What could be better? Not much.
Yes, we know. There is a meat pizza recipe in Dinner Done, but, full disclosure, this one is better. What can we say, some recipes showed up after Dinner Done went to print, you know?
So, why is this one so much better?
Honestly, we are not quite sure ourselves.
Is it the brown sugar? The facon? The drizzle of barbecue sauce?
What we are sure of, is that once you try this meat pizza it will be your favorite too.
Do you have a dish that you love but never prepare? Let me explain. Like, the soup your grandmother is known for, and you pick up a container when you go visit her on erev Shabbos? Or the stuffed cabbage your mother-in-law prepares and you can’t wait to have some?
These are dishes we love, yet we don’t prepare them ourselves.
The same used to be for me with this meat pizza. This is my sister-in-law’s signature dish. Invite Henny for Shabbos and you are guaranteed to have a meat pizza show up. She also sent this to us on several occasions when our kids requested it without a hint of shame.
Finally, I asked her for the recipe. And like every good recipe I will stumble upon, of course, it is only fair to share it with all of you.
It doesn’t even need so many ingredients–just some good ones. We like these flatbread, some Facon/beef fry, pastrami, and a good BBQ sauce. We like Sweet Baby Rae’s. You’ll also need a garlic dip (we’re sure you have some in your fridge, right?)
You’ll need to slice your pastrami and Facon into thin strips.
Sauté 2 finely diced onions until nicely browned and caramelized.
Once the onions are nice and golden and really, really caramelized (be patient! This might take 15-20 minutes), add the pastrami and facon.
Mix and sauté another 2-3 minutes.
Add the brown sugar. That’s it for the filling!
This is a great tip: Want to make these flatbreads easier to serve later? Score them now!
(Slice almost all the way through but not completely.)
Another tip for easier serving is to prepare a rectangle made out of heavy duty silver foil for easier transferring.
Fold the foil to the size of the flatbread.
See? It’s an easy extra step now, but it’ll save a lot of hassle later.
Once that’s done, you can top your flatbread.
Smear it generously with the garlic dip.
If you’d like to strain your meat topping (the fat in the mixture comes from the Facon), you can do that now.
Otherwise, just lift it up using a slotted spoon when topping your flatbread.
Drizzle with BBQ sauce and bake!
I like to use the plastic containers that come with the flatbread to store the pizza in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
You can make this ahead! There’s lots of ways–If serving on Shabbos, refrigerate and then bring to room temperature or place over the cholent or hot plate. The meat pizza freezes well, and reheats well too. You can also prepare the pastrami mixture in advance and assemble/bake it fresh.
The Best Pastrami Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 bread rectangle pizza crusts/flatbreads
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 2-3 tbsp oil
- 2 (6 oz) packages pastrami, thinly sliced
- 2 (4 oz) packages facon, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 6-8 tbsp prepared garlic dip
- about ¼ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until nicely browned and caramelized. This can take about 15-20 minutes. Once caramelized, add the thinly sliced pastrami and facon. Mix and sauté another 2-3 minutes. Add brown sugar. Mix and remove from heat. At this point you can also refrigerate or freeze the mixture for later use.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. For easier serving, score down the crusts almost through so they will slice easily once done. Another tip for easier serving is to prepare a rectangle made out of heavy duty silver foil for easier transferring (see images).
- Place crusts on prepared foil on a baking sheet and smear garlic dip generously over the surface. Top with pastrami mixture. I like to strain the meat mixture in a strainer to remove as much fat as possible, but you don't have to do that, you can simply use a slotted spoon to lift the meat from the pan, leaving the fat behind (the fat in the pan comes from the facon). Drizzle with BBQ sauce. Bake for 20 minutes.
- I like to use the plastic containers that come with the pizza bread to store the pizza in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- To serve: Either serve immediately, or, if serving on Shabbos, refrigerate and then bring to room temperature or place over the cholent or hot plate. The meat pizza freezes well, and reheats well. You can also prepare the pastrami mixture in advance and assemble/bake it fresh.
Which flatbread do you like? Easy garlic dip? Don’t have in my fridge!
PAS Pizza Crust; the image is in the post.
I use a chicken scissor to cut my meat pizzas – so much easier than a knife or pizza cutter!
Could the Facon be omitted, or will it affect the flavor? Could corned beef or turkey breast be used in place of the Facon?
Sure! do what works for you!
Thank you!!!! Was a HUGE hit. Best meat pizza ever. (And I made with out the bacon used extra package of Pastrami instead).
Made this for Purim… was easy to make and everyone loved it! Definitely a keeper recipe to make again and again!
How many servings per pizza??
About 8
Living in Israel… what can I use instead of the pizza crust?
Looking for a solution for israel as well
You can go to your local bakery and buy focaccia bread (Nechama on Paran sells).
Thank you for that! I wouldn’t know… love when our readers help one another
Trying to figure out how to store this in freezer- you mentioned to put it back into the package it came in but how can you stack 2 together- won’t everything from the bottom layer come off? .. I ended up putting one into a cookie sheet , folded the empty space over, put lots of foil, and put it into 2 bags since I didn’t have one big enough for it… wanted to make sure it is sealed properly… wondering if there’s an easier way for the future
You are right. The package only has one “sleeve” and usually one of the pizzas gets eaten immediately so its not an issue… but I would simply place on a folded over piece of heavy duty foil and then either wrap with Saran plastic wrap or 2 bags like you did
THE STORES DONT HAVE GARLIC DIP.
YOU USED HOMEMADE? WHAT CAN I PUT INSTEAD?
Any recipe for garlic dip?
Any recipe for garlic dip? Can’t wait to try!
I usually buy Menachem’s Garlic Dip but if you cannot find it in stores simply mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with 1 close of well minced garlic and 1 mix well.
Can you use ground beef instead of the facon/pastrami or would that be a disaster? 😛