Simple Recipe to Make Authentic Homemade Pepperoni (2024)

If you love pepperoni pizza or the flavorful taste of pepperoni in salads or sandwiches, you may be curious about how this sausage is made. It's actually thought of as the American answer to salami—which is why it shares a shape, flavorings, and some culinary uses with the Italian staple.

Pepperoni sausage is made with eitherporkorbeef; this recipe calls for pork butt and beef chuck. The meats are ground, mixed with seasonings, and stuffed into casings. Then the pepperoni needs to hang to cure for at least six weeks. Making pepperoni requires that you plan ahead, but the end result is so worth it.

This recipe uses ascorbic acid, which speeds up the curing process, and something called saltpeter, potassium nitrate, which draws water out and makes the environment inhospitable to bacteria. (You should be able to find both online.) Once you master this recipe, you'll not only have delicious pepperoni but a fun cooking skill that's a mystery to most people.

This recipe appears in the book "Home Sausage Making," by Charles G. Reavis (Storey Books), reprinted with permission.

What You'll Need to Make This Homemade Pepperoni Recipe

A Sharp Chef's Knife
A Great Meat Grinder
A Sturdy Baking Sheet

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

For the Sausage Mix

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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  2. Separately grind pork and beef through the coarse disk.

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  3. Mix meats together with salt, sugar, cayenne, paprika, anise seed, garlic, red wine, ascorbic acid, and saltpeter in a large bowl.

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  4. Spread mixture out on a large pan, cover loosely with waxed paper, and cure in refrigerator for 24hours.

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Prepare the Casing

  1. Start with about 4 feet of casing. It's better to begin with too much than too little because any extra can be repacked in salt and used later.

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  2. Rinse casing under cool running water to remove any salt stuckto it.

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  3. Place casing in a bowl of cool water and let soak for about 30 minutes.

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  4. After soaking, rinse casing under cool running water. Slip 1 end of the casing over faucet nozzle. Hold casing firmly on nozzle, and turn on cold water, gently at first, and then more forcefully. Thiswill flush out any salt in the casing and pinpoint any breaks. Should you find a break, simply snip out a small section of casing.

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  5. Place casing in a bowl of water and add white vinegar; a tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water is sufficient. The vinegar softens casingand makes it more transparent, which makes pepperoni look better. Leave casing in water-vinegar solution until ready to use. Rinse well and drain before stuffing.

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Make the Pepperoni

  1. Stuff sausage into casings and twist off into 10-inch links.

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  2. Using cotton twine, tie 2 separate knots between every other link, creating pairs of links. Cut between the double knots.​

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  3. Tie a string to the center of each pair to hang sausages. Hang pepperoni to dry in a space that is 50 F to 55 F with 75 to 80 percent humidity for six to eight weeks. Once dried, the pepperoni will keep, wrapped, in the refrigerator for several months.

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Tips

  • If you find the pepperoni is solid on the outside but mushy on the inside, it means it has cased and needs to be tossed out. This can be due to low levels of humidity during the drying process.
  • It is normal for cured sausage to develop a coating of mold on the outside. It is usually a dusty white, and is beneficial as it wards off the bad bacteria. It should be removed before eating.
  • If you want to calculate the dry time by weight, you will need to weigh the pepperoni before it is dried and then multiply that number by 0.65 to determine what the finished weight should be, which is 35 to 40 percent less than starting weight.
  • Pepperoni comes in different sizes, the most common being about an inch in diameter. Some commercial packers offer "pizza pepperoni,"which is roughly twice the diameter of regular pepperoni and isn't as dry. This variety canbetter withstand the high temperature of a baking pizza. If you plan to use your pepperoni primarily as a pizza topping, you might want to experiment with the drying time for the best results.

Preventing Trichnosis

If you're handling sausage, you should take steps to prevent contracting trichinosis. Several cases of the illness are reported in the United States annually. It is caused by a parasitic roundworm, Trichinella spiralis, or trichina. The worm, found in some pork and bear meat, can be transmitted to humans if the meat is eaten raw or untreated. Trichinae mature in a person's intestines and are usually killed by the body's defenses. Some, however, can survive in the form of cysts in various muscles for years.

Trichinosis need not be a problem for the home sausage maker. In the case of fresh pork not used for sausage, the meat needs to only be cooked to an internal temperature of 137 F. Pork to be consumed raw, as in dried sausage, can be made completely safe and free of trichinae by freezing it to -20 F for six to 12 days, -10 F for 10 to 20 days, 5 F for 20 to 30 days, or 0 F for 30 to 40 days.

A precisefreezer thermometer is necessary when preparing pork for dried sausage. And remember never to taste raw pork or sample sausage if it contains raw pork.

