Who the Hell Thought "Cupping" Pepperoni Was a Good Idea?

Disagree

Your image reminded me that I haven't had a fried bologna sandwich in about a decade. I'm going to change that this week.

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If the pepperoni doesn’t cup, it’s low quality trash

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Please show your work.

Double post, see below.

You're wrong.

If the pepperoni is fully on top of the cheese like in the first picture, it should darken and crisp some.

Somewhere in between the two pictures is ideal.

Serious Eats has looked into this for you.

Why Does Pepperoni Cup?

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So where do we stand in the final analysis? We know of three factors that definitely affect curling: The way the meat is stuffed into its casing affects its shape inside the pepperoni stick. For the curliest pepperoni, look for pepperoni that was stuffed into a natural or collagen casing. Whether that casing is intact or not when you cook it makes no difference at all. The heat differential caused by uneven cooking between the top and the bottom of the slice. This enhances curl, and also determines the direction in which the pepperoni will cup. Thick slices are needed to maximize the temperature differential, but too thick and it becomes too stiff to curl. Go for slices between .1 inch (2.5 millimeter) and .225 (5.6 millimeter) range for optimal cuppage. The moisture retention ability of the center vs. the edges of the slice will enhance cuppage, but since we have no control over this, it shouldn't affect your shopping or slicing decisions. This entire exploration was basically just a fascinatingly roundabout way of coming to a conclusion that I think most of us already knew: For the cup-iest pepperoni, get natural casing, and slice it medium-thick.

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Ezzo is the best

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I'd rather have the pepperoni lay flat and have all that greasy goodness flow onto the cheese. And the burnt edges just don't taste right. It's not a char taste like BBQ - it's maore like eating charcoal.

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I buy good quality pepperoni when i make pizzas at home. They don't cup. Reading that good eats article, looks like it has to do with cooking time and thickness, and not so much "quality" of pepperoni.

I like the larger diameter pepperoni for my pizzas. They never cup, but then again, my pizzas are usually on the egg for about 7 minutes max, at 450-500 degrees.

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Ezzo is the best

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How do you get this?