Preservative Free, Paleo, and Affordable with a Whole30 update
If you’re looking for a simple, preservative-free recipe for homemade sausage that tastes a lot like pepperoni this Homemade Pepperoni Recipe may be JUST the recipe for you.
Bonus?
It’s Clean Eating friendly, Paleo, Gluten-Free, and Allergy Friendly. And I’ve even added some notes about Whole30 as well.
Why Make Homemade Pepperoni?
I’ve meant to make homemade beef pepperoni for quite a while. Why am I making my homemade pepperoni? While we generally enjoy store-bought pepperoni I wanted to know if I could make some using beef because we have a couple of hundred pounds of it in the freezer.
I also wanted to make some without nitrites, a preservative in many modern cured meats. I always love a good challenge, and this one was tasty as well.
Old Fashioned Sausages
My mother used to prepare little beef/moose summer sausages every fall and then smoke them in the smoker. All winter long we would have sliced sausage to eat along with smoked salmon, crackers, and cheese if we happened to get company we’re always prepared.
That sausage also made its way into sandwiches which were particularly tasty and had a pleasant texture, definitely a change from store-bought lunch meat.
While mixing up the meat, I noticed two things
- the beef and spices smelled quite a bit like the sausages my mother used to make
- it also really did smell like pepperoni you buy from the store
I let the meat cure for two days, then rolled them into two sausages and baked them for 8 hours in a 200˚ oven.
While they don’t taste exactly like the sausages my mother used to make, they are incredibly close, and perhaps the only difference is hers were smoked and mine are baked with smoke flavor added
Uncured Pepperoni for Whole30 or Paleo Pepperoni
This is an Uncured pepperoni, no pink salts, no preservatives of any kind, so you know you should store it in the refrigerator or freezer and just pull out what you need.
If you are on Whole30 simply leave out the sugar or honey, it will change the taste, BUT it will still be awesome.
To replace the liquid smoke use real smoked salt OR smoked paprika OR smoke it in a small smoker. Any of those options will make a smoky sausage without the use of liquid smoke.
If you’re worried about the liquid replacement, then add an equal amount of water. The version listed below is already Paleo so have fun!
Spicy Pepperoni
And of course, you know I made a Spicy Homemade Pepperoni version for my husband. It’s excellent but hot, but I guess that’s the point though.
The nice thing about making it yourself is you can easily modify the heat. But he likes it hot, so I make it for him.
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If you like my Homemade Pepperoni Recipes you might like these other recipes as well:
Easy Homemade Ground Beef Jerky
Homemade Pepperoni Recipe
Homemade Pepperoni Recipe. This easy Homemade Pepperoni is preservative free and can easily be made to be Paleo and Whole 30 Approved as well.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper or 3peppercorns*
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper or 1of dried pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 pounds very lean beef
- 2 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- grind the peppercorns (if using), fennel seeds and the dried red pepper together in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder
- mix all the dry spices together in a bowl and set aside, leave out any spices you dont care for
- break up the ground beef in a mixing bowl
- sprinkle the dry spices over the meat and mix well
- once mixed add the smoke flavor and the honey and mix well
- cover tightly and refrigerate for 48-72 hours
- to cook: pre-heat oven to 200˚
- cover a baking sheet with foil and place a baking rack over it
- form the meat into two long sausages, mine were about 12 inches each
- roll them firmly on a clean surface until they are well compacted
- gently transfer to the prepared baking sheet
- bake for 8 hours
- try to roll them over every two hours, they will be firm and this will help them maintain their shape and evenly cook
- remove after 8 hours and wipe them off
- let them cool and wipe again
- wrap and store in the fridge until chilled
- slice and use as desired
Notes
- **if you want you CAN use Morton's Tender Quick curing salt which will make it pink, mine were made purposely without pink salt which is why they are brown, if you are trying to avoid preservatives yours should be made without pink salt as well
- If you're looking for a Spicy Hot Homemade Pepperoni I've just recently posted on the blog so hop on over and check it out! And it's Paleo, Whole30 and Gluten Free!
This is VERY exciting, I've thought about making peperoni for a long time, but never have. I usually have 90% lean ground beef on hand, do you think that is lean enough? Also, I'll probably use Tender Quick, would you suggest the same amount as regular salt? I'm SO ready to try this. Thank you.
I think your beef is probably leaner than what I used–ours was unlabeled because we bought the whole cow and they just don't add more fat to this ground beef.
I'd think you can use the same amount of tender quick as you would salt–the original recipe I worked from used it. I hope you like it, we LOVE it.
What is the purpose of the honey? Could I make it without? Super interested in this recipe and would love to try!
Yes you can skip the sweetener, it gives it some depth but is fine without it too.
