The Upside Down Cast Iron Pizza Technique You've Probably Never Tried
Ever flipped your over easy eggs on their head, turning the sunny side down in the pan to give the yolk a little scald on top? It's a finishing touch many egg heads use as a way to cauterize the yolk and sort of fuse it with the egg white. Believe it or not, that same logic can be applied to your next deep-dish pizza recipe, but instead of a light touch at the end, cook your entire pizza face-side down the next time you decide to bake a pie at home. Tim Reynolds, a self-taught, self-appointed guru of sizzle, laid the blueprint for upside-down cast-iron pizza in a viral TikTok video in 2021.
The process is essentially the reverse of making a pizza the ordinary way, and you assemble it in your cast iron skillet instead of on a baking pan or pizza sheet. Start by layering the bottom of the skillet with your sausage, pepperoni, and other meat toppings. Then sprinkle on the onions, mushrooms, and other fresh veggies before loading on heaps of shredded mozzarella. Douse your pizza sauce on and spread it evenly over the cheese, then lay the pizza crust over it. Remember to rub a little olive oil on top before oven-baking your pizza at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until you get a golden brown crust — typically takes 30-40 minutes. Take it, let it cool, then flip the pizza over onto a cooking board or pizza pan and dig in.
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A deep dish delight
Cast iron skillets reign supreme at retaining heat so you can expect a piping hot, even bake on your crust, sauce, and toppings. The upside-down variety of the recipe locks the flavor of the meats and veggies into the pizza a whole lot better. The crust also bakes to a light and crispy base for the pizza, absorbing its sauce and cheesy deliciousness — though you might consider baking the pie a few minutes right side up after you've flipped it over to better caramelize the top layer.
The very nature of baking your pizza in a cavernous skillet like cast iron makes for a thicker crust that gives it a Chicago-style flair for those who love the deep-dish pizza with somewhat mysterious origins. The technique doesn't call for sauce on top of the cheese and toppings or a heavy layer of spinach or Italian sausage, so it's not quite an authentic replica of the signature Windy City stuffed crust. But it does make for a tasty homemade treat that deep-dish lovers should appreciate. At the end of the day, it's a quick and easy DIY pizza hack that's not a lot of fuss. Plus, containing it in a cast-iron skillet also means there's not a lot of mess to clean up afterward, a task made especially easy for cast iron with a little bit of aluminum foil.