Pizza Hut's Detroit Style Pizza
by Mike Lunsford, EIC of the Great Geek Refuge and pizza equal opportunist
Pandemic sucks, man. Quarantine sucks, too. The fact that we continue to be in this mess because there are people who refuse to believe in scientific research and continue to go out in public, maskless is infuriating. Furthermore, it’s a scary prospect that you could put your health or the health of your loved ones at risk just by going out into the world. And for those of us who cope with stress by eating comfort food, our coping mechanism is at odds with our desire to not infect ourselves or others. There has to be alternatives! SO WHATCHA GONNA DO? WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER????
That’s right! You’re gonna Hulk Up, pandemic quarantine style. You’re going to take those heavy haymakers from the pandemic but you’re going to shake them off, you’re going to get to your feet and point your finger at quarantine and say “I’m following the rules, brother and not getting my family sick!” You’re going to throw the pandemic into the ropes and give it the deadly combo of the Big Boot known as curbside takeaway and Hollywood Leg Drop known as contactless delivery! Be a real American hero!
Anyway…let’s talk about Pizza Hut. I’m sure there are pizza aficionados out there who turn their nose up at the prospect of anything Pizza Hut. “Oh, chain pizza is just gross.” And, as mentioned in my foodball articles, they’re probably from New York. There is a large contingent of us who grew up on Pizza Hut. As kids, we would read as many books as we could and get ourselves a free personal pan pizza courtesy of the “Book It” program. We would beg our parents to take us to Pizza Hut because they had the newest commercial tie in toy, like anything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles related. For better or worse, Pizza Hut is a delicious nostalgic piece of many of our childhoods. During pandemic quarantine, my family and I have fallen back in love with Pizza Hut and their variety of culinary delights.
Recently, the largest pizza chain in the world had released a new style of pizza to their menu: Detroit style. For some of you, this may be a shock as you were unaware that Detroit had it’s own style of pizza. As a fat dude, I can admit that I was very much aware of this. So, what is Detroit style? It’s a rectangular deep-dish pizza. The crust is pillowy and soft, similar to focaccia bread, but cooked in a deep pan that allows the edges of the crust and the cheese to get crispy. Why rectangular? Back in the day, chefs in Detroit could only get their hands on rectangular pans because that’s what the auto industry used for oil drip pans and a place to store small parts. The cheese and toppings go directly onto the dough with the sauce being added last. This makes for a light, airy crust with crisp edges and the sauce not soaking into the dough.
It’s good. I really enjoyed it. I’m also a huge fan of Pizza Hut’s traditional pan pizza and this is essentially just a rectangular version of that. The biggest differences are the toppings and the sauce. For those of you who are well versed in the pizzaiolo arts, you’ll know that there is traditional pepperoni and “old world pepperoni.” Old world pepperoni, or “cup pepperoni” is the smaller version of the pizza topping classic that curls up when it cooks and looks like little cups. It uses a natural casing, like traditional sausage and that causes it to curl up when cooked. Secondly, the sauce used is not the traditional Pizza Hut pizza sauce, it’s a fancier version called “vine-ripened tomato sauce.” I liked it a lot, it was a nice change of pace. It tasted fresher. My son however did not like it. He said “it tasted different and I like the regular sauce.” Simple enough critique.
The pizza is worth your time, especially if you’re a pan pizza fan. Or maybe you’re looking for something a little different when it comes to your contactless delivery food options. Pizza Hut does an excellent job of knocking on your door, putting your pizza on the doorstep and stepping away to confirm delivery. In our experiences they always follow social distance guidelines and are incredibly friendly. Plus, if you’re feeling nostalgic, they often have some of their crazier variants available for delivery, like the completely unnecessary but undeniably delicious Stuffed Crust Pizza.