 This style of pizza usually has most of the toppings under the cheese.[1] | |
| Type | Pizza |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Quad Cities |
| Created by | Tony Maniscalco Sr. of Tony's Pizzeria (1952) |
| Main ingredients | Pizza dough withmalt,tomato sauce with red chili flakes and cayenne, sausage,cheese |
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Quad City-style pizza is avariety ofpizza[1] originating in theQuad Cities region of the states ofIllinois andIowa in theUnited States.
Characteristics of Quad City-style pizza includemalt in the crust, tomato sauce made with red chili flakes or cayenne pepper, toppings placed under the cheese, and being cut into strips instead of triangular slices.[2]
The first person to bring pizza to theQuad Cities was Tony Maniscalco Sr. in 1952. Born of two immigrant parents fromSicily, Maniscalco came to the Quad Cities fromCalumet City, Illinois, where he was abutcher by trade. He developed "Quad Cities Style Pizza" using a base recipe from the Bacino family.[3][4][5]
Quad City-style pizza dough contains a "spice jam," with a heavy amount ofmalt,[6] which lends it a toasted, nutty flavor.[1] The pizzas are hand-tossed to be stretched into an even quarter-inch thin crust with a slight lip ringing the edge. The sauce contains both redchili flakes and groundcayenne pepper, and the smooth, thin tomato spread is more spicy than sweet. The sausage is typically a thick blanket of lean,fennel-fleckedItalian sausage,[7] sometimes ground twice and spread from edge to edge.[8][9] The pizzas are cooked using a special gas oven with an average cooking time of about 12 minutes. The pizza is cut into strips,[1] as opposed to being cut in slices. An average 16-inch pizza has about 14 strips, and a 10-inch pizza has about 10 strips.[7]
The dish originates in theQuad Cities region of theUnited States.[10]
The dish has been prepared in other areas of the United States, includingMahtomedi, Minnesota;Acworth, Georgia;Harrisburg, North Carolina(Pub 49);Mesa, Arizona;[11]West Des Moines, Iowa;Northwest andCentralIndiana andChicago, Illinois.[12]
The Outsiders Pizza Company now sells a frozen version of the Quad City-style pizza nationwide through major retail store chains.[13]