Oh yes, I forgot to say…….FORTY POUNDS? Holy cow woman, how did you do it?
hahha yes 40 pounds since september–restricted calories, duct tape over my mouth HA! and lots of moving I ski/walk/snowshoe 5x a week–walking now because we have NO SNOW left
Wow. And it really tastes like pepperoni? I thought this was going to be complicated, but it looks really simple. I might have to try it–just have to figure out a day where I'll be home for eight hours. Will this keep long, do you think? We tend not to use a whole lot of pepperoni. Maybe it could be frozen?
It has a great flavor and it does taste like pepperoni but it's actually better-it's toothier if that makes sense, more in your mouth than ultra processed pepperoni–I'm working on with some lean pork AND beef we'll see how it comes out. I'm assuming it will be just as tasty and a huge hit like the original and gone before it hits a pizza. Let me know if you try it!
Wow! I'm going to try this! Also, congratulations on 40! Rockin.
Just made this last night. This recipe is awesome! It tastes just like the pepperoni you buy at the store, only healthier without the food coloring and additives. And, as you note, cheaper. Now I'm going to whip up a paleo pizza to put it on! Thanks!
Rich
YEAH! Just now saw your comment and I'm glad you liked it! I'm about to make about ten pounds of this for some clean eating this December : )
I'm eating Whole30 and can't have the honey (or any sugar). Do you think that will alter the taste too much?
Oops, disregard. I can't have the liquid smoke either, LOL.
CAMMI!! ok so liquid smoke is out how about smoked salt? or spanish paprika BOTH smokey and good alternatives? YES?? as for the sweetener, leave it out, it might change the taste but I bet it would be fine-so go make it and tell me how it tastes!!
What would you replace the Liquid Smoke with if you were going to smoke it in a smoker? As most of my sausage recipes call for some type of liquid to help hold the meat together?
If you plan on smoking in a smoker just leave it out. The amount of liquid smoke is negligible but if you're worried you could probably add an equal amount of water. Let me know how it turns out?!?
Did you ever get around to coming up with that burn-your-tongue-off version?
NO! but now that you mention is I'm pulling out ground beef and I'm going to make a batch! Thanks for the reminder : )
Great; I look forward to the recipe!
Don't know if my first comment "took"- just want to say that I'll be using this seasoning mix to flavor ground turkey breast for my spaghetti sauce so I can have pepperoni flavor without actually having pepperoni 🙂
WOW That's an awesome idea! I love it–will you let me know how it turns out?
How long does it stay good in the fridge?
Finally got around to making this recipe with ground buffalo. The extended family loved it. I've shared the recipe link with them. Looking forward to more!
Thank you for the awesome recipe! Can you please elaborate on storage? What do you store it in and how long it will keep in fridge vs freezer? Thanks in advance…
Hi Ken thanks for the question! I think I’ve never had these last more than a few days because I have 3 boys but if you wanted to store it for a longer time probably wrapping it and freezing it would work really well.
Have you ever tried this recipe with venison?
Good question Matt! No, I haven’t, we don’t have a lot of deer available to us where I live in Alaska. Mainly because they don’t live here lol. We do have moose though and I’ve mixed in ground moose with the beef. It was great!
If you’re wondering about spice levels, try mixing in the spices, and frying up a little to taste the results. If you like it great! If it feels a little bland, remember that after sitting for two days it will be more flavorful. If you want to add more of anything add it in small amounts. I’d suggest 1/2 teaspoons?
I rolled my pepperoni more snack size so I think I’ll halve the time in the oven, what do you think?
Also, i started a comment and it disappeared… it was incomplete, so pls delete if it did go through somehow, thanks for this recipe!
Yes I think that will work! Trial and error, right? If it doesnt feel cooked or dry enough go ahead and cook it longer. AND!! Let me know how it worked for you!
My husband needs to eat low FODMAP and it’s frustrating not being able to find pepperoni that doesn’t contain onion or garlic. Since I don’t like to buy transformed food anyway, it was a good reason to start making my own. I love vegetarian pizza but the low FODMAP diet is quite restrictive and my husband sometimes feels discouraged about what the food he misses. And he LOVES pepperoni.
So I decided to search for a recipe and I found yours. Surprise, it seemed easy. So I just decided to make it. I made a few minor modifications:
– The meat bought at the grocery store has to be cooked really soon so I only let the mix rest in the fridge overnight
– I omitted the garlic for the reason mentionned earlier
– I replaced the honey with maple syrup for the same reason
– I reduced the salt just a little because I always find everything too salty
– I added paprika because some recipes include it and I like that spice.
Another surprise: It really smelled like pepperoni.
And then I waited. And it smelled good. I never wanted a vacation day to pass that fast. When the pepperoni was ready, I had to let it rest but it was supper time so I would be able not to think about it while I eat (for the record, I wasn’t).
And then it was time. I cut the pepperoni and we both took a bite. It was good. Very good. Now I am making some sourdough for the crust. It will only be ready for tomorrow evening’s supper but it’s worth it, right?
Thank you for the super nice recipe. I’ll be making it again and again.