Do you remember when craft beer started to take off, to the surprise of the giant brewers?
So what did they do, they created spin-off “mini-companies” with new brews, and marketing them as such. So we didn’t know that Miller (or whomever) was behind “Bob’s Garage Brew – the beer made with sink water from Bob’s house.” Well, you get the idea.
So I stumble on this new frozen pie from “Outsider’s Pizza Company” someone I’ve never heard of, and according to the box, they are based in somewhere, Ohio. “Interesting” I said to no one.
They had two pies in the frozen aisle, “Detroit style” and “Milwaukee style.” I like Detroit style pizza, and to my knowledge, nobody in the segment is doing a frozen one. None of the Detroit chains have expanded nationwide (like Buddy’s). Little Caesars deep dish is a mass appeal version of the product, but not very true to the original.
A Detroit style pizza is rectangular, a thick crust which resembles focaccia bread, chewy, but extra crispy around the edges. This effect can come from one of two methods, running the cheese out to, past the edge of the pie and it drips down during baking making a caramelized edge. Or some places simply brush the crust with butter before baking. Cheese. Some apply a modest amount of sauce before baking, other insist on drizzling sauce after baking, not covering the entire surface, tho. Toppings are conventional.
IN ANY CASE, (geez, get to it, would you!!!??!) the Outsider’s Pizza Company is like the giant beer companies microbrews – it’s actually part of the Nestle pizza line (which they acquired from Kraft) and includes DiGiornos, California Pizza Kitchen, Jacks, and Tombstone.
I’m gonna say Nestle’s frozen Detroit style pizza is a fairly good effort. Whoever comes into the market next will improve on the concept, undoubtedly.
The crust is ok, bread-like, and the edges have a modest caramelization, not complete. I don’t care for the sauce which tastes, to me, awfully industrial, mass production. Cheese was adequate and the topping (salami) was flavorful.
Lo and behold, behold and low upon further examination, the pies are made in the same factory as DiGiornos, which isn’t even a Nestle factory, but a contract manufacturer down the street from me in Chicago. Nation Pizza.
Here I wanted to actually be made by some “outsiders” so I could applaud their industry as a start-up. Damn.
Baked pie, 27 minutes at 400.
Semi caramelized crust, note crust thickness
Outsiders Pizza Review
Outsiders Pizza Review