Barbecue Chicken or Pulled Pork Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Last week, I was slammed by a nasty virus that knocked me on my ass.  Kamden and I visited the Fibre Frolic event in Edmonton (an event for knitters and wool lovers and fibre farmers) and on the way home, I could tell I was tanking fast.  By the time we arrived home, it was all I could do to drag myself inside and crawl into bed.  I fought a fever off and on for 3 days and slept more than I was awake.  When the fever finally disappeared, I grabbed out a couple of whole chickens from the freezer - my body was in need of the nourishment of a hearty chicken noodle soup.  My friend, Kerri, raised meat chickens this year and she dropped off a handful of the chickens a few weeks ago and we've been looking forward to them ever since. 

After cooking the whole chickens in the slow cooker, I was able to shred enough chicken off the frames to make at least a couple of meals.  The carcasses went right back in the slow cooker with water, carrots, onions, and garlic, and I let it simmer for the next 24 hours.  The broth turned out to one of the most flavourful broths I've made yet and the soup was just what I needed.

Now, with all the shredded chicken leftover, I was excited to create a few new recipes for the Lazuli Farms blog!  I spotted a bottle of Maple Bluff's delicious barbecue sauce in the fridge along with pre-cooked LF bacon and it hit me!  Let's make a pizza complete with barbecue sauce, bacon, and caramelized onions.  A hit of delicious flavours.

Pizza is always a hit at our house.  The incredibly simple pizza crust recipe on the Lazuli Farms blog is so stinking easy that all my kids can make pizza crust ALMOST with their eyes closed, lol!

Of note, I find that shredded chicken and pulled, shredded pork shoulder can be used interchangeably in most recipes.  Pulled pork would taste equally delightful on this pizza!

So let's make some barbecue chicken pizza my friend!

Barbecue Chicken or Pulled Pork Pizza with Caramelized Onions Recipe

Ingredients:

• prepared pizza dough for 2 to 3 pizzas (easiest pizza recipe here)
• 1/3 to 2/3 cup of barbecue sauce for each pizza (try Maple Bluff's barbecue sauce - available in the Lazuli Farms on-farm store)
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup shredded cooked chicken (or pulled pork) per pizza
• 1 to 2 white/yellow onions, sliced thinly
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lard, bacon grease, or butter
• 2 cups grated cheese per pizza (cheddar, mozza, or other blends)

Instructions:

 Preheat the oven to 425F while you caramelize the onions.

Heat the lard, bacon grease, or butter in a medium cast iron pan until hot.  Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are soft and lightly caramelized.

Assemble each pizza by spreading barbecue sauce on the prepared, uncooked pizza crust.  Use as much barbecue sauce as you desire.  Add the shredded/chopped chicken or pulled pork, onions, and then sprinkle the pizza liberally with shredded cheeses.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, swapping the pizzas from top to bottom rack partway through.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with spicy aoili, hot sauce, ranch, or a mix of ranch with hot sauce.