I’d like to try a Pepperoni roll MRE.
“In the early 2000s, the U.S. military began including a version of the pepperoni roll in one of the MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) provided to troops. In the late 2000s, the U.S. Army changed the pepperoni roll to its First Strike Ration. These rations are designed for light infantry, airborne, and special forces during a typical 72-hour patrol. The pepperoni roll’s compact size and comparatively high nutritional return make it an ideal ration for these patrols. These rations were extensively employed during Operation Enduring Freedom. The military’s rolls are made by a North Carolina company.[12]”
Also didn’t know they were regional. I get them all the time.
I’ve never heard of them, but it could just be me. I looked for "pepperoni rolls near me " and it only gave me pizza places, none of which had a pepperoni roll on the menu. I’m in Los Angeles, which is pretty culinarily diverse, so I would expect there’s someone selling them, but it’s certainly not a common thing here.
I grew up in West Virginia and live in Denver now and I can tell you that it’s much easier to find them in Appalachia. I don’t think they exist as a thing in Denver and one place I saw selling pepperoni rolls was selling them as a pinwheel/cinnamon roll type and that’s not what I think of as a pepperoni roll.
Honestly they’re quick and easy to make and taste so much better when fresh. I buy frozen bread dough from the grocery store, let that defrost and rise. Once risen, break off pieces of the dough, and stuff with store bought pepperoni and a 2:1 mixture of mozzarella and cheddar cheese, ensuring that the fillings are contained inside the dough. Bake following the instructions on the package of dough, usually about 20-25 minutes on 350 or until golden brown on top.
So if you’re in Cali, do you have cheesesteaks like Philly, or do you call them steak sandwiches? The reason I ask is because many people outside of the region will say streak sandwiches but for those who are lactose intolerant, the Philly cheesesteak places around here have another item on the menu called steak sandwiches and they are without cheese. Just shredded steak and sauce on a roll. Which, aside from someone who can’t have cheese, is so unappealing.
They’re available here, can’t speak to the quality because I’ve never had one in Philly to compare.
They are hard to mess up. Shredded steak wafers on a griddle, any shredded cheese, sauce is usually from a jar, can or the best is blended fresh tomatoes, and onions and peppers. I get mayo and jalapenos as well. I make steak-ums at home and store brand versions are pretty decent. The roll is where most places mess up-even around me( I am about an hour from Philly) the roll’s gotta be the perfect balance between baked and doughy. Not raw but a little chewy. Not like Jersey Mike’s if that has made it to the west coast. Or subway for that matter. Your homemade kneaded from scratch local authentic Italian restaurant that usually has a peculiar smell, ends up having the best tasting food.
I’m also in CA; I’ve always heard them referred to as Philly cheesesteaks
All right, I like asking about people in other states: do you say soda, pop or coke?
Soda for sure! Fun regionalism is that we call our freeways/highways “the 5” instead of I-5 in SoCal
I call them just their number. No letter. Like as in: you take 95 instead of I-95.
SoCal uses “the” because we had some of the first freeways and they had names, the Ventura Freeway, the Santa Monica Freeway, the San Diego Freeway… They still do and we use them, but now they have Interstate numbers as well, so we’ll say “The 101,” “The 10,” and “The Fucking 405” respectively.
Are there places that sell a deluxe version? Like some kind of well known restaurant that makes the best ones?
Not that I know of. Most local Italian restaurants near me (East coast US) have them. I usually get them from a local Italian deli that also has baked goods. There is pepperoni roll and pepperoni bread. The roll has cheese baked in usually and is best fresh. The bread is just pepperoni baked into bread that is kneaded into it. It is easy to make. Apparently Domino’s has something like it but those popular fast food pizza places suck.
I usually see it at my family reunion home made which is the most ideal. You can use any dough including Pillsbury pizza dough, or even their croissant dough, or any regular dough. Then you spread it out and add a layer of pepperoni. And you fold it over on itself. Then add shredded mozzarella or whatever cheese you want. And fold that over. Refold a few times until it is condensed. Then flatten and roll into a long narrow cylinder similar to a stromboli or a long hot pocket. Bake at (idk whatever it would be for bread or something similar). And then slice it. Enjoy.
pepperoni roll’s big sister stromboli is even better. filled with cheese too and gigantic.
The pepperoni roll bears a resemblance to the pasty and sausage roll,
“Bears a resemblance” carrying a lot of weight there
Could have been some cross-cultural exchange from Cornish miners. They still make pasties in parts of California gold country where they settled down
To be fair the first thing I thought about when reading it was a pasty. I guess shared heritage is more accurate than resemblance.
Caporales or Home Industry are the best I’ve had.
