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Pizza | What's Eating Dan? [VIDEO]

Watch and learn the science behind making the best homemade pizza.
By Published Oct. 18, 2018

Welcome to What's Eating Dan?, a digital video series starring Cook's Illustrated editor in chief Dan Souza. You can connect with Dan on FacebookInstagram, or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss a new episode.

Feed your pizza inspiration with our editors' picks.

Equipment Review

For That Irresistibly Crisp, Browned Crust

Our favorite pizza stone takes your oven to the next level. We're also fans of the baking steel, a 15-pound slab of recycled steel that radiates heat more intensely than a stone, cutting down on baking time and quickly giving pizza crust a taller profile and flavorful charring. 
Read Our Review

Thin-Crust Pizza

With ovens that reach only 500 degrees and dough that springs back when stretched, it's a challenge to produce parlor-quality pies at home. This recipe changes that.
Get the Recipe

Thick-Crust Sicilian-Style Pizza

Dense, doughy slabs of thick-crust pizza are all too familiar—and forgettable. We wanted to give the real-deal Sicilian pie its due.
Get the Recipe

Grilled Pizza

After weeks of making burnt, puffy pies, we learned that the keys to crisp-tender, lightly charred pizza from the grill are quite simple: a strategic setup and a glug of oil.
Get the Recipe

Thin-Crust Whole-Wheat Pizza with Garlic Oil, Three Cheeses, and Basil

Most whole-wheat pizza is as dry and dense as cardboard. But what if there was a way to make it as crisp and chewy as traditional pizza—and highlight its nutty, wheaty flavor?
Get the Recipe

One-Hour Pizza

The ultimate challenge for a pizza master with 30 years of experience? Making a good one in just 60 minutes.
Get the Recipe

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JC
JOHN C.
16 days

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.

MD
MILES D.
JOHN C.
9 days

Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!

CM
CHARLES M.
11 days

John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.