Sauce Basics

The difference between good pizza and really good pizza is an ingredient that doesn't get the credit it deserves. The sauce.

Although pizza sauce is the glue that holds the cheese and toppings to the pizza crust, few home cooks consider how important it can be to adding flavor.

Sauce is the offensive lineman of Pizza Ingredients - an invaluable asset that seldom gets the recognition it deserves. But with very little effort, pizza sauce can be elevated from a nice-to-have ingredient to a need-to-have that brings a distinct burst of flavor.

We've found three basic sauces you can use as a base for making pizzas in your Blackstone Oven that will allow you to elevate how the pizza tastes. These sauces work well with both popular and not-so-common toppings and cheeses.

As you look at these sauces, remember that like the pizza, the sauce is a blank canvas where you can experiment. Consider adjusting flavors like sweet, spicy, and savory to suit your tastes. Using these sauces as a starting point and making minor adjustments to enhance them will make your pizza taste even more personalized.

Regardless of which of these pizza sauces you choose, each of them will provide distinctive flavors and jumpstart the incoming compliments from your dinner guests.

Marinara Pizza Sauce

This simple tomato-based sauce is the most common sauce used on pizza today. It is said to have originated in Naples during Italy's Renaissance period and could be quickly prepared with everyday ingredients from local markets. It remains popular today because of how well it pairs with most toppings and pizza cheeses.

Don't tell Nona, but contrary to popular belief, the marinara sauce shouldn't have to take all day or require multiple hours of slow cooking on the stove. In fact, this marinara sauce doesn't require any cooking at all.

This recipe uses canned, whole tomatoes for a few reasons.

Other than fresh tomatoes, whole canned are the best tomatoes the farm offers. Farms sell bruised or otherwise inferior tomatoes for canning, crushed, or pureed tomatoes so you may as well start with their best.

Canned tomatoes are also cooked so there's no need to bust out the sauce pot. Although most canned whole tomatoes are peeled, it doesn't hurt to check the label to ensure the skin has been removed.

When shopping for canned tomatoes, the most popular ones for pizza are San Marzano, coming from a specific area in Italy. You can tell if they are authentic because they will have a DOP or a protected designation of origin label on the can, authenticating them. These are typically Roma or piennolo tomatoes.

But your tomatoes don't necessarily have to come from Italy to be delicious. Any quality brand of Roma, plum, or "San Marzano style" tomato will work and you will be supporting domestic farming in the process.

Simple Marinara Pizza Sauce

• 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomato (with all liquids)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse briefly until you reach your desired consistency.

You can also pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and break them up by hand if you prefer a more rustic consistency or have a child nearby who's old enough to want to help but not quite old enough yet to be near the hot oven.

If you prefer the tomato seeds to be removed, the tomatoes can also be passed through a food mill.

Also consider including finely minced garlic, dried garlic powder, or up to a tablespoon of dried or 1/2 cup of fresh basil in this recipe. It should stay good in your refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Alfredo or White Pizza Sauce

This creamy white sauce is commonly known as a yummy topping for pasta like fettuccini Alfredo.

A restauranter named Alfredo Di Lelio is credited for inventing this sauce near Rome in the early 1900s for his wife after she'd lost her appetite post-partum. Although Di Lelio is credited for inventing the creamy white sauce, it's more popular in North America and is barely served anywhere in Italy.

This version of Alfredo sauce is simple, using only cream, parmesan cheese, butter, and garlic with salt and pepper to taste. Although often called a white sauce, it differs slightly from a true white sauce or bechamel made by combining butter and flour to make a roux and adding milk. Some recipes call for adding fresh ground nutmeg to an Alfredo sauce. Although delicious, it's not necessary.

Alfredo sauce is wonderful for pizza because it's creamy and cheesy and will brûlée or brown up a bit if not covered with cheese or toppings during baking.

Although some people say you should never mix seafood with dairy, Alfredo sauce is a perfect base layer for using seafood like shrimp, bay scallops, clams, or even escargot as toppings. It works great with chicken, bacon, artichokes, or even potato toppings and it's perfect for someone who wants a break from a tomato-based sauce.

Alfredo Pizza Sauce

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Do not allow the butter to brown.

Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add the cream and allow it to simmer. Reduce the heat and add the grated parmesan cheese. Stir the sauce until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is creamy with no lumps.

Season with salt and pepper. Will keep for up to a week sealed in the refrigerator.

Spicy Barbecue Pizza Sauce

When people think about barbecue sauce, they likely think of slathering it on ribs, brisket, roasted chicken, or pulled pork. But barbecue sauce, especially this spicy barbecue sauce makes a perfect pizza sauce. It can even save your dinner if you run out of traditional sauce during a pizza-making party.

Since red pepper flakes are often found as a condiment on the table at a pizzeria, the sauce's spiciness is something we're already accustomed to with pizza. This recipe uses common ingredients you likely already have in your pantry so it's simple to make when you get the urge. And if you're not feeling like making sauce, most of us have a bottle of barbecue sauce in the refrigerator that can be used as a substitute.

The sauce has a lot of layers of flavor. Using smoked paprika works well to add a bit of smoke to the sauce that tastes amazing when the pizza cheese melts. Cayenne pepper gives the sauce some heat, but Sriracha can also be substituted if you prefer.

Spicy barbecue pizza sauce excels when you make a garbage pizza, or a pizza utilizing leftovers from a recent dinner. Leftover grilled foods like chicken, steak, burger, and rib meat are amazing with this sauce. But vegetarians will love it as well. It's great for vegetable toppings like mushrooms, artichokes, corn, and kimchee and sweeter fruit toppings like pineapple and mandarin orange.

Spicy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

• 1 cup of ketchup
• 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or 1 tablespoon of Sriracha)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.

Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat.

Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until it thickens.

Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Use the sauce immediately or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.