Victory Pig Style Pizza - Northeastern PA

[Joe_C]

question for anyone who's been there and might know. I see you can order online and have it shipped. There's an option for no onions, are they talking about the sauce? I saw people here commenting on the sauce having onions in it.

For some incomprehensible reason, some folks like to order "no onions".     But yes, it's the same pizza, same sauce, just without the onion. 

[steel_baker]

question for anyone who's been there and might know. I see you can order online and have it shipped. There's an option for no onions, are they talking about the sauce? I saw people here commenting on the sauce having onions in it.

The way they top a tray is 1)kosher salt, 2) canned crushed tomatoes, 3) paper thin sliced onions, and 4) cheese. They slice their onions paper thin on a meat slicer and layer them on top of the sauce. They have always offered the option for no onions since not everybody wants them.

[Joe_C]

Hey Steel Baker, here's a question for ya:  When I make dough for two trays, I have been simply doubling all the ingredients.  But I have a sense that doubling the amount of yeast may be too much.   (I recently saw a "Italian Grandma" bread making video on YouTube where she uses one packet of dry yeast for 5 pounds of flour??!!)  What do you think?  Is doubling the yeast for our VP recipe OK or too much? 

[steel_baker]

Hey Steel Baker, here's a question for ya:  When I make dough for two trays, I have been simply doubling all the ingredients.  But I have a sense that doubling the amount of yeast may be too much.   (I recently saw a "Italian Grandma" bread making video on YouTube where she uses one packet of dry yeast for 5 pounds of flour??!!)  What do you think?  Is doubling the yeast for our VP recipe OK or too much?

I've done this before and I would suggest increasing the yeast by 50-60% rather than doubling it.

[dfanella]

How do you bake it so the Pizza dough cooks thoroughly before the cheese startes to burn?  Do you put it in the oven with out the cheese and sauce first?

[steel_baker]

How do you bake it so the Pizza dough cooks thoroughly before the cheese startes to burn?  Do you put it in the oven with out the cheese and sauce first?

When I lived in PA, I was able to bake it with the sauce & cheese on it. Here in Colorado, I have to bake it first with just sauce then pull it out and put the cheese on. Back in for another 5-7 minutes.

[zoe]

PLEASE HELP! I had made this many times without a problem. Then my last 3, made over the last week, have all stuck to the bottom so badly that I need to soak and scrub for 30 minutes. Any idea what is happening? It has been rainy and humid here in Florida, could this be the reason? I saw that some other recipes rub the pan with butter before the oil. Has anyone tried this. I am so frustrated.

[steel_baker]

After the 3 previous bakes, did you empty any excess oil? I don't usually have much oil left after I bake a tray of pizza and I usually throughly wipe the inside of the pan with a paper towel leaving only a slight film. The next thing I would try is more oil and make sure that the oil is well spread in the pan before putting the raw dough in & spreading it. I've encountered this problem before and more oil usually fixes it AFTER I've made sure that any sticky spots on the pan are removed. No soap! Just hot water & a stiff brush to remove any sticky areas. You don't want to remove any existing seasoning, just add more as necessary.

[zoe]

 Hi SB!

Thanks for the quick response. My pans are perfectly clean. I added the desired oil. I am  going to try one now with the ghee, shmeared all over, and then the oil.  I cannot have another night when we have to make a second dinner because of sticking. Tomorrow, I will try with a bit more oil. Fingers crossed.

Many thanks again! Zoe

P.S. You are the best. It gives me strength to try again knowing that you are out there. ;-)

[PizzaBinge]

PLEASE HELP! I had made this many times without a problem. Then my last 3, made over the last week, have all stuck to the bottom so badly that I need to soak and scrub for 30 minutes. Any idea what is happening? It has been rainy and humid here in Florida, could this be the reason? I saw that some other recipes rub the pan with butter before the oil. Has anyone tried this. I am so frustrated.

Zoe, what pans are you using?

[naval2006]

Zoe,

Seasoned pans and ghee solved the problem for me.

Alex

[zoe]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all of your help! I am using Lloyds pan. However, a thin layer of ghee and then .75 ounce of peanut oil did the trick!  As well, my son remarked about the buttery taste of the crust! 

