This is pepperone - not pepperoni. The traditional pepperoni we are used to eatting in the US is a beast than the pepperone it was sort of cloned from. As I mentioned earier it as a stronger flavor than the cheap imitation w normally by in the US.
PEPERONE - From Charcuterie
This heavily seasoned sausage, dating to Roman times, is widely produced in America (where we spell it pepperoni), by virtue of its importance on pizza. Because of this mass production, the version most of us know is a pale imitation of the original peperone. True peperone (the name means large pepper, or large strong-tasting fruit) is a very lean, tangy, highly spiced sausage. Beef is typically used, but pork is also a good meat to use here.
5 pounds/2.25 kilograms boneless lean beef (stew beef, chuck roast, round), fat and sinew removed, diced
1-1/2 ounces/40 grams kosher salt (3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon/6 grams Insta Cure #2 or DQ Curing Salt #2 (see page 106)
1/4 cup/20 grams Bactoferm F-RM-52 (live starter culture; see Sources, page 301)
1/4 cup/6o milliliters distilled water
3 teaspoons/9 grams cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon/1 gram ground allspice
i teaspoon/2 grams ground fennel
4 tablespoons/40 grams dextrose
3/4 cup/95 grams nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons/16 grams paprika
2 tablespoons/30 milliliters dry red wine
10 feet/3 meters hog casings
or
20 feet/6 meters sheep casings, soaked in tepid water for at least 30 minutes and rinsed
1. Combine the meat with the salt and Insta Cure #2 or DQ Curing Salt #2 and grind through the small die into the bowl of standing mixer set in ice (see Note below).
2. Dissolve the Bactoferm in the distilled water and add it, along with the rest of the ingredients, to the meat. Using the paddle attachment, mix on the lowest speed to incorporate all the ingredients, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Stuff the sausage into the casings, and twist into 10-inch/25-centimeter links. Using a sterile pin or needle, poke holes all over the casings to remove any air pockets and facilitate drying.
4. Hang the sausage at room temperature, ideally 85 degrees F./29 degrees C. for 12 hours to "incubate" the bacteria; the beneficial bacteria will grow and produce more lactic acid in warmer temperatures.
5. Hang the sausage to dry (ideally at 60 degrees F./18 degrees C. with 60 to 70 percent humidity) until completely firm and/or it has lost 30 percent of its weight, 6 to 8 days if using sheep casing, 12 to 18 days if using hog casing.
6. Optional: For cooked peperone, hot-smoke (see page 77) it lightly at 180 degrees F./82 degrees C. to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F./62 degrees C., about 2 hours.
Yield: Twelve 10-inch/25-centimeter sticks if using hog casings, twenty-four 10-inch/25-centimeter sticks if using sheep casings
