Detroit has proved to be one of the most popular pizza styles across the U.S. The tender, yet chewy crumb and racing-stripe sauce add to its appeal, but there’s no denying that the real magic is in the crispy cheese crown that towers above the edges of the pizza. It seems only a matter of time before the Frico transcends Detroit pizza altogether and pops up on other styles.

These blackened, lacy edges can be traced back to Buddy’s Pizza, the iconic pizzeria credited with creating what we now call Detroit-style pizza. In 1946, the owners – Gus Guerra and his wife, Anna – were looking for something new to add to their menu. They came up with a variation on Sicilian pizza with a show-stopping cheese crown. The lore behind this style is that Buddy’s used a blue steel pan originally meant to hold small auto manufacturing parts. With an abundance of such trays in Motor City, it was probably a simple matter of convenience and supply. It’s this very pan – deep with thick steel sides – that help create the beautiful cheese crown. Ironically, those blue steel pans so key to the style’s creation are now nearly impossible to find. Luckily, other pans exist to help mimic the originals.

Frico For Non-Detroit Styles

As a person who doesn’t adhere to the exact constructs of specific pizza styles, I love seeing the Frico edge pop up outside of Detroit pizza. I’ve never made Detroit pizza at my shop, but I do put a crispy cheese crust on our Grandma pies. The pizza I make is a variation of the pan pizza my mom used to make. It’s her version of a pan pie, coated with a sesame-seed bottom. When I was workshopping this pizza to make at my restaurant, cheese that pooled over the edge and caramelized in the oven was a natural addition. The sesame seeds turn crunchy and buttery in the oven, and the crispy cheese edge makes the pizza almost decadent. Looking around, I see this feature elsewhere, too – especially on round pan pies. At Chicago-based Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, you can find a cheesy layer lurking along the round crust of what the owner, Robert Maleski, calls a Chicago pan pizza.

It might look easy, but getting the perfect frico crust takes more than just sprinkling some extra cheese on the edge of your pan pie. Like anything extraordinary, it’s all in the details. Creating a consistently great cheese crown really comes down to the cheese, the fat, the pan and the tools.

Cheese Frico

Traditionally, Wisconsin brick cheese was used to create the caramelized edges. This high-fat cheese has a buttery, salty flavor with a good amount of tang. Mozzarella has become a more common addition to the cheese blend. The amount of cheese you use is extremely important. Nicole Bean of Pizaro’s Pizza Napoletana in Houston agrees that finding the right balance of cheeses is essential. She says, “Low-moisture mozzarella is helpful building a frico. There’s debate on which brand – and even if pre-shred makes a difference on it. I think it truly depends on what you’re looking for in your frico.”

The shape of the cheese can impact your final product as well. Shredded cheese is a great option, but also consider using sliced cheese that you layer along the sides – or cut and cubed cheese. This is how Maleski creates his crispy crust at Milly’s. “I use part-skim, low-moisture mozzarella. I think the whole milk releases just a little too much grease and have found that skim works better. I buy them in block form, and we slice them ourselves. We do one-ounce slices. The trick is to layer the slices so they run up the side of the pan.”

While you want a crispy crown, Maleski points out that it’s important not to overcook the pizza, since it can cause the frico to taste bitter and burned.

Pan Pizza

The cheese works in tandem with the pan. The traditional blue steel pans with black surfaces are similar to a cast iron, with the black being better at conducting heat and essentially frying the cheese edge as the pizza cooks. The slightly sloped edges help to create the shelf of caramelized, lacy cheese. While these pans are very hard to come by nowadays, there are some good alternatives.

Once you find the right pan for your frico, don’t forget the fat. A good amount of fat should be used along the bottom and sides of the pan – not only to help with the release of the frico but to help fry it and give it shape and flavor. I’m a big fan of olive oil, but depending on what you’re going for, butter, Crisco or even good old-fashioned grease works really well – or try a combination of a few coatings. Maleski first rubs the entire pan with Crisco and then sprays Pam along the edge of the pan where the frico will touch. He says, “When I first started, it was incredibly challenging to free the pizzas from the pan. Since I discovered the combo of Crisco and Pam, I have never had any issues with the pizza sticking; it comes out like butter.”

