Forget Red Pepper Flakes, This Trick Makes Pizza Even Spicier
If you're anything like me, you love giving your pizza a nice yet subtle kick that blends nicely with the classic dish's core flavors. However, while store-bought red chile pepper flakes or even Calabrian pepper flakes are great on pizza, those who love the taste of a jalapeño pepper can integrate it into their pizzas seamlessly by grating it directly onto the pizza either before cooking or right after pulling it from the oven. This trick has been highlighted on TikTok repeatedly, but many have never even thought of the simple yet effective method.
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When it comes to executing this hack, many suggest using a frozen jalapeño to make the grating process easier because a fresh one would likely cause a paste to form from the juices. You'll also want to ensure that your jalapeño is of a more uniform size so it's easier to hold. To add a subtle jalapeño flavor rather than the big one you'd get by adding whole pieces of the pepper to the pie, you'll want to use the finest grater you have to get the job done, with a microplane (one of Ina Garten's all-time favorite kitchen tools) likely being your best bet.
The best pizzas to top with jalapeño dust
As mentioned earlier, pizza, in particular, can benefit from grated jalapeño in a few ways. For those using a frozen pepper and are worried the dust will cool down your homemade pizza too much, adding it before you place the cheese on top of the sauce and dough might be your best bet. However, if you allow the dust to defrost — a process that takes shockingly little time — you can easily add it after you've compiled all the toppings and cooked the pizza through. This is likely to give you a much more vibrant jalapeño taste, and is the obvious choice if you are making a frozen pizza or ordering a pie from a pizzeria.
However, while jalapeño dust is great on pizza on its own, it can be made even better by adding other compatible pizza toppings to the mix to complement its spicy contribution. In the same way that bacon can make jalapeño poppers an even better appetizer, adding bacon to your jalapeño-dusted pizza is arguably second-to-none in flavor combinations. Alternatively, you can make your pizza even spicier by using both red pepper flakes and jalapeño dust in tandem, or by using some spicy sausage as a core topping for the pie. Nevertheless, if you have any jalapeño dust left over after you're done eating your pizza, other dishes like mac and cheese, baked potatoes, and spicy margaritas can also benefit from the unique ingredient.