# Pepperoni: What part of the pig? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192 "2001-03-31T01:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/1 "2001-03-31T01:42:03Z")
What anatomical part of the pig does pepperoni come from? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/2 "2001-03-31T02:06:03Z")
I’m pretty sure that most pepperoni is made with beef (though some may have pork, or other things), but it’s probably made with all the parts that the meat plant couldn’t sell for a better price for other uses. I once saw a stand-up comic who said that convenience-store pepperoni sticks are a very reassuring food. It lets you know that you sit at the top of the food chain, because every other member of the animal kingdom is ground up in there. ---
**Author:** ![cameron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@cameron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cameron)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/3 "2001-03-31T02:15:37Z")
> [@](#): > > **Salame and Pepperoni** > There are dozens of types of salami, whose texture and flavour reflect the character and traditions of the different regions of Italy. Essentially, all salami are made from pure pork, but the finished product varies according to the kind of meat used, the proportion of lean meat to fat, how finely it is minced, the seasonings and the period of drying and seasoning From [http://www.fratelli-bosco.co.uk/Salami/Salami\_f.htm](http://www.fratelli-bosco.co.uk/Salami/Salami_f.htm) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/4 "2001-03-31T02:30:34Z")
I have a recipe for pepperoni. It calls for 15 lb. of lean pork butts and 10 lb. of beef. The butt comes from the vicinity of the shoulder (shoulder butt) or the rump. It also calls for salt, dextrose, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, ground red pepper, ground allspice, ground aniseseed and corn syrup solids. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/5 "2001-03-31T02:42:16Z")
I _really_ wish people wouldn’t ask these kinds of questions. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/6 "2001-03-31T04:53:01Z")
Gosh I thought it was just sausage.Made with ground meat.The stuff that is left after the prime cuts are removed.Except of course bacon. ---
**Author:** ![mojo\_filter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mojo\_filter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojo_filter)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/7 "2001-03-31T15:33:00Z")
It’s probably made from the same stuff that goes into sousse meat which is everything that you wouldn’t eat if you knew what it was. Mainly hearts, stomach, assholes, hooves, snouts and skin. Actually I am joking about the assholes. They use these to make honey flavored Lifesavers. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/8 "2001-03-31T16:07:56Z")
Its made from beef & pork. But on that Millionaire show yesterday, the answer was ‘beef’. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/9 "2001-03-31T16:33:56Z")
Handy, as soon as I saw you had answered this post I was sure you were going to chastise my answer by calling to mind “jimmy Dean’s” whole hog sausage.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/10 "2001-04-01T13:44:15Z")
Jeez, man what part’s it look like? Why even bring it up? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/11 "2001-04-01T15:59:52Z")
justwannano, naw, I just looked it up in the dictionary, a very handy tool. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pepperoni-what-part-of-the-pig/60192/12 "2001-04-01T18:03:53Z")
I wonder how many Americans realize that in the original Italian it’s spelled _peperone_ (plural: _peperoni_).