White Barbecue Pizza with Prosciutto and Caramelized Onions

May 2024. Spring in Memphis, and I am 65, watching the azaleas and dogwoods bloom along my neighborhood walk, the annual resurrection that makes the winter worth surviving. The smoker wakes up in spring the way the whole city wakes up — slowly, with a stretch, then fully, with purpose.

Rosetta beside me through the week, steady as ever, the woman who runs this household with the precision of a hospital ward and the heart of a mother who has loved fiercely for 40 years of marriage. Walter Jr. came by with the grandchildren, bringing the noise and energy that grandchildren bring, the house expanding to hold them the way a good pot expands to hold a good stew.

Comfort food this week: a big pot of collard greens with smoked turkey neck, simmered for three hours until the greens were dark and silky and the pot liquor was a treasure. The kitchen smelled like Mama's kitchen in the shotgun house, and I stood at the stove and stirred and thought about hands — her hands, small and strong, teaching mine everything they know about turning humble ingredients into something that feeds not just the body but the soul.

I sat in the lawn chair next to Uncle Clyde's smoker as the dark came on, and I thought about what I always think about: the chain. From Clyde to me. From me to Trey, maybe, or Jerome, or whoever comes next with the patience and the hands and the willingness to stand next to a fire at three in the morning and wait for something good to happen. The chain doesn't break. The fire doesn't stop. And I am here, 65 years old, in a lawn chair in Orange Mound, Memphis, Tennessee, watching the smoke rise, and the rising is the living, and the living is the gift.

That night in the lawn chair, watching the smoke curl up past the dogwoods, I wasn’t thinking about pizza — but somewhere in the days that followed, with the smell of smoke still in my jacket and Rosetta asking what I wanted for dinner, this is what came together. A white barbecue pizza with prosciutto and caramelized onions isn’t Uncle Clyde’s smoker, but the white sauce carries that same low, tangy smoke, and the slow-cooked onions remind me of anything worth making that can’t be rushed. It’s a weeknight way of honoring what the fire teaches you — patience, heat, and something good at the end of the wait.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb store-bought or homemade pizza dough, at room temperature
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
3 oz prosciutto, torn into pieces
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Cornmeal or flour, for dusting

Instructions

Caramelize the onions. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced onions, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 25–30 minutes until onions are deeply golden and jammy. Remove from heat and set aside.
Make the white barbecue sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, horseradish, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
Preheat the oven. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 475°F for at least 20 minutes. This high heat is key to a crisp crust.
Shape the dough. On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll pizza dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper dusted with cornmeal.
Assemble the pizza. Spread 1/2 cup of the white barbecue sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Scatter mozzarella over the sauce, then distribute caramelized onions evenly across the top.
Bake. Slide the parchment and pizza onto the hot stone or baking sheet. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned in spots.
Finish and serve. Remove pizza from the oven and immediately drape prosciutto pieces over the hot surface. Scatter shaved Parmesan and fresh thyme on top, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and slice into 8 pieces. Serve with remaining white barbecue sauce on the side for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

White Barbecue Pizza with Prosciutto and Caramelized Onions — When the Smoke Settles and the Fire Finds a New Form