Pepperoni Recipes

SEITAN PEPPERONI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix vital wheat gluten flour, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, paprika, fennel seeds, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, anise seeds, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
• Stir water, tomato paste, olive oil, liquid amino acid, and liquid smoke flavoring together in a separate bowl or measuring cup. Stir wet mixture into flour mixture until dough is evenly mixed. Turn dough onto a work surface and knead until smooth; shape into a log that is 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Tightly wrap log in aluminum foil, twisting the ends to secure.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes. Unwrap pepperoni and cool to room temperature; store in refrigerator in an air-tight container or wrapped in plastic wrap.

HOMEMADE PEPPERONI

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Separately grind pork and beef through the coarse disk.
• Mix meats together with salt, sugar, cayenne, paprika, anise seed, garlic, red wine, ascorbic acid, and saltpeter in a large bowl.
• Spread mixture out on a large pan, cover loosely with waxed paper, and cure in refrigerator for 24 hours.
• 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.
• Rinse casing under cool running water to remove any salt stuck to it.
• Place casing in a bowl of cool water and let soak for about 30 minutes.
• 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. This will flush out any salt in the casing and pinpoint any breaks. Should you find a break, simply snip out a small section of casing.
• Place casing in a bowl of water and add white vinegar; a tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water is sufficient. The vinegar softens casing and 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.
• Stuff sausage into casings and twist off into 10-inch links.
• Using cotton twine, tie 2 separate knots between every other link, creating pairs of links. Cut between the double knots. ​
• 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.

HOMEMADE SPICY PEPPERONI

Steps:

• Combine seasonings and meat and mix thoroughly, using hands; cover and refrigerate for 48-72 hours.
• Form meat into two long logs or rolls. Place a rack (or pan/sheet with drainage) on a cookie sheet and put the logs onto rack. Bake at 200 degrees for 8 hours, rotating logs every 2 hours.
• Logs will be a bright pink when they are finished, and should be fairly dry and firm. Wipe off excess grease and allow meat to cool. Chill and then slice thinly. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for longer storage.

PEPPERONI

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients, mixing until thoroughly blended.
• Divide in half into slender rolls about 1 1/3 inch in diameter.
• Wrap in plastic or foil.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• Unwrap and bake on broiler pan at 200 F for 4 hours.
• Store wrapped in the refrigerator.

PEPPERONI PASTA WITH LEMON AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, according to package directions, until about 2 minutes shy of al dente so that the pasta can finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add pepperoni and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisped and brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
• If the pan looks dry, drizzle in a little more oil. Add garlic, fennel seeds, red-pepper flakes (if using) and a large pinch of salt, and cook until garlic is lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens, about 1 minute.
• Add the drained pasta, lemon zest and 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Stir until the pasta is al dente and well coated with the sauce. Add more pasta water, if needed, until the sauce is glossy and the pasta is cooked to taste.
• Cut the zested lemon in half and squeeze some juice into the pasta. Stir in herbs and taste, adding more lemon juice and salt, if needed. Cut the remaining half lemon into wedges and serve it alongside the pasta, which should be garnished with more herbs and a drizzle of oil, and sprinkled with Parmesan, if you like.