There’s nothing better than something smoked for the Fourth of July. It doesn’t matter whether you’re making ribs, pulled pork, salmon, or chicken; it’s just not the 4th without some form of outdoor cooking.
Whenever I fire up the smoker, I make enough of whatever I’m cooking to last for several meals. Last week I smoked a couple of chickens with plans to make a Summer Pizza with Smoked Chicken. Chicken is one of my favorite things to smoke, so with extra in the fridge, I knew I could put the leftovers to good use.
I’m always on a quest to put a southern spin on foods that I love. I married an Italian, so for today’s post, I made a Deep South version of a calzone. I put two of my favorite southern foods to work with the chicken. I filled the calzones with chicken, sauteed collards, and pimento cheese and served them with a barbecue ranch dressing.
Jim enthusiastically approved of my southern calzones, albeit not the version he grew up eating. My New Jersey boy even likes collards now, and being the cheese lover that he is, he can’t get enough of my pimento cheese. So it wasn’t a stretch for him to like my “southern” calzones.
What are you cooking for July 4th? Leave me a comment and let me know.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 medium bunch of collards, chopped with thick stems removed
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 pound store-bought whole wheat pizza dough
3 cups shredded smoked chicken (or shredded rotisserie chicken), divided into 4 portions
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup ranch salad dressing
3/4 cup barbecue sauce or your favorite store-bought variety
3/4 cups pimento cheese
Parsley leaves, for garnish
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add collards, Tabasco sauce, salt, and vinegar. Using tongs, toss collards until wilted. Remove from heat and cool.
2. Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Roll dough portion out to a 9-10 inch circle on a floured surface. Place chicken in center of dough circle. Top chicken with 1/4 of collard greens and 3 generous tablespoons of pimento cheese.
3. Brush the edge of the circle with egg using a pastry brush. Fold dough over filling into a half moon. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork. Alternatively, you can fold the edge of the dough up and over to form a seal. Repeat process for remaining three calzones.
4. Place calzones on a baking sheet or pizza stone and bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.
5. In a small bowl, mix ranch dressing and barbecue sauce.
6. Brush each calzone with olive oil and garnish with parsley leaves. Serve immediately with barbecue ranch dressing.
https://southernboydishes.com/2015/07/01/calzones-with-smoked-chicken-collards-and-pimento-cheese/You may also like:
- Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel Soup - November 8, 2015
- Smoky and Sweet Turkey Chili{+ a Cookbook Giveaway} - October 27, 2015
- Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Stew with Turkey Sausage - October 16, 2015
All familiar flavors to me. Those napkins are familiar too. I have the same exact ones. GREG
Same dishes, same napkins, great minds…. ๐
I can never resist pimento cheese! So I’ll put it on (or combine it with) anything. Never thought to add it to collards, chicken, and BBQ sauce though — really fun idea! Thanks.
Bill, I love calzones, and I especially love the chicken/greens/cheese filling in these. You know what – it’s been ages since I had a good calzone – looks like I’m gonna invite myself over to y’alls place this 4th ๐