So a few days ago a member posted looking for a recipe to make spicy pepperoni. R Blum responded with a recipe that caught my eye so copied it and pasted into a word document. Made the goodies earlier in the week and have nothing but rave reviews for the recipe. Thank you R Blum!! His recipe was for a 2# batch but I did a double batch, one to stuff into a 1 7/8" collagen casing to slice for pizzas and sandwiches, the other for spicy snack sticks. His recipe called for cayenne pepper (optional) which I used in the sticks but not the one to be sliced. I wanted to keep more of the traditional pepperoni flavor for pizzas and sammies. I also added some NFDM as a binder, some ECA, and high temp cheddar cheese to the sticks.
Spices all mixed up. The one on the right has the cayenne for the sticks
Meat ground up. I used 1 lb 10 oz pork shoulder left over from previous sausage and 2 lb 6 oz beef chuck
Sticks and link stuffed. Of course I have no idea what it tastes like at this point but it sure does look like pepperoni!!
Next day after hanging in the fridge overnight. Ready to go on the smoker. Once again, notice the color difference after resting for 24 hours
Off the smoker and sticks cut into lengths. Look at the color of these!!
Cross section of the sticks. You can really see the cheese...oh boy :)
Large link with casing removed and cut in half to make slicing easier. Again, look at the color of this stuff. It's gorgeous. I let this rest overnight after smoking and before slicing.
Cross section shot of the large link
Sliced and ready for consumption
Close up of the slices. All of the spices are clearly visible
Sorry for the fuzzy pics of the large link. There was a lot of glare in the kitchen and it was hard to get a clear photo. All that aside, this sausage is just fantastic. A super deep, rich, complex flavor that is quintessential pepperoni. I've never tasted any that was close to the depth of flavor this has. Most of it was divided into 4 oz portions and vac sealed. I left one portion aside to make a pizza with. Wife saw the bag in the fridge when she got home, asked what it was and tried a slice. I was watching the news and she came into the family room with a look of absolute awe on her face and proclaimed that this was excellent stuff. That's all I needed to hear :) She had not tried the sticks but I did of course. They have perfect texture and a really nice spice twang that sets in a few seconds later, kind of catching you by surprise. Since that twang comes from the cayenne it's a lingering heat that stays with you for a few minutes. The crushed red pepper in the large link also adds a touch of heat, so both do have a twang, just more so in the sticks. This is a great beer drinking snack, that's for sure!! Here is the recipe. Please remember that the recipe is for a 2# batch but I did double that, divided the meat in half after it was ground, and mixed the spices in separate bowls.
2 lbs of either -1lb Ground Beef with 1lb Ground Pork
½ tsp Cure #1
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp mustard seed (or mustard powder)
1 1/2 tsp crushed fennel seed.
4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
5 tsp paprika
1 tsp anise
3 tsp salt
2 tsp cayenne (optional but used in sticks only)
1 ½ T NFDM
1 ½ t ECA
3 Tbs water (add all the dry to the water)
4 oz high temp cheddar (in sticks only)
Followed the standard for sausage smoking. Started at 130* for an hour or so, bumped temps up every hour until smoker was at 170* and cooked to an IT of 153. Ran the AMNPS with Pit Master's Choice pellets for about 4 hours to get a nice smoky flavor. The sticks picked up the smoke far more than the large link but that's to be expected. All in all this is one fantastic flavor bomb and is on the to-do-again list. If you love pepperoni, this is the recipe for you. If you're on the fence, you may consider something different or possibly reducing the spice content for something less bold.....but we love bold flavors so this one is perfect for the wife and I.
Bringing Italy to Lago,
Robert
Spices all mixed up. The one on the right has the cayenne for the sticks
Meat ground up. I used 1 lb 10 oz pork shoulder left over from previous sausage and 2 lb 6 oz beef chuck
Sticks and link stuffed. Of course I have no idea what it tastes like at this point but it sure does look like pepperoni!!
Next day after hanging in the fridge overnight. Ready to go on the smoker. Once again, notice the color difference after resting for 24 hours
Off the smoker and sticks cut into lengths. Look at the color of these!!
Cross section of the sticks. You can really see the cheese...oh boy :)
Large link with casing removed and cut in half to make slicing easier. Again, look at the color of this stuff. It's gorgeous. I let this rest overnight after smoking and before slicing.
Cross section shot of the large link
Sliced and ready for consumption
Close up of the slices. All of the spices are clearly visible
Sorry for the fuzzy pics of the large link. There was a lot of glare in the kitchen and it was hard to get a clear photo. All that aside, this sausage is just fantastic. A super deep, rich, complex flavor that is quintessential pepperoni. I've never tasted any that was close to the depth of flavor this has. Most of it was divided into 4 oz portions and vac sealed. I left one portion aside to make a pizza with. Wife saw the bag in the fridge when she got home, asked what it was and tried a slice. I was watching the news and she came into the family room with a look of absolute awe on her face and proclaimed that this was excellent stuff. That's all I needed to hear :) She had not tried the sticks but I did of course. They have perfect texture and a really nice spice twang that sets in a few seconds later, kind of catching you by surprise. Since that twang comes from the cayenne it's a lingering heat that stays with you for a few minutes. The crushed red pepper in the large link also adds a touch of heat, so both do have a twang, just more so in the sticks. This is a great beer drinking snack, that's for sure!! Here is the recipe. Please remember that the recipe is for a 2# batch but I did double that, divided the meat in half after it was ground, and mixed the spices in separate bowls.
2 lbs of either -1lb Ground Beef with 1lb Ground Pork
½ tsp Cure #1
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp mustard seed (or mustard powder)
1 1/2 tsp crushed fennel seed.
4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
5 tsp paprika
1 tsp anise
3 tsp salt
2 tsp cayenne (optional but used in sticks only)
1 ½ T NFDM
1 ½ t ECA
3 Tbs water (add all the dry to the water)
4 oz high temp cheddar (in sticks only)
Followed the standard for sausage smoking. Started at 130* for an hour or so, bumped temps up every hour until smoker was at 170* and cooked to an IT of 153. Ran the AMNPS with Pit Master's Choice pellets for about 4 hours to get a nice smoky flavor. The sticks picked up the smoke far more than the large link but that's to be expected. All in all this is one fantastic flavor bomb and is on the to-do-again list. If you love pepperoni, this is the recipe for you. If you're on the fence, you may consider something different or possibly reducing the spice content for something less bold.....but we love bold flavors so this one is perfect for the wife and I.
Bringing Italy to Lago,
Robert
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