Releasing Pizza From the Pan

Once you determine which pan to use and the grease you prefer, the next thing to consider is how to go get it out of the pan. “Choose the right tools to remove your Detroits to preserve the frico as much as possible,” Bean says. “I’ve seen a variety of things: metal dough scrapers or even putty scrapers, beveled spatulas, plastic or metal spatulas, flexi scrapers.”

There’s something about a caramelized cheese frico that is irresistible – both to eat and photograph. While Detroit-style pizza is as popular as ever, the Frico edge itself has taken on a life of its own. Using the right tools, cheese, pans and process, there’s really no limit to putting a frico on your own version of pan pizza.

Audrey Kelly owns Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado.

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Detroit, Michigan. Have you ever been there? If you were to ask 100 pizza makers from across the country, I would bet maybe half have ever actually been to Detroit – and yet the very distinctive pan pizza that comes out of Detroit has been spreading like wildfire across the country for the past few years.

Detroit is known throughout the world as “Motor City,” the birthplace of the automobile boom beginning in the early 20th century. But it boasts a lot more than pick-up trucks and sedans. Detroit is the birthplace of the Motown record label, the hometown of notorious rapper Eminem and as well as the second city after New York to host teams in all four major sports leagues. Those things are cool. But what about the pizza? The Detroit metro area is the home of Little Caesars and Jet’s, two franchises that have blown up since their humble beginnings.

Detroit style is known for being cooked in a rectangular pan with caramelized cheese around the rim and stripes of sauce.

Laura Meyer, owner, Pizzeria da Laura, Berkley, CA

The stripes are up for debate, depending on who you ask, but certain characteristics define the style no matter what. Regardless of which school of thought you follow, Detroit-style pizza has made a dramatic impact on the pizza industry, and chains like Pizza Hut have started making it, which tells me Detroit style is here to stay.

I had the pleasure of visiting Detroit not too long ago, and boy, was it eye opening. Through my own research and product development, I knew what the main characteristics were and what I was looking for, but I had no clue what the original shops were making. Originally, the pizzas were made in blue steel pans that were once used to clean tools but then utilized to make pizza because … why not? Shops like Buddy’s and Cloverleaf still are using the old pans. But blue steel is not made anymore, so what pans remain are highly coveted.

The main cheese used is Brick, native to Wisconsin. It melts nicely like a mozzarella and has a flavor profile that is fairly mild, but as it ages can become more pungent like a cheddar. Some shops like Buddy’s Pizza are putting pepperoni and other ingredients under the cheese while some put them on top. The sauce is not super thick, and I have seen anything from stripes to splotches to everything in between, but I never saw any pizza that was too sauce forward.

In terms of dough process, I managed to speak with someone within Buddy’s Pizza; but unfortunately, I am not privy to specific proprietary information. What I could gather is that they (like a lot of pizzerias in Detroit) are doing it the same way they always have – or as close to the same as possible. They are using fresh yeast, a mid- to low-range protein flour, and there is no browning agent and no fat (or very little fat) in the dough. For water, I suspect a lower hydration not exceeding 60 percent. The dough is made same day and is proofed in the pan for a number of hours before being cooked.

The representative from Buddy’s explained to me that Detroit-style crust “should be light and crunchy.” During my eating tour of Detroit, I noticed the height of each pizza was only about 1-1.5 inches and had a crumb structure that was tighter with many small bubbles. There was a crunch on the bottom, but it was never super distinct. It was the type of crunch that you get from contact with the pan and length of cook time, but not the thicker and more sturdy crunch you get from higher hydration.

The lasting impression I got was this fervent sense of pride in Detroit and its style of pizza, but even the OG spots like Buddy’s are happy to see what Detroit style pizza has become and how far across the world it has spread.

As for the new school of thought, I spoke with a few well-known Detroit style pizza makers, and no process was the same.

The defining characteristics of a caramelized cheese crust made in a rectangular pan were about the only two things that were the same. With technology and as much knowledge about pizza and fermentation out there, it is no surprise that everyone is doing something slightly different – but, in their minds, making it better. Flours range in protein levels from low to high depending on maturation times, and hydrations are upwards of 70 percent. Some are utilizing an autolyse during the mix and some are not. Some are making dough same day and some are waiting days before use. I don’t see many pizzerias outside of Neapolitan utilizing fresh yeast, but I suspect this is more because of consistency and shelf life than because they prefer the flavor over instant and dry active yeast.

