Meat Lover's Touchdown Recipe

Cook and chop meats

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) if you plan to bake soon. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp (about 8–10 minutes). Transfer to paper towels to drain and chop into bite-sized pieces. In the same skillet, brown the ground hamburger over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains (6–8 minutes). Drain excess fat. If sausage is raw, remove casing and cook similarly until browned and cooked through; if pre-cooked, warm and crumble. Transfer cooked meats to a bowl and set aside.

If using thicker slices of ham, hot ham, mortadella, or salami, stack and slice into bite-sized strips or chop coarsely so they distribute evenly on the pizza. Keep pepperoni as slices or halve them for smaller bites.

Stretch dough

Lightly flour a work surface. Press and stretch the 1 lb pizza dough into a 12–14 inch round (or rectangle for a sheet pan) about 1/4 inch thick, leaving a slightly thicker rim for the crust. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled pizza stone, baking steel, or a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Season sauce

In a small bowl, combine pizza sauce, minced garlic, olive oil, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spread the seasoned pizza sauce evenly over the stretched dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.

Layer meats and cheese

Evenly distribute the prepared cooked hamburger and sausage over the sauce. Scatter the chopped ham, hot ham, mortadella, Genoa salami, pepperoni slices, and chopped bacon across the pizza so every slice will have a variety of meats. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over the meats, then finish with grated Parmesan.

If you prefer a slightly crisper top, arrange some pepperoni slices on top of the cheese so their edges crisp up in the oven.

Bake pizza

Preheat oven to 475°F (245°C) for best results (or keep 425°F/220°C if using a sheet pan). Place the pizza in the preheated oven on a middle rack (or on the pizza stone/steel). Bake 10–14 minutes at 475°F (or 15–20 minutes at 425°F), until the crust is golden, cheese is bubbly, and meats are lightly browned.

Rest and garnish

Remove pizza from the oven and let rest for 3–5 minutes to set. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and additional crushed red pepper if desired. Slice into 8 slices and serve hot.