t something that improves by being gussied up. Thankfully, when you reinterpret a classic dish in another format, you’re automatically somewhat freed from many of these rules.
There are a ton of approaches you could take. Some include using an Alfredo sauce (popular online), blended sautéed onions, or even Cheese Whiz as a base, or start a war by doing a Whiz base and a Provolone top. This recipe takes inspiration from classic cheesesteak ingredients and applies them to a red sauce-based pizza. Nobody will confuse it for a pizza incarnate version of cheesesteaks from famed Philadelphia shops like Pat's King of Steaks (the self-proclaimed "inventor of cheesesteak"), Geno’s (Pat’s rival across the intersection), Jim's, Dalessandro’s, or Tony Lukes, but it’s a tasty pizza nonetheless.
One decision you should consider is how long you want to cook the steak before topping the pizza or if you want to cook it at all. This will really depend on how thinly you slice it. If it’s on the thicker side (as pictured) you’ll want to follow this recipe and par-cook it on the Grizzler first. But if it’s ribeye you’ve shaved just a few millimeters thick, it should cook on the pie.
Yield
Makes 2 12-inch pizza
Time
30 minutes active
1 hour 10 minutes total (excluding dough)
Equipment
Ooni Pizza Oven
Ooni Infrared Thermometer
Ooni Cast Iron Dual Sided Grizzler plate
Ooni Pizza Peel
Ingredients
For the steak and onions
250-350g ribeye (top round is acceptable and you can use strip steak in a pinch), partially frozen for 30 to 40 minutes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ large white onion, finely sliced
For the pizza
2 250g classic pizza dough balls
Bench flour or semolina for dusting your peel
5 tablespoons Ooni classic pizza sauce
100g provolone, shredded
100g low moisture mozzarella, torn into chunks
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon (20ml) olive oil
Method
- Prepare your pizza dough ahead of time.
- After partially freezing (or thawing) the steak, slice it as thinly as you can (this will make cutting easier).
- Fire up your Ooni Pizza Oven. Aim for 500˚C (932˚F) on the pizza stone inside (you can check the temperature quickly using an Ooni Infrared Thermometer).
- Use a paper towel to lightly grease the Grizzler plate with vegetable oil then place it in the oven to preheat.
- After about 10 minutes, use a hand towel or heavy-duty gloves to remove it and add the onions. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to soften, giving them a shake halfway through.
- Remove, season, and reserve the onions. Return the Grizzler to the oven for 5 minutes.
- Season the steak with salt and pepper. When the Grizzler is back up to temp, remove and, being mindful of splatter, carefully add the steak. Cook for two minutes, flip, cook another minute then remove and reserve (you can pour any juices from the Grizzler over the onions if you like).
- Lightly dust your peel with flour or fine semolina. Stretch out your dough and lay it on your peel.
- Leaving an edge for the crust and starting from the outside of the base in, spread an even layer of sauce on the dough. Add the onions, provolone, and mozzarella. Top with the beef and green peppers. Top with a generous sprinkle of freshly ground pepper
- Slide the pizza off the peel and into your Ooni pizza oven. Cook for 1-2 minutes, making sure to rotate the pizza regularly to ensure an even cook. Remove once the cheese has melted and the crust is browned to your liking.
- Once cooked, finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Slice and serve right away.
