What Makes Oily Ny style Pizza?

[chickenparm]

Some of my best memories of fantastic pizza in NY,has been from several mom and pop Pizza shops in NY areas from the Bronx,Brookyln,and Long Island areas.They were so good yet they dripped alot of orange oil off the slice when eating.

Sometimes it got annoying,but since its been years since I have had that,what usually makes this happen?

Is it the sauce type,cheese brand or both?

I once made a pizza at home that began to leak some oil when folded and it was damn good.I do not recall why.It hasnt happened since.Not sure if it was the olive oil in one of my sauces I was experimenting with.

What say you Pizza folks?
 

[madigital]

Having success with soft block sharp cheddar.

[mr782xx]

Was it a slice of pepperoni pizza that you were eating?

[steelsieve]

I usually drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top of the cheese right before I put the pizza in the oven and it seems to work pretty well to achieve wonderful orange oil.

[chickenparm]

Was it a slice of pepperoni pizza that you were eating?

Nope...just cheese pizza.There is a place I used to eat at,that the orange oil would drizzle out the back of the slice like crazy and get all over the plastic paper or plate..it was sometimes overkill,but other times made the pizza taste incredible.I never knew if it was the cheese or the sauce.Did not see them put olive oil on the pies when they made them right there in front of us.

[sbj]

As 'mr782xx' suggests pepperoni throws a good deal of oil that can contribute to that orange oil effect. And as 'steelsieve' said drizzling oil on top before baking does too.

When I want that particular NY style slice look rather than cut the mozzarella into small chunks or slices I will grate it, (say 4-5 oz for a 12-13 in pizza), and in a bowl mix it in with a tablespoon or so of olive oli and let it sit for an hour or so. This allows the oil drip effect and has the added benefit of enhancing the flavor and texture of lesser quality mozzarella that might be less than tasty or too firm.

[johnnytuinals]

I agree
There were many places where their pizza would cause a mess
by dripping....Don't know what it was from but maybe the Olive oil??JT

[c0mpl3x]

i get oily ny style pizza every time i use sams club mozz 80/20 with sams club cheddar.  i also use stanislaus full red sauce.

[chickenparm]

I agree
There were many places where their pizza would cause a mess
by dripping....Don't know what it was from but maybe the Olive oil??JT

Yep!

None of them were from cheddar,other cheeses,or pepperoni or etc.It was always a cheese slice I would order.
Don't get me wrong,I love pies with toppings,but due to a sensitive stomach,aka heartburn or etc,I usually order just a cheese slice or pie when called for.It may be olive oil..was hoping someone here knew.I did in fact,notice a that whole milk mozz cheese melting on top of my home made pies,creating a bit of orange oil with the sauce,while part skim or other non whole milk mozz cheese did not.Hmmmmm.

[scott r]

You got it, aged, or dry whole milk mozz when baked slowly combines with the sauce and an orange oil separates from the glob after its out of the oven. Usually only the elite or more "gourmet" pizzerias in NY add oil to the top, and those places dont get the same orange oil drip because they tend to use fresh cheese and higher oven temps. For me classic  NY style pizza is magical, and part of it is the cheeses that are popular in the area.   Interestingly grande does not create the puddle nearly as much as other cheese brands popular in the area and the flavor is not as buttery, so in the 90's when everyone switched over they actually took a step away from what I consider to be a great NY style pie.  The up or downside depending on when you look at it is that the pizzas at all the places using grande now hold up much better to being made in advance and reheated for slices.  Its a give and take sort of cheese.   

[chickenparm]

Thanks Scott,
You confirmed something as well as I did myself last night.I made a plain cheese Ny style pie and used whole milk mozz only.No part skim or shredded from the bag.

I shredded the mozz myself.It was a wal mart great value brand,nothing fancy but I like it.When slices of the pizza were folded the orange oil began to drip out.I was ecstatic.When the slices were left out for a while,it took on a very orange oily appearance,which confirmed it more.Of course by that time,the pizza gets a little old tasting and possibly too oily,but was glad to see that using this cheese alone created the look and taste I was looking for.

I didn't have puddles,just a few drops at a time but the pie tasted really good.I used Red crushed tomatoes with basil,garlic,oregano,with no oils added.

When Im down to the rim of the crust,I find myself trying to soak up the oil up with it before finishing.
 

Gonna try some other brand cheeses as well when I can find them in the stores.

