Pepperoni is an American salami. The latter is a fermented (cured) and air-dried thick sausage comprising pork and beef, spiced with paprika, chilli amongst others. It is a favourite topping on pizzas. The pepper in the name refers to spicy capsicums rather than peppercorns.

Here are the ingredients I used to make a batch:

The amounts are for 4.5 kilograms of meat

• Paprika    3 tablespoons

• Peppercorn    1 tablespoon or much more to taste

• Fennel powder    1 tablespoon

• Chilli powder    2 tablespoons or more to taste

• Sugar    1 tablespoon

• Salt    5 tablespoons

• Garlic    1 clove; minced

• Ascorbic acid    1/2 teaspoon

• Pink Curing Salt    2 teaspoons (also known as Prague Powder or Instacure #1)

• Beef; finely diced (25% of total meat weight)

• Fatty pork e.g. belly finely diced; (75% of total meat weight)

• Salami casing (dried)

• OPTIONAL: I added 4 capsules of Lactobacillus fermentum (to 1.5 kg of meats) in place of any starter culture on the basis that the latter is a Lactobacillus like salami starter cultures available on the market. The L. fermentum came from a bottle of probiotics. Starter cultures do two things in the curing: lower the pH, and add flavors.

• OPTIONAL: Since my pepperoni will not be hung and smoked, I chose to add a few drops of liquid smoke (Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke) for extra flavor.

Production notes:

• Important: I made this batch not to be eaten raw even after curing. This is because of the potential for raw pork to harbor parasites (worms of various descriptions). I intend to use this pepperoni as pizza topping in which case, they will be cooked when the pizza is baked.

• Important: When preparing raw meat products even if cured by fermentation, there is a risk of the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Traditional production includes the assistance of "good" microbes (bacteria and fungi) which cure the meat by lowering the pH of the sausage to sufficiently low levels such as to deter the growth of pathogens; and the fungi serve to add flavor (as with cheeses). Thus, in my case, I chose to be cautious by adding the Pink Curing Salt which contains Sodium Nitrate. The latter supplies nitrites which act as a bacteriostatic agent (I realize that this may make my addition of L. fermentum redundant but it never hurts to try). Further, nitrites helps preserve the red color of meats (reaction with myoglobin). The use of nitrates is controversial because it is thought that nitrites in foods can be converted to cancer-inducing compounds in the gut. However, to use or not to use is a consideration which takes care of the risk of food poisoning by pathogenic microbes. The FDA recommends the use of less than 0.2 g of Sodium Nitrate per kilogram of food (FDA 172.175).

• IMPORTANT: To replicate a drop in pH of the meat during curing, I added the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). This lowers the pH of the meat without a salami starter culture (remember that I added the L. fermentum just for extra coverage). Do not make cured meats such as salami or pepperoni if you cannot assure a low pH in the meats which are curing. You could be making a batch of stomach (or worse) trouble instead.

Here is the batch freshly made:


The width of the tray in view is 45 cm.

The cased meats will be kept in my refrigerator for some 4 - 6 weeks to cure and dehydrate (the aim is to lose about 40% its weight through water evaporation). A refrigerator should have a sufficiently dry atmosphere for drawing out the water in the meats but the temperature would be lower than is usual for curing. Thus, the results of this production will only be known some 6 weeks hence.
 

Sliced.

As they say:
"Just like a bought one!"
Verdict:
Tasty, flavoursome and much like the ones I buy from a deli in Sydney. If anything, I would add more coarse ground pepper and stop the drying/earlier so that the pepperoni is more moist (losing just 30% of fresh weight might be the way to go for this recipe).


Used as topping in a pizza with ham, chicken and mushroom