Cheese blends vary, but a lot are using cheddar and brick to get caramelization around the edge. How far down the side of the pizza the caramelized cheese goes is a big eye catcher. Some are going the traditional route of only part-way to maybe halfway down, while others are going all the way down to the bottom of the pan, fully encasing the dough.

Baking from raw, proofed dough or using a par-bake seems to be the hot debate these days. The old-school way is baking from raw, while the new is doing both. Par bakes give a different texture and overall mouthfeel to the finished pizza, but it also can be used because of shop conditions. Sometimes a par bake comes in handy because you can prep many pizza crusts in advance, which makes it easy to transport and store them for off-site events.

No matter what techniques you use, it is always better in my mind to know where you come from to better understand the why and where you are heading. Detroit might not be a hot tourist destination these days, but “The Detroit” will forever live on in the pizza industry as one of the tastiest and cheesiest styles worth exploring.

LAURA MEYER is owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, CA.

Read Tenets of the Detroit, Part II

DIVE DEEPER: Read Detroit Style Pizza: A Guide to Detroit Pizza

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Robert Jacobs, president of Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit, Michigan

At Buddy’s Pizza, we are as dedicated to serving up delicious Detroit-style square pizzas today as we were when our original location opened back in 1946. More than 66 years later, our nine family-owned pizzerias have stayed true to the recipes that have made Buddy’s Pizza a household name.

We are known near and far for crafting the nation’s first square pizza, for soups made from scratch, and for our celebrated antipasto salad topped with a dressing of fresh herbs and ingredients that’s as much a part of our history as our pizza. As we prepare to celebrate National Pizza Month, we’re looking back at what has changed over the decades, as well as where we’re headed.

Over the years we have added a variety of items to our menu to embrace our customers changing health needs and requests. Today, alongside Buddy’s famous crust, you’ll find gluten-free and multi-grain options. In addition to our original sauce, we offer tomato basil sauce.

Cheese pizza has a whole new meaning, too. Customers may choose from our traditional brick cheese to our special Motor City Cheese Blend to a casein-free Vegan option to suit any dietary or health restriction.

We offer fresh homemade pastas, our signature Robby burgers, delicious sandwiches, salads and more –– all prepared with the freshest ingredients and an acute attention to detail.

We are just as committed to serving our surrounding communities as we are to serving up the very best food. Over the past 36 years, our employees have helped raise more than $2.5 million dollars to support Detroit’s Capuchin Soup Kitchen during our company- wide annual Slice for Life benefit program. We also actively support the American Red Cross, March of Dimes, Karmanos Cancer Institute, the College of Creative Studies, the Catholic Youth League and a variety of other national and Detroit-based charities.

Last year the city of Detroit designated June 23 as Buddy’s Pizza Day in Detroit. We chose that moment as a time to give back to the city that has helped us establish our strong roots. We launched our Motor City Pizza Collection, featuring pizzas named after four of Detroit’s most treasured cultural institutions:

The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Detroit Zoo, The Henry Ford and The Parade Company. A portion of the proceeds of each Motor City-themed pizza sold was later donated back to its designated cultural institution.

At the same time, Detroit’s own Kid Rock granted Buddy’s Pizza the opportunity to break boundaries in creating a pizza containing his own beer –– Badass Beer –– in our signature crust. It was the merging of two Detroit icons into the Kid Rock’s Badass Detroiter Pizza.

More than a Detroit- based business, we have always viewed ourselves as a made-in- Michigan company. That’s what led us to create the new, Made in Michigan Great Lakes Pizza Collection –– five new pizzas modeled after Michigan’s freshwater lakes. For each of these pizzas sold until December 31, a portion will be donated to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a non-profit that works to preserve Michigan’s greatest resource for future generations.

We work in the pizza industry, where our square pies are consumed in a meal’s time. But our efforts have always served to accomplish something lasting in Southeast Michigan. It’s something that will mean so much more to our employees and to our customers, many of whom have grown with us through the years and become part of our extended Buddy’s Pizza family.

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