  • American Food

Recipe Tags:

  • tomato sauce
  • pizza dough
  • pepperoni
  • appetizer

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Simple Recipe to Make Authentic Homemade Pepperoni (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in traditional pepperoni? ›

Pepperoni is essentially an American version of salami, something close to what Italians might call salame piccante, a generic term that means “spicy salami.” It's made from beef and cured pork mixed together and then seasoned with a blend that usually includes paprika, garlic, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne ...

How is pepperoni made step by step? ›

Cooked pepperoni is produced by cutting lean beef with ice, salt, nitrite, phosphates and spices until a binding fine paste is obtained at a temperature of around 0–4 °C. Well-chilled or slightly frozen meat and fat materials are added to the base emulsion and cut until a particle size of 2–3 mm is obtained.

How is real pepperoni made? ›

Pepperoni is made from a blend of beef and pork and is typically seasoned with salt, paprika, chili flakes or cayenne pepper, fennel seed and garlic. The seasoning gives pepperoni a peppery, savory taste while the fermentation process gives it a distinctly tangy flavor.

What kind of meat do you use to make pepperoni? ›

Most pepperonis are made from a mixture of beef and pork. However, they were made from pork initially, but food enthusiasts are also experimenting with other meats like turkey. The cuts used to make pork-only pepperonis are the shoulder and belly, which have high-fat content.

What gives pepperoni its distinctive flavor? ›

Pepperoni brings a burst of bold flavor to each slice. It is seasoned with a unique mix of spices like paprika, garlic, black pepper, and sometimes a hint of cayenne or red pepper flakes. These spices give a bright red color and a flavor that can range from mildly spicy to noticeably zesty.

What are the ingredients in pepperoni slices? ›

INGREDIENTS: 3" Pepperoni Slices (PORK, BEEF, SALT, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF WATER, DEXTROSE, NATURAL SPICES, OLEORESIN OF PAPRIKA, LACTIC ACID STARTER CULTURE, GARLIC POWDER, SODIUM NITRATE, BHA, BHT, CITRIC ACID.)

What is the white stuff on pepperoni? ›

White surface mould is most likely the good kind of mould, that prevents bad mould from growing… … however - if you have not deliberately applied white mould spores, I would still be cautious. After all, It is your health at risk here.

Can you pepperoni raw? ›

It is already cooked during the curing process, so it can be eaten without further cooking. However, some people prefer to cook their pepperoni before eating it, either to crisp it up or to release more of its flavor. Cooking pepperoni can also help to render out some of the fat, making it slightly healthier.

Does pepperoni have garlic and onion? ›

Pepperoni commonly contains onion or garlic. Check the label and avoid onion and garlic during the low FODMAP elimination phase. Find low FODMAP food faster with the Fig app! This note on pepperoni was reviewed by Fig's dietitian team.

What is Papa John's pepperoni made of? ›

Pork, beef, salt, spices, natural flavoring, dextrose (a sugar, aids in fermentation), lactic acid starter culture (an organic acid, aids in fermentation, maintains flavor), oleoresin of paprika (natural extract of paprika, provides color and flavor), natural hickory smoke flavoring, sodium nitrite (a salt, maintains ...

Where was pepperoni originally made? ›

In 1919 Italian immigrants in New York City created pepperoni. It is a cured dry sausage, with similarities to the spicy salamis of southern Italy on which it is based, such as salsiccia or soppressata.

What gives pepperoni its red color? ›

The sausage is typically very bright red due to the addition of different forms of peppers, including paprika. Pepperoni also contains seasonings, including salt, sugar, and spices.

Can Muslims eat pepperoni? ›

Muslims are forbidden to eat pork, and are instructed to eat halal meat, that is, non-pork meat prepared in a prescribed way in the name of Allah or God. So most pepperoni are forbidden because of pork content. Most non-pork pepperoni, such as beef or chicken or turkey pepperoni, are still discouraged if not halal.

Does pizza Hut use pork or beef pepperoni? ›

Our pepperoni is made with: pork, beef, salt, contains 2% or less of: spices, dextrose, lactic acid starter culture, natural spice extractives, extractives of paprika, extractives of rosemary, sodium nitrite. Click here for more info on all of our ingredients.

Is pepperoni dry aged? ›

Pepperoni is usually left pretty moist, however, which makes it softer, more pliable, and less likely to crumble. Perfect for thin slicing. From here, some people are ready to use the pepperoni, but many companies and home artisans allow the pepperoni to age further in a controlled environment.

What is pizza Hut pepperoni made of? ›

Our pepperoni is made with: pork, beef, salt, contains 2% or less of: spices, dextrose, lactic acid starter culture, natural spice extractives, extractives of paprika, extractives of rosemary, sodium nitrite. Click here for more info on all of our ingredients.

What's the difference between pepperoni and salami? ›

Yes, pepperoni is a type of salami. Pepperoni is made with a mixture of beef and pork, leaning heavier on the beef side. Pepperoni is packed with red pepper and paprika giving it a much spicier kick than other relatively mild salamis. Pepperoni can also include black pepper, garlic, and sometimes mustard and fennel.

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