Pizza & Wing Special Recipe

Preheat and prepare dough

Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to heat. Lightly flour a work surface. Stretch or roll the pizza dough into a 14-inch round (large). Transfer the stretched dough to a piece of parchment paper or a lightly oiled pizza peel.

Season crust

Brush the outer 1/2-inch rim of the dough lightly with 1 tbs olive oil and sprinkle the rim with 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper to taste. This gives a golden, seasoned crust.

Add sauce and cheese

Spread 3 tbs pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leaving the rim clear. Sprinkle 2 cups shredded mozzarella evenly over the sauce. Scatter dried oregano over the top and add fresh basil leaves after baking if using.

Bake

Slide the pizza (on parchment or peel) onto the preheated stone or oven rack. Bake at 500°F (260°C) for 8–12 minutes, rotating halfway, until the crust is golden and cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

Finish

Remove pizza from oven. Let rest 2–3 minutes, then slice into 8 pieces. Drizzle a little remaining olive oil over the top if desired and scatter fresh basil leaves.

Preheat and dry wings

If baking, preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with foil and a wire rack. Pat the 6 chicken wings very dry with paper towels. Dry skin is essential for crispness.

Season and coat

In a bowl, combine 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp garlic powder, 0.5 tsp smoked paprika, 0.75 tsp salt, and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Toss wings with the dry mixture until evenly coated. The baking powder raises the pH and helps crisp the skin.

Cook wings

For baked wings: place wings on the wire rack spaced apart and bake 40–45 minutes, flipping once at 22–25 minutes, until skin is deep golden and crisp and internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C). For fried wings: heat oil in a deep pot to 350°F (175°C) and fry wings in batches 8–10 minutes until crisp and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Make Beartown sauce (optional)

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 tbs butter. Add 2 tbs hot sauce and stir until smooth and warmed through. Remove from heat.

Toss wings in sauce

Place cooked wings in a large bowl. Pour the warm Beartown sauce over the wings and toss to coat evenly. If you prefer plain seasoned wings, omit the sauce step and serve dry-rubbed wings as-is.

Serve

Arrange the 6 wings on a plate with celery sticks and 1/4 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Serve the large pizza hot, sliced (8 slices), alongside the 6 Beartown wings with dressing and celery sticks. Estimated combined serving feeds 2–3 people as the Pizza & Wing Special.