We made it back to the little cottage on the High Plains the other day after spending much of the Winter down South. We were hoping Spring would be here waiting for us but alas, we were not so lucky; it’s April and there’s a snowdrift in the backyard. We get an occasional Spring day, then another week of Winter but Spring is close, I can smell it. So after 3 months without feeding our sourdough starter, we were wondering whether our wee beasties were still alive in the bottom of the jar. They were a little bit sluggish but after back-to-back feedings, they were puffing dough like wee warriors once again.
We used the first batch to make sourdough egg noodles for some Turkey Noodle soup, which made the Winter weather almost bearable. The second batch was used for some breadsticks to go with a pot of High Plains Chili and the third batch we saved for pizza night. We’ve been jonesing for a custom handmade pie all Winter. The Bus has a nice kitchen but there’s not enough room for slingin’ dough and crafting pizza. We’ve tried Texas BBQ brisket pizza once before after eating one at the Wichita Falls Brewery last year and to celebrate our first pizza night back we decided to see if we could improve on the concept. The key to our pizza crafting over the years has been minimalism, less is more. A chewy, crunchy crust topped with a silky, savory sauce and you’re close to perfection, just don’t ruin it with too many toppings.
Beef, onions, jalapeños, and a wee bit of cheese were what we had on the drawing board for the BBQ pizza. The sauce would require the most effort. I suppose someone in a hurry would just pick up a bottle of Stubb’s or some of Texas’ Best at the market but no one’s ever accused either of us of being in that category, slow is better than fast as far as we’re concerned. So out came the saucepan. It started with sautéing some onions and garlic in butter, like plenty of good-tasting concoctions do. We added ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire and chili powder. Then the final ingredient, a splash of Malbec for some Gaucho flavor. The rest of the bottle was used to keep the pizza chefs lubed and ready for action.
After the pies came out of the oven we topped them with some cilantro and a few drizzles of homemade Ranch dressing. We sent some over to our nephew and he reported back with a 10 of 10 rating and we pretty much agreed. There is something about the salty, sweet, spicy, tart taste of BBQ sauce that fires up the taste buds. A dining adventure a cowboy can appreciate whether they’re from Argentina, Texas or the High Plains.