White BBQ Pulled Chicken Pizza...

Pizza comes many different ways.  Size, shape, layering, are all something that are different depending on where you are in the country.

A unique White BBQ sauce accents this wonderful pizza.

Chicagoans traditionally think pizza is thick, hearty and the sauce goes on top.  Other Chicagoans think pizza should be on a thin cracker like crust.  This particular recipe is a lot lighter and had more of a crisp taste to it, thus we wanted to keep the crust thin.

The product has a lot going on with it, so we wanted to keep everything else simple and clean.  Our client had this wonderfully weathered pizza stone, and it was an obvious choice when propping to use it.   We had a very large soft light source coming in from the right, to give us our main light direction.  We also had a soft light source coming from directly behind to help give some incidence on the surface and parts of the pizza that have a sheen.

To add some interest, we put a glass shower block on the surface to play with the soft light.  That glass block is giving us the white incidence on the back right of the frame.  The left side of the fame then got empty and dark, so we put a small measuring cup of parmesan cheese to break up that negative space.  We didn't want our shot to be completely flat with soft light, so we brought in a point source from the back left to punch up the contrast and make the shot come alive.

The front of the shot was going darker than we would have liked, so we put a white card on the front left to reflect some of our main light coming from the right, then used a hand held mirror on the front right to reflect the point source light back onto a desired part of the product.




This pizza does get made in 2 different ways, 1 is done before its cooked, and 1 is after.  Don't let the fresh apple slices or spinach throw you off, this is a hot baked pizza.

The crust is made, then you apply the desired amount of sauce.  We recommend having the chicken precooked and refrigerated prior to cooking the pizza, that way you can reheat it as the pizza cooks and it ensures that the chicken is cooked fully.  While the pizza is cooking, take that time to cut and slice an apple of your choice, we preferred fiji red apples.  Also chop up some spinach.  When the pizza is done and out of the oven, add the apples and spinach to taste.

The following recipe below to get something similar to what we created above:

Sauce:
 
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

     * combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Crust: ( store bought is much easier than making it, but just in case you want to )

     Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water (110°F to 115°F)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for coating the bowl
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

     Instructions:

Whisk the water and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside until the mixture bubbles, about 10 minutes.
Add the flour, measured oil, and salt and mix on low speed until the dough just starts to come together and looks shaggy, about 2 minutes.
Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, coat a large bowl with a thin layer of oil and set it aside.
When the dough is ready, form it into a ball, place it in the oiled bowl, and turn to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rest in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Ingredients:

There isn't a set amount of Ingredients you should use on this pizza, everyone likes different amounts of them.  So use your best judgement when making this on how much you will want to top with.