Panzarotti Vs. Fried Sicilian: Unraveling Regional Fried Pizza Legends
Cross over the state border into Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and frying shifts from submersion tanks to heavy rectangular baking pans. As documented by regional authorities at DiscoverNEPA, Luzerne County is home to a hyper-concentrated pocket of independent pizza joints, from Victory Pig in Forty Fort to Pizza Bella and Cebula’s, that prepare what locals call pan-fried Sicilian pizza.
This style of NEPA-style pizza relies on a high-hydration dough subject to extended, cold dough fermentation lasting anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. The dough is not submerged in an open fryer. Instead, bakers pour a generous layer of cooking fat, traditionally lard, though peanut oil and soybean blends are common today, directly into deep-sided steel or cast-iron sheet pans. The proofed dough is dimpled into the fat, allowed to rise a final time in the pan, and topped.
The layering order defies standard Neapolitan dogma:
- The dough rests directly on the oil slick.
- A thick layer of finely sliced, sweet Spanish onions is scattered across the raw dough, often cooked down first in oil or blended directly into the sauce.
- The sauce, thick, sweet, and heavily seasoned with black pepper, goes on next.
- A unique cheese blend covers the top: rarely pure mozzarella, instead relying on white cheddar, Cooper Sharp American, or mild provolone.
When the pan enters an oven heated between 450°F and 500°F, the cooking fat on the pan floor boils. The crust does not merely bake; it fries violently against the metal base. The result is an extraordinary textural contrast: an intensely crunchy, golden bottom that sounds like shattered glass when sliced with a wheel, supporting a light, focaccia-like crumb that remains airy and ungreasy.
