Slices of pepperoni are perfect for piling onto a charcuterie board, topping a homemade pizza, or stuffing into a sammie. With such flexible uses (and no need to pre-cook because it’s cured, like chorizo), this spiced sausage is a versatile ingredient to keep in the fridge all year round. However, there’s one store-bought pepperoni brand you should avoid at all costs: Margherita pepperoni. The loser in our ranking of 7 store-bought pepperoni brands, this contender was extremely oily and fatty.
Pepperoni sausage is made with a mixture of pork and beef, and spices, such as cayenne pepper and sweet paprika. The meat has a high fat content, which is why the end product can have an oily texture. Having said that, Margherita pepperoni was simply too greasy and left an unappetizing film behind that lingered in the mouth. Each slice had a sweaty sheen to it, and the flavor was all fat and salt with little complexity. While pepperoni is cured with a hefty quantity of salt, like other processed meats, we expected there to be more flavor, brightness, or acidity to balance out the sodium. Sadly, this wasn’t the case. If we’d tasted it on its own without the other options, it would’ve been acceptable, but when pitted against other brands, it was easily the worst. With so many other options available at the grocery store, you’d be better off picking something else.
How to use this American creation and the top brand
You might be surprised to learn that pepperoni originates from America, given its Italian vibe. It was created by Italian immigrants who couldn’t source the ingredients they needed in the U.S. to make their regular sausage recipes and ended up using the available alternatives instead. Nowadays, pepperoni is one of America’s favorite pizza toppings with its slightly spicy and savory personality that beautifully complements a gooey cheese pull and chewy crust. It also works well in quesadillas, grilled cheese, pizza paninis, and twice-baked potatoes. As pepperoni doesn’t need to be cooked, you can even chop it up and add it to cold dishes, like potato, egg, or pasta salads.
The best brand of pepperoni in our taste test was Boar’s Head sandwich-style pepperoni because of its large size, rich texture, and punchy boldness. It had a better balance of flavors than Margherita pepperoni and a touch of pepperiness that worked well with its salty character. It was also packed with seasonings, which lent it an appetizing color. As all Boar’s Head products are also free from fillers, MSG, and artificial colors and flavors, the true taste of the pepperoni shone through.
