Month: September 2021

Pepperoni gets the most guff of the cured meat family—always the Lunchables, never the crowning glory of the charcuterie plate. But these compact rounds of salumi have so much more to offer for the savvy home cook. They’re peppery, salty, and full of fat that can be rendered to turn them into crisp miniature UFOs. “It’s a quintessential Italian American ingredient—pepperoni is one of those things that people in the United States always associate with Italian food, but it’s rarely seen in Italy,” says Angie Rito, the co-owner of Manhattan’s Don Angie and the coauthor, with Scott Tacinelli and Jamie Feldmar, of Italian American. “The flavor profile of pepperoni is spicy and garlicky with a hint of smoke, and the ingredient has a familiar and nosta...

Pepperoni gets the most guff of the cured meat family—always the Lunchables, never the crowning glory of the charcuterie plate. But these compact rounds of salumi have so much more to offer for the savvy home cook. They’re peppery, salty, and full of fat that can be rendered to turn them into crisp miniature UFOs. “It’s a quintessential Italian American ingredient—pepperoni is one of those things that people in the United States always associate with Italian food, but it’s rarely seen in Italy,” says Angie Rito, the co-owner of Manhattan’s Don Angie and the coauthor, with Scott Tacinelli and Jamie Feldmar, of Italian American. “The flavor profile of pepperoni is spicy and garlicky with a hint of smoke, and the ingredient has a familiar and nosta...