I have a confession to make: I’m kind of a food masochist. The grosser something sounds, the more excited I am to try it (within reasonable limits). So when I saw Mama Cozzi’s BBQ and Beer Brat take and bake pizza in the latest Aldi ad, I knew I had to try it. But not because it sounded good; not by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, I wanted to try it because the combination sounded so heinously awful that it had to be better than what I was picturing. At least, that’s what I hoped.
Really, this pizza can best be described as Aldi‘s take and bake Hawaiian pizza, only with brats (?) substituted for pineapple. Oh, and no ham. So I guess they’re not so much alike after all. But I know the question that’s on your mind: How in the world does a brat taste on a BARBECUE-based pizza? Perhaps surprisingly, pretty damn good, to the point that I’m giving serious thought to the logistics of adding barbecue to a brat sometime.
If you’ve had their aforementioned Hawaiian pizza, then you’ll know what this sauce tastes like…it’s the exact same kind. It’s pretty sweet, but I didn’t think it was overly so, making it the perfect companion to the salty, shockingly flavorful brat. The brat slices are pretty thick, and there’s plenty of them on top of the pizza, so you won’t have to ration them out to make them last. I’d say on average, there were three large brat pieces per slice of pizza, which should be plenty for most people.
Then again, for what you’re paying, there better be lots of meat: Coming in at $6.99 for a 14” pizza, this is one of the more expensive (if not thee most expensive) take and bake pizza options I’ve seen Aldi offer (for those unfamiliar, most of their 16” extra large pizzas are $6 or less). While that’s still in the ballpark of similar supermarket take and bake offerings, it might be a little much for what will amount to little more than an experiment for some people.
Overall: 7.5/10. I’m going to say that if you like brats, and you don’t mind barbecue sauce on a pizza, you should probably go ahead and give it a shot. The vegetables play a nice supporting role to the main star (who I heard can be a real “brat”, haha…sorry), and the sauce provides a nice bit of sweetness to the saltiness of the meat. This is not something I would care to eat very often, but you can only have so many pepperoni and cheese pizzas before you want something different, and this definitely provides plenty of the “different”. For what it’s worth, we wouldn’t hesitate to purchase this pizza again the next time it’s offered. The biggest downside: At $6.99 (for a 14” large pizza), this is one of the most expensive take and bake pizzas I’ve seen Aldi offer; that might be a bit too steep to encourage those on the fence to make the leap. But if you’re curious, and can afford it, I’d say go for it.
I think I've mentioned on here before that pizza (frozen, take & bake, homemade, carryout) is often a staple in my house, having a extremely picky eater at home makes planning other meals a nightmare. That said, I love the Mama Cozzi take-and-bake pizza line as it's by far my favorite for cost & quality among alternatives (which there seem to be a ton of these days). I haven't tried this bbq/beer brat pizza but I can tell you from my experience, substituting bratwurst for pork sausage (commonly found on pizza) is by far the best so given that, I have no reason to believe this product wouldn't be good. One clarification, is the pizza $6.99 or $7.99 for a 14"? If it's the former, it's not a bad deal for a take and bake IMO, many alternative stores at least in my area charges $8 for 14-15".
As for those Dip-n-Strips, I picked up a box for my kid to try, and we realized they didn't come with nearly enough dipping sauce, and was really dry. I won't buy them again. If you can't use a pizza cutter, you don't belong anywhere near a kitchen IMO.
Good catch! It's $6.99, so I went ahead and changed that above. I still feel like it's a little expensive, but it's certainly better than $7.99! And, like I said, I wouldn't hesitate to get it again.
I'm a little shocked you didn't like the Dip-N Strips! I think they're excellent. Again, a little on the expensive side, but I really liked the included sauces and thought they were perfect to dip the strips in.
But I definitely agree with you about the pizza cutter…I still prefer pizzas that have to be cut. My wife and I have actually been getting into homemade pizzas, and they are way better than anything you can get at the supermarket, Aldi included.