Is There A Difference Between Sicilian And Detroit-Style Pizza?

Detroit and Sicilian pizzas both have a few things in common: they're bready, baked in a rectangular pan, and cut into squares. But despite their similarities in form factor, when you zoom in, you'll find that they are indeed distinct and separate styles; and it all comes down to their finer details. 

Sicilian pizza precedes Detroit, and is likely where Detroit-style pizza originates from. It's a thick type of spongy pie that's baked in a pan, and (here in America, at least) usually comes with red sauce and cheese on top. America's Sicilian predecessor comes from Palermo, Italy, in the form of a slightly different version called a sfincione; which features that bready base, along with a tomato-based sauce. But instead of cheese, it's mainly topped with breadcrumbs (and sometimes a grating of hard cheese).

Detroit-style pizza (yes, from Detroit) uses a unique steel rectangular pan, which is key. The tall pie is topped with cheese, usually Wisconsin brick, often mozzarella where brick is unavailable, and is done so completely to the edge. The edges that touch the steel pan (which retains heat well) become dark, almost burnt-looking, and caramelized. This gives the coveted edge pieces an extra boost of savory flavor, and is something Sicilian pizzas don't have. Another highlight of a Detroit-style pizza is that the sauce often goes on top of the cheese after it's baked. This order of operations prevents the dough from getting soggy over time.

Sicilian pizza is still something you can only get at a specialty shop or an independently-run restaurant, but Detroit-style has fully made it to the nation in the form of a few major pizza chains. Little Caesars is the largest chain you can order Detroit-style pizza from, since it has a presence in every state (and 27 countries and territories). Its cheap Hot-N-Ready pizzas are one thing, but there's an entire section of Little Caesars' menu dedicated to the deeper pan stuff.

Then there's Jet's Pizza, which has a presence in 25 states. Jet's Detroit-style pizza is its main specialty, though it does serve round pies too (and its ranch dressing has a cult following). I'm particularly a fan of its 8-Corner pizza, which miraculously gives you eight corner slices (the best kind!) since the pizzas are baked in two square pans. And though the big wave of Detroit-style hype seems to have died down, you might have seen Detroit-style pizza pop up in the form of an independent restaurant in your area because there was a boom in the style a few years back — to the point where even Pizza Hut offered its own limited-time version.

But pizza is truly a marvelous thing that spans seemingly every type of variation you can possibly imagine. Sicilian and Detroit-style are simply two of them, delicious for their own reasons, closely intertwined, but with key differences that makes both their very own distinct genre.