I think it was just the summer heat and humidity. It gets to 80 F in the house and the bottom of the crust had tons of tiny bubbles that stuck. Or it could be something else...as we all know yeast has a mind of its own!

Many thanks again,

Zoe

[zoe]

By the way, is there anyone out there who has tried the victory pig-knock  pizza at Cosmos on Oak in Scranton? I am in Florida, so I have not been, but their reviews look amazing.

[Joe_C]

Exciting news for Western Pennsylvania!  There's a new pizza shop in New Castle featuring VP-style pizza.  It's only about an hour's drive from Pittsburgh so I'm planning to make a visit soon.  Check out their website.  Looks delicious!  www.turcospizza.com

--Joe C.

[NepaBill]

I love this style of pizza!!!  I started dabbling in pizza making over 15 years ago in an attempt to make this style of pizza..  I live in Luzerne County where Victory Pig is located..  This style of pizza which is known by locals as Pan Fried Sicilian (PFS) has exploded in popularity in the the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area over the last 5 years..  There are numerous places doing this style..  Some, in my opinion, are doing it better than Victory Pig..  Victory Pig was the first in the area..  I give them that credit..    The popularity explosion of this style is mainly due to a local pizza blogger by the name of Jim Mirabelli and his blog.. "NEPA Pizza Review".  He is obsessed with PFS..  Not sure if this link will come through, but it highlights all the places in Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA) that offer this style..  https://www.nepapizzareview.com/2020/11/best-pan-fried-sicilian-pizzas-in-nepa.html

Here is my latest version from this past weekend..  I continually screw around with different dough recipes just to see what happens..  This dough version contained egg, potato, and milk..

[matermark]

My family is from Duryea, on the border of Luzerne & Lackawanna counties, the little borough between the self-proclaimed "pizza capital of the world" (Old Forge) and "tomato capital of the world (Pittston.) Duryea had Gabella's on the border of Old Forge where the speed limit tapers down to 15 mph on Main Street! I haven't been out there in about 5-7 years now, but last pizzas I had were from Sizzle Pi in Kingston and Ghigiarelli's in Old Forge, both red as well as "double crust" white. I haven't been to Victory Pig since probably last century, and tried MANY up/down US11 getting there! I think you may have told me 10+ years ago Gabella's became an "exotic" restaurant! Thanks for posting!

[NepaBill]

Hi Mater..  My wife is from OF..  I am familiar with Gabella's..  They had a peppery sauce on their version of Old Forge style pizza..  While Old Forge style and Pan Fried Sicilian (aka Victory Pig) are Worlds apart, I do respect both Old Forge pizza and the town of Old Forge..   Old Forge pizza and the numerous pizza businesses located so close to each other are very unique..  Regardless of if you like it or not, you have to admit they have a winning formula..  Have you ever heard of David Portnoy?  He was in OF to review numerous pizza places in 2020 (pre-pandemic)..  Local story on it if interested..  https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/barstool-sports-founder-dave-portnoy-rates-old-forge-pizza-a-cut-above-in-test/article_693e40e0-1c2a-5f3e-9519-825cfbe8ee91.html  Old Forge is a unique pizza and community..   You mentioned Aurant's..  Aurant's is the name of the restaurant that took over Gabello's building..  They have since closed..  The building is now owned by a contractor who parks equipment in the parking lot..

[matermark]

YES, those Old Forge pizza places are virtually all tavern-based and nearly next door to each other--Arcaro & Genell's is across the street from Revello's and a couple hundred feet away is Ghigiarelli's!

I saw Dave Portnoy's video on YouTube last year! He's a clown. He needs to sit down & have a couple slices! He seems to make quick decisions barely after a slice, or should I say cut! I have to give him a pass, he has been contributing greatly to struggling businesses affected by the pandemic. One of those businesses was in my area (Buffalo/WNY.)

I watched many of the pizza places reviewed on the crawl, all the way to Moscow & Clark-Summit. Thanks for the update on Aurant's! Wish I could be out there! Stay safe!