Since we’ve been spending a lot more time at home during the pandemic, I picked up a new hobby.
The Michael W Travels family really loves pizza so I decided it was time to learn to try to make pizza at home! Making pizza at home is no easy task and there are a lot of skills involved. It’s been a fun and tasty journey and I’m pretty happy with how it’s progressed.
Besides making primarily NY style pies, I’ve also starting working on making Detroit Style pizza! Detroit- style pizza is made in a pan and has delicious, caramelized crispy cheese around the edge. If you haven’t tried this style, I suggest you try to find a place that offers it!
When I heard that Pizza Hut was offering Detroit-Style Pizza (for a limited time), I had to give it a try! (FYI- we never go to or order Pizza Hut. From what I recall, the last time we had it was when we were limited on options while driving to a turtle reserve in Oman!)
I found a Pizza Hut location in Brooklyn to order from and was eager to see just how good (or bad) the pie would be.
Pizza Hut is offering four varieties of their Detroit-Style pies starting at just $11.99. We ordered the Detroit Double Pepperoni.
The pie is described as, “An indulgent Detroit-Style deep-dish pizza that’s loaded with classic pepperoni, our NEW crispy cupped pepperoni, and cheese all the way to the edge of a crispy, caramelized crust and topped with premium diced tomato sauce.”
When I was handed the pizza, I was really impressed with the awesome-looking box. I wish they would make a t-shirt with the image, I’d buy it!
When I got back to the car, the kids said that the pizza smelled great. It did have a good smell but more importantly, how would it taste!
I was impressed by the looks of the pie when I opened the box. 
The first thing that I noticed was the massive amount of sauce in each of the bright red stripes. 
The caramelized crispy edge could’ve been more defined, but it was there.
I pulled a slice out and couldn’t wait to dig in.
The slice was heavy and very messy. Detroit pizzas are made in a greased pan. This pie was extremely greasy/ oily on the bottom which wasn’t surprising. The sauce was also hard to control.
I did enjoy the first bite but I immediately wondered if I’d have heartburn later in the day.
The sauce seemed pretty flavorful and tangy but it was also very salty. It is possible that the saltiness was due to the insane amount of pepperoni (two types) on the pie.
The crust had some crispiness to it but it was more concentrated to the edges. I would’ve liked the bottom of the pie to be a bit crispier but what can you do, again this is chain pizza…
A video I posted of this pie on Instagram drew a lot of interest and curiosity as well as a bunch of comments. @LouBron, a pizza pro who’s given me lots of pizza advice commented “I tried it and it’s not the worst pizza I’ve ever had. The sauce even tastes like real tomatoes.”
Final Thoughts:
You’ve got to wonder, if a national chain is offering Detroit-style pizza, is the style jumping the shark? I’d say absolutely not! Detroit-style pizza is delicious when done right.
These offerings from Pizza Hut are bound to bring major attention to this style of pizza. Again, considering this is chain pizza, I’d say that overall, it was pretty good. (The term good is relative!)
If Pizza Hut could make the bottom of these pies a bit crispier, tone down the sauce a little and make the caramelized cheesy edge a bit more noticeable, I think they’d hit a fast food home run. Are these adjustments easy to make? Probably not…
ChuckMO- Not true and I disagree.
Right. Sauce on top is part of being Detroit Style. Duh!!!
Sauce goes under the cheese. Sauce-on-top pizzas are disgusting.
Mak- Interesting points. A classic NY pie is pretty good for delivery, the fancy pies, not so much.
I think Detroit pizza should be the default pizza style for chains and pizza shops outside of the Northeast. New York/New Haven/Trenton style pizza is extremely difficult to make, and is almost never done right outside of a limited area. Detroit pizza is easier to make and more forgiving, and has the added benefit of staying fresh longer – even the best New York pizza doesn’t take to a cardboard box and delivery time well and goes limp very quickly. Detroit pizza holds up much better against sub-optimal conditions.