Homemade pepperoni recipe

Pepperoni salami has a strong seasoning and is widely consumed, especially in the USA, due to its extensive use in the production of pizzas. Its original name is peperone (in free translation it means large pepper) and it dates back to Roman times. The original version is drier, hotter and more spicy than the contemporary commercial version. I applied a recipe here that is more focused on the original version.

Definition and commercial classification of Pepperoni

Pepperoni is an industrialized meat product, made with pork and/or beef, bacon, added ingredients, with an average particle size between 3 and 6 mm, embedded in natural or artificial wrappers, peppered, cured, fermented, matured, dried for the indicated time by the manufacturing process, smoked or not.

Homemade pepperoni recipe

Ingredients

• 1.2kg of lean beef;
• 1.2kg of pork;
• 40 grams of salt;
• 6 grams of curing salt 2 (6% of nitrite, 3% of nitrate and 93.75% of salt);
• 0.1g of starter culture (lactic acid bacteria);
• 60 ml of filtered water;
• 9 grams of cayenne pepper (can replace with other red pepper powder);
• 1 gram of allspice (can be replaced with black pepper);
• 40 grams of dextrose or common sugar;
• 2 grams of ground fennel;
• 20 grams of spicy paprika;
• 30 ml of red wine;
• Pork tripe or collagen casing.

Pepperoni preparation

Refrigerate, clean and cut the meat into cubes.

Grind all the meat with the fine disc of your grinder.

Add the salt and curing salt and mix quickly with the flat paddle of an orbital mixer or with another mixer of your choice (spoon and strong arm, for example).

Dissolve the starter culture in filtered water and add it along with the other ingredients to the ground meat.

Beat on low speed to incorporate all ingredients for approximately 2 minutes.

Stuff the mixture into pork or lamb casings, roll up 25 centimeters apart and secure the ends with string or a clamp. I used pork intestines and just rolled up the ends. Using a sterile pin or needle, pierce the casing to remove air pockets and facilitate drying.

Maturation and Drying of Pepperoni

Leave at room temperature, ideally 25 degrees, for 48 hours for the maturation/incubation process of the added bacteria to occur. Beneficial bacteria will grow and produce lactic acid at high temperatures, quickly increasing the acidity that will protect the product during the drying process.

For security reasons, I recommend reading the post about curing salt. In it you will find relevant information about healing, acidity and prevention against botulism.

Hang and let cure/dry at a temperature close to 12°C with 70% to 80% humidity until the pepperoni is firm. The right point is generally when the pepperoni loses around 35% of its initial weight, which should occur between 6 and 18 days, depending on the casing used. Lamb intestine is thinner and dries faster.

If the environment is too dry, the outermost part of the pepperoni will dry out too much and create a dark, hard “shell” that will prevent the interior from losing moisture. You probably won't lose the product, but the center will never dry properly, so always maintain good humidity.

I used a wine cellar with temperature control. The internal environment of the cellar remained with good humidity, but if you notice that it is dry, leave a bowl with water and plenty of salt (this will prevent mold) at the bottom of the drying area. If it is a large room, use a humidifier.

In the case of the wine cellar, the steel supports for the bottles are removable and the upper support was used to hang the pepperoni, in addition to having a fan that helps with air circulation.

Final result

Pepperoni is lean as it does not contain extra added fat. The flavor is quite spicy and the paprika is evident. During drying, white mold appeared, which I kept as it is the typical benign mold on artisanal sausages. If you prefer to remove it, rub a cloth with brine (50g of salt for 1 liter of water) whenever you notice it appearing.

Drying was not perfect, probably because the environment was a little less humid than ideal, and the crumb was a little less “ripe” than the outer part, but it did not compromise the flavor of the final product.