Pizza Today - September 2022 - 43

Wu Tang Clam
For many years, seafood pizzas were
On Squid Row
Here is some wonderful seafood that has
scoffed at by pizza purists as an abomination,
especially if they contained cheeses. But
along the East Coast of the United States,
where seafood is plentiful, pizza chefs used
many types of seafood on pizzas to awaiting
crowds. In New York, the clams were so
abundant in Little Neck Bay that prospectors
moved to Queens just to harvest the clams to
supply the iconic restaurants like Whytes on
Fulton that served their famous soft clams
on toast. The Sicilian version of Sfincioni
was reportedly also served on Prince Street.
In New Haven, the giant hard-shell clams
baked on proprietary wheat crusts baked
in coal-fired ovens with plenty of garlic,
Romano cheese and extra virgin have
catapulted pizzerias into hall of fame status.
Down south, the white shrimp scampi pizzas
of the South Carolina coast are still turning
heads and the seafood pizzas in the Florida
Keys are baked with shrimp, lobster, scallops
and crab meat in a luscious Alfredo sauce.
The Gill of your Dreams
It's no secret that seafood pizzas are
popular. Even in land-locked Ohio, I've
brought on numerous seafood pizza
specialties which are still on my menus today.
Here a few tips to sell Atlantic seafood in
your pizzeria.
1. Don't skimp on seafood. If you must
make a seafood pizza smaller to reach your
food cost vs. sales cost mark, then do it. No
one likes a seafood skinflint or a large pizza
with practically no seafood on it.
2. Try to use only fresh seafood. Prebreaded
seafood made on refrigerated
assembly lines is terrible. Fresh frozen
seafood like calamari and shrimp are best
when using accredited ServeSafe thawing
methods and training your staff to recognize
bad seafood.
3. Market your seafood pizza using
tried-and-true dishes. Great sauce and
seafood combinations have been on people's
radar for a long time. Running a line of
Asian, Mexican, Spanish as well as Italian
flavor profiles will sell more pizza because
customers know them.
proven to be a delicious accompaniment to
different wheat crusts and a variety of sauces
and production methods.
Shrimp. Believe it or not, shrimp is a good
seller on pizza if you can get a good " spread "
across the pie. This is best done by cutting
large shrimp in half horizontally. Smaller and
krill shrimp cannot cover the top of a large
pie very well and frozen krill shrimp smells
way too strong. Preparations like Cajun
etouffee, Mexican avocado shrimp, garlic
shrimp, shrimp Alfredo and lemon cream
shrimp pizza are game changers. Toppings
like basil, garlic, bacon, arugula, beans, chili
peppers, onions, mint, mustard, lemon,
avocado, tomatoes, lime, beans, pistachio nuts
and even crab are good with shrimp.
Smoked Salmon. This topping made
famous in Wolfgang Puck's Spago can be
served numerous ways on a pizza. This fish
does not fare well in the oven, so by placing
it atop the pizza, you will both save the
flavor and color of the cure. Many foods go
well with this fish like wasabi, sour cream,
red onion, capers, hard-boiled egg, arugula,
mascarpone, everything spice, avocado,
horseradish crema, dill, cream cheese, chervil,
chives, cilantro, lemon, potato, shallots,
cucumber and mint.
Clams. Many East Coast pizzerias have
well-earned reputations based on their clam
pizzas. Many arguments occur on who has
the best clam pie, but one thing stays true;
using fresh clams is the key. Clams are best
with garlic, Romano, extra virgin, tomato,
bacon, shallots, cream, corn, chili peppers,
potatoes, onions, parsley and lemon.
Calamari. This is a tricky topping. Grilled
and sauteed squid will turn chewy like gum
swimming atop cheese in a box. Ultra-crisp,
deep-fried calamari is delicious on pizza,
especially a charred, grilled crusted pie, but
only if it can be served right away. Wonderful
with flavored aiolis, tomato, parsley, lemon,
bell peppers, garlic, black pepper, basil,
orange and anchovies.
Tuna. (Yes, I'm gonna go there...) Along
with the popularity of sushi and sashimi,
comes the tuna topped pizza like the one at
Yellowtail in Las Vegas or the Poke pizzas of
Hawaii. This is probably not feasible on large
pies but fantastic when thinly sliced, raw
tuna is paired with a crisp crust and toppings
like, cilantro, microgreens, truffle oils, wasabi,
dried shrimp, crème fraiche, cream cheese,
teriyaki, hoisin, tortilla crisps, red onion,
corn, avocado, arugula, cumin, scallion,
sesame oil, lemon, chili peppers and chives.
Tinned tuna is also very good. My " Hot
Tuna " Pizza named after the Rock and Roll
Hall of Famer Jorma Kaukonen, (and my
neighbor) has been on my menu for 15 years.
EAST COAST CLAM PIZZA
I just adore the combination of a great
crisp crust with lots of fresh-shucked clams,
garlic, strong, salty cheese and my pie-hole.
This is a giant nod to all those great East
Coast pizzerias that have been making this
simple masterpiece for years.
1 proprietary thin crust dough ball
weighing 9 ounces
20-25 fresh, large hard-shell clams,
shucked in the juice
5 cloves garlic, minced
3.5 ounces coarsely grated Romano
cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Preheat a deck oven to between 600 and
630 F.
Roll the thin crust dough out into a 14inch
round.
Strain the clams from the juice and place
around the pizza dough.
Spread the minced garlic on the clams.
Spread the Romano cheese across the
pizza.
Pour a 3 tablespoon " rope " of extra virgin
olive oil across the pizza.
Place the pizza in the oven and bake for
3 to 4 minutes until the cheese has melted
and the crust is firm, crispy and exhibits a
nice char and leoparding on the bottom.
Pull the pizza from the oven and toss the
parsley across the round. Eat immediately.
JOHN GUTEKANST owns Avalanche
Pizza in Athens, Ohio.
Pizza Today - September 2022

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