Pizza Hut Detroit Style Pizza: What To Know Before Ordering
Since its inception in 1958, Pizza Hut has grown to become one of the United States' most popular pizza chains. Brothers Dan and Frank Carney wanted to open a restaurant, so they borrowed $600 from their mother to get their dream started, according to the Pizza Hut blog. The Carney brothers quickly grew a following because of their great customer service and solid menu items.
The story behind the brand's name is fun, too. It turns out there was only room for eight letters on the brothers' storefront sign, and Pizza Hut was the best they could come up with. More than 60 years later, the name is synonymous with good eats; according to Statista, it was the second-most popular pizza chain in America in 2019, with $5.56 billion in sales (trailing only Domino's).
One of the chain's most popular dishes is its Detroit-style pizza. If you're looking to try out this dish, there are a few things to know before ordering.
What is Pizza Hut's Detroit-style pizza?
In general, Detroit-style pizza is known for having a much thicker crust than the traditional stuff. It's a rectangular pie (called "square" by locals, according to Eater) with a puffy base, and it's typically assembled in the opposite way of a regular pizza: dough, then toppings, then cheese, then sauce.
At Pizza Hut, the chain describes its own take on Detroit-style as "layered with toppings and cheese all the way to the edge, and finished with a premium diced tomato sauce." The chain introduced this particular style in early 2021 according to its blog, which also revealed that the company worked on the Detroit-style special for more than a year, creating over 500 different versions of the dish in search of the perfect recipe. Those who order the Detroit-style pizza might notice that it uses a slightly different sauce than their other pies; per the blog, the chain remixed their recipe specifically for this dish using vine-ripened tomatoes. While it was briefly discontinued shortly after its debut, the brand relaunched the promotion later that same year.
How much does the Detroit-style pizza cost?
The brand is known for having affordable food. Back in 1958, one of Pizza Hut's first menu items, the Supreme Pizza, was also its priciest at $2.50. And today, while those prices have certainly increased quite a bit, it's still an affordable option for a slice or full pie.
Cost can vary depending on location, but according to Forbes, the Detroit-style pizza launched with a price of $10.99. Of course, that figure can also fluctuate depending on the size and the number of toppings, so while the most basic of these specialty pies might go for around $11, anything heavy in meat toppings will likely be substantially more. Those looking to save money might want to go with one of the brand's other pizza options, such as its traditional hand-tossed pizza, which on average starts at $8.49 (via RealMenuPrices.com).
How is the pizza made?
This regional style doesn't look anything like your average round or even Sicilian-style pizza. Though Pizza Hut doesn't give away all of its secrets, Eater notes that the typical Detroit-style pies are made using a deep rectangular pan; this gives them their thick, focaccia-like shape. From there, the pizzas are constructed in a backward fashion, with the toppings and cheese layered underneath the sauce. While a traditional pie opts for sauce, then cheese, then toppings, the Detroit-style adds the toppings first, following with a thick layer of cheese, then finishing with ample spoonfuls of sauce.
Pizza Hut's blog says theirs includes cheese placed "all the way to the edges" in order to create a more caramelized crust. Then, once the cheese is in place and the toppings are set, the pizza is topped with sauce. The restaurant chain went through eight different iterations of sauce in order to find the perfect recipe to use just for this particular pie.
Does the Detroit-style pizza taste good?
This Pizza Hut pizza might sound incredible, but the most important question on everyone's minds should be: Does it taste good? Of course, it depends who you ask, but Pizza Hut fans seem to have overall positive reviews, despite one recurring complaint.
According to a Reddit thread, some consumers were thrown off by the new sauce. One user described the pie as "overall ... not bad," but noted that "there was something off-putting on the sauce." As it turns out, many others in the thread agreed. "The sauce was genuinely off-putting. But I thought the crust itself was great," one Reddit user wrote.
The original poster's initial review also put the sauce in the spotlight — and not in a good way. "The new sauce they are using IS NOT good," they wrote. "It has an unpleasant flavor ... It made the pizza very difficult to eat because of how much I did not like it." Still, the user said the pepperoni was "excellent" but that the crust was "disappointing." Curious consumers will have the opportunity to see for themselves.
Is the pizza a permanent menu item?
Like many fast food and fast casual restaurants, Pizza Hut often adds and removes certain items, only to bring them back later. That's exactly what happened with its Detroit-style pizza, which the chain introduced in January of 2021 before temporarily shelving it until August of that same year. It's unclear whether the pie is here to stay.
According to Pizza Hut's website FAQ, the Detroit-style special is only available at participating locations. It did not give a specific date as to when the pizza would disappear again, but that could depend on demand and total sales.
Pizza Hut does have a slew of permanent menu items, including its Hand Tossed, Original Pan, and Original Stuffed Crust pizzas. The chain has also had several limited-time options over the years, such as its flatbread pizza. Even if the Detroit-style pizza does vanish, it doesn't mean the menu item won't soon make another return.