Pairing pork and fruit: A Match Made in Heaven
Jay Z & Beyonce, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Ketchup & Mustard, Pork & Fruit! It just works. Some things are simply made for each other, and I’m sure you know by now that I love mixing pork and fruit on top of pizza. It’s an endless and seasonal pairing that you can have so much fun with. Winter, spring, summer and autumn you will always find a perfect combination of pork and fruit.
Chris Decker, Managing Partner, Metro Pizza, Las Vegas
For this month, I’m bringing you the crispy honey crisp apple that I’ve pickled in apple cider vinegar. The pickling gives it a punch of acidity to accompany its already sweet taste. The acid also prevents the apple from browning, so this will be an easy item for you to store and use later. Along with this fruit I added some pork. We all love pork belly, right?! I cut it into bacon and fry it in a pan. Once browned, I transfer the pork belly to a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess fat and cool.
Next, what would you pair pork and apples with? I’m from the east coast, so to me it’s a delicious cheddar. Get the best one you can find. I’ll give you a tip about big cheddar: it has to be white. Yellow cheddar is for school lunches. I just add a little bit to some whole milk mozzarella so it adds richness and doesn’t overwhelm the pizza. Finally, and kind of a secret assassin on this pizza, is mustard greens. Sour, some say “hot” in terms of flavor, but adding this and its green color to this pizza is what really brings it all together.
Chris Decker is the managing partner at Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, NV. Instagram: @everything but anchovies
On deck: Pork Belly and Honey Crisp Apples Pizza
Author: Pizza today
Type of recipe: Pizza
- *For the pickled apples: 2 honey crisp apples
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- *For Lardons: 6 ounces pork belly
- *For mustard greens: 1 head, rinsed and dried. Cut around the thick stem and discard. Cut leafy greens into ribbons.
- *For the pizza
- 8-10 ounce ball of dough
- 2 ounces whole milk mozzarella
- 2 ounces of cheddar
- Peel and quarter the apples, then cut them into the desired size. I made about a ¼-inch cube—not too big, not too small. Just enough to bite in and know they are there.
- Put the apples in a container and set them aside.
- While dicing the apples, add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to ensure the sugar and salt dissolve into the solution.
- When the liquid boils quickly, pour it over the diced apples and cool in the fridge without a lid.
- When they have finally cooled, wrap and set aside in the fridge for later. They last up to a week.
- For the pork blacks, I cut them into thick matchsticks and put them on a pan over medium-high heat and cook evenly.
- Let cool on a plate with a towel.
- Add the chopped mustard greens to the same pan and cook in the pork fat.
- Salt and pepper to taste. I tend to go heavy on the pepper on this since the lard is already salty.
- For the pizza, use an 8-10 ounce dough ball and stretch to desired size.
- Top with 2 ounces whole milk mozzarella and 2 ounces cheddar.
- Top with the sautéed vegetables and pork.
- Bake at 550 F for 8-10 minutes until desired doneness is achieved.
- Allow to cool, then slice and add the drained pickled apples.
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Browse more pizza recipes from Chris Decker.