Chef Ray Sheehan’s Smoked Pizza Dip

Ray Sheehan is the author of Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them. He’s also a certified Kansas City Barbeque Society judge, member of the National Barbecue and Grilling Association and 9x winner of the Award of Excellence from the National Barbecue Association.
A chef by trade, Ray has been in the food business for over 25 years. Since 2017 he has been a contributor to Barbecue News Magazine, providing recipes, articles,and product reviews. Ray has appeared on PA Live! WBRE-NBC, Food and Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen, Talk Radio 790 KABC, Los Angeles, Barbecue Nation with JT AM 860 KPAM, Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, Australia, The BBQ Talks Show, United Kingdom, The BBQ Beat Podcast, The Baseball and BBQ Podcast, The Pit Life BBQ Podcast, Beer Sessions Radio on the Heritage Radio Network, Dining on A Dime 103.7 FM New York and Food, Farms, and Chefs WWDB 860 AM, and Small Bites with Donato Marino & Derek Timm, The #1 listed “Food
Radio Show in Philadelphia”. Ray has been featured in Tailgater Magazine, The Smoke Sheet BBQ Newsletter,Edible Jersey magazine, New Jersey Monthly magazine, Industry Magazine, the Asbury Park Press and the Coaster newspaper. He lives in New Egypt, New Jersey

Chef Ray has a lot of great recipes up his sleeve, and he's been kind enough to share them with us. I am excited to try this recipe!

Smoked Pizza Dip…Now that’s amore!
Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage, casing removed

½ cup diced onion

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup sour cream

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

15 oz jar pizza sauce

Sliced pepperoni

Sliced hot cherry peppers or jalapenos -optional

Sliced baguette bread for serving

Prepare a smoker to cook at 350F or a grill with an indirect heat set up.

Grease a 10 inch cast iron pan and set aside until ready to use.

Directions:

Set up a charcoal grill for 2-zone cooking. Light a charcoal chimney, and when the edges of the charcoal at the top of the chimney begin to ash over, dump the pile of hot coals onto 1 side of the grill to form your hot side (direct cooking), leaving the other side empty to form your cool side (indirect cooking), forming 2 zones.

In a medium pan over medium heat, cook the sausage until it is browned and cooked through. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Wipe out the pan and cook the onion until it is softened, about 3-4 minutes.

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, onion, sausage, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Pour the cheese mixture into the cast iron pan and using a spatula spread it out evenly to meet all sides. Layer the cream cheese mixture with one cup of mozzarella, the pizza sauce, and the remaining mozzarella. Top the dip with pepperoni, and cherry peppers (if using), and a

dusting of Parmesan. Place the dip on the grate in the smoker or on the grill with the lid closed and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes. Remove the pan from the grill and serve immediately with toasted baguette slices for dipping.

Jersey Burger Lovers Tell Us Where To Go For The Best Burgers In The Garden State Part 1

Actual human beings in our great state of New Jersey are my guides when it comes to finding out where the best of anything can be located. I actually put in the work to present an HONEST outcome. I never create a list that is NOT based on other people’s opinions. There are times I insert my own opinion into the mix, but one person’s opinion just isn’t enough. It’s all about the people and the food they love.

It's time to find out where to go to find the best burgers in New Jersey. Thanks to all the fine folks who participated in my survey for pointing me in the direction of where to find these juicy hunks of meaty goodness. I appreciate all of you. Oh, and this is Part one.

There were a bunch of people on all the food sites I surveyed who chose this place. Clearly, The Galley is NOT just pizza.

According to tons of people on the food pages and sites, BB's is most definitely one of the top 5 places to get a great burger.

When I go to Newark it's usually for a show and Portuguese food. Thanks to Tom F., Diane from WOYP, and more than a dozen other people, I now have to trade grilled octopus and sangria for a Krug's burger.

Tommy T. knows good burgers! Elevated comfort food is what this place is all about.

Look for the Brick location in the near future.  Thanks to all the foodie friens who chose this place. Repeat winners of the WRAT Shore Awards.

I love an unfussy place that focuses on food. Thanks to Lou, Joe, and Manny, and all the other folks who chose Steve's.

Consulting the fine folks on the South Jersey Food Scene page was an absolute must. Carlina, Brieanna, and several others had this place on the list. Clearly, they knock it out of the park if several people tell you that YOU MUST have a burger from here.

I got hit with a ton of suggestions to grab a burger at this place. I can proudly say I have had more than one burger at the Pour House. Emily commented that she loves their signature cheddar sauce on her three-meat blended burger.  Meaty, juicy, and oh-so satisfying.

If your beloved neighborhood joint doesn't have a good burger then don't invite me out to watch the game. I need more than just a cold pint to make my day.

I knew this would make the list. They have made several appearances on various Food Network shows and Jersey folks just love them.

David is red meat royalty. This guy is full of confidence, knowledge, and experience when it comes to burgers. I would imagine he has at least one favorite burger place outside of his kingdom, but he won't tell. The Strollo Burger would probably have its own network show if we knew where it lived.

Not only do they make an exceptional burger, but their onion rings are also made in-house, not that frozen crap we're used to at other places.

I've had several meals at HW's, but never a burger. I guess I need to change it up because this place was on the list of lots of people who took part in my survey.

This is my introduction to this Hawthorne establishment thanks to Daniel from WOYP and a couple of other folks. The place is family owned and has been around since 1967. Check out their crazy inventive milkshakes!

A favorite watering hole for many friends and members of the WRAT Rock Nation!

Harry does everything in a big way. This innovative food creator challenges himself every day to make his food better than he did the day before. We all know it's not the size of the burger that counts, it's the flavor and quality. Kudos to our friend Harry Clayton who seems to make almost every list when it comes to really good quality food packed with a lot of flavors and lots of love.

Grab one of their signature burgers or create your own custom burger. They bake their own bread in-house from scratch and their burgers are fresh too. Thanks to the nice folks who let me know this place exists.

If a place with "Steak" in its name doesn't have a good burger, then it's lights out.

Their tagline is: "Raising The Barr On Burgers." According to Ric from the South Jersey Scene page, this is a darn good place to grab a burger. They offer a variety of buns and bread to give your lovely slab of meat a place to rest until you're ready to gobble it down. Plus a nice choice of proteins to choose from like Wagyu, or chuck, and sauces too, including truffle aioli.

Lisa G. says the burgers here are where it's at.  I love a good family-owned and operated establishment. From their website:

MADE WITH LOCALLY SOURCED AND ORGANIC INGREDIENTS, CHEF NEVILLE’S DELECTABLE CREATIONS ARE UNIQUE, DELICIOUS, AND MADE WITH INTEGRITY.