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

I had the same experience with the Wal-Mart Great Value whole-milk mozzarella cheese, as I mentioned in Reply 14 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,10833.msg96881.html#msg96881 and more generally in the following Reply 15. Also, as noted in the posts linked in those replies, I have had similar experiences with some other house brands of mozzarella cheese.

Peter

[johnnytuinals]

Just remembered a few places from the 1970s had that oil filling out
to the napkin...It was messy but good.
I know a few places that use oil on their pizza and they don't make a mess now adays
But maybe chesse or oil were cheaper in price in the 1970s and maybe
alot higher now so most don't use oil in their pizza?....JT

[Essen1]

Yep!

None of them were from cheddar,other cheeses,or pepperoni or etc.It was always a cheese slice I would order.
Don't get me wrong,I love pies with toppings,but due to a sensitive stomach,aka heartburn or etc,I usually order just a cheese slice or pie when called for.It may be olive oil..was hoping someone here knew.I did in fact,notice a that whole milk mozz cheese melting on top of my home made pies,creating a bit of orange oil with the sauce,while part skim or other non whole milk mozz cheese did not.Hmmmmm.

Chickenparm,

This is actually off topic but every time I see your name come up I'm reminded of Ray Ferraro, the Hockey player turned analyst.

You're not him, are you? 

From Wikipedia:

He has done work for ESPN hockey broadcasts, including work on NHL 2Night with John Buccigross and Barry Melrose, where he began working while still an active player. On that show Ferraro was often referred to as "Chicken Parm" by Buccigross after an accident with chicken parmesan moments before going on the air.

Had to ask...

[chickenparm]

Chickenparm,

This is actually off topic but every time I see your name come up I'm reminded of Ray Ferraro, the Hockey player turned analyst.

You're not him, are you? 

From Wikipedia:

Had to ask...

LOL Nope,not me.When I signed up here,I had no idea what screen name I should pick then I just decided to use that name since it is one of my favorite foods to get from a Italian restaurant,NY pizza shop,or order pizza with chicken parm on it.

Thats all it is.
 

[chickenparm]

Bill,

I had the same experience with the Wal-Mart Great Value whole-milk mozzarella cheese, as I mentioned in Reply 14 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,10833.msg96881.html#msg96881 and more generally in the following Reply 15. Also, as noted in the posts linked in those replies, I have had similar experiences with some other house brands of mozzarella cheese.

Peter

Thanks for the info and link Peter.I had not read that before...I really do like the walmart GV cheese,its pretty good for the price.

[chickenparm]

Just remembered a few places from the 1970s had that oil filling out
to the napkin...It was messy but good.
I know a few places that use oil on their pizza and they don't make a mess now adays
But maybe chesse or oil were cheaper in price in the 1970s and maybe
alot higher now so most don't use oil in their pizza?....JT

JT,I have no idea...I was getting slices like this up until the mid 90's.Not everywhere had this and yes,myself and a good friend of mine(he still lives in Ny) noticed the quality of pizza in NY in alot of places have gone downhill for one reason or another.They are switching products and or having illegals run the place these days it seems.The pies are not coming out like they used to be from our favorite joints.

I left NY in 99 and have not been back there since...so I do not know if the places we used to love have gotten worse or stayed the same.

[Essen1]

LOL Nope,not me.When I signed up here,I had no idea what screen name I should pick then I just decided to use that name since it is one of my favorite foods to get from a Italian restaurant,NY pizza shop,or order pizza with chicken parm on it.

Thats all it is.
 

Ah...

Thanks. Now I can put my curiosity to rest. 

[NY pizzastriver]

I'd go with the cheese. BUT there are people here, and all across the world I suppose, that drizzle olive oil on the skin before they add sauce and cheese. I never did it, but if looking for an oil cause sometimes the answer can be as simple as... oil.

[sbj]

Depending on the quality and taste of whatever tomatoes are available at any given time, I will sometimes warm up a bit of olive oil, infuse it with the flavor of several smashed garlic cloves, remove the garlic solids, let the oil cool and add it to the tomatoes for the sauce. This almost always produces some of that orangey oil so familiar from childhood.

I'd never thought about the dry mozz being the source of oil like that until scottr mentioned it here but that makes perfect sense as plenty of cheeses do breakdown and separate out the fat when heated or reheated or kept under a hot lamp for an appreciable amount of time.