One of the most popular foods in the country, pizza is beloved, in part, for the many varieties of toppings that go so well with it. Everybody has their favorites and you’ll find some interesting regional offerings as well. In essence, pizza is a kind of bread with toppings added, and what you find topping pizzas is limited by imagination alone. Many cultures have co-opted the pizza concept, using their own favorite toppings. Even the Navajos have created frybread-based pizza, often topped with ground beef or mutton.
The list of the most popular meat toppings for pizza usually includes pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, ham, chicken, bacon, and ground beef. Of course that is far from the complete list of what is available. Regional specialties can include options such as bison, ostrich, and a variety of seafood as well. With a perfect meat-delivery system like pizza, the choices are almost limitless.
Since pizza is so accommodating, you’ll find combinations that, at first, may seem a little odd. When the “Hawaiian” pizza first came on the scene, the idea of putting ham and pineapple together took some getting used to. Now it’s one of the most popular pizza duos. These days, pineapple is being teamed up with calamari as a pizza topping combination, so don’t be shocked at whatever comes up next.
Fish and seafood aren’t usually the kind of meats you would think about using to top a pizza. Anchovies have long been a staple of pizza toppings, but usually just to add some flavor and not as a real meat source, but if you travel to the gulf coast, you’ll find some of the options include shrimp, crabmeat, lobster, and clams. If you head into Cajun country in Louisiana, you’ll find that Cajun-seasoned crawfish can be some tasty little morsels to add to your favorite pizza toppings list.
One of the reasons for the variety available in meat toppings is that pizza is one of those things that just beg home cooks to experiment. It’s almost impossible to fail at a homemade pizza, regardless of the toppings, and whatever meat you may have lying around becomes a candidate, including bologna, hot dogs, or leftover chili. If pizza had a motto, it would most likely be “You never know until you try”.
