The Unholy Mocktail experiments continue with another savory addition to one of my favorite sodas. Who doesn’t love a good play on words? Not this guy. “Dr Pepperoni” is exactly what it sounds like, but I do think there’s more to it than the face value of throwing pepperoni in a glass of Dr Pepper.
Dr Pepper with Pickles and Dr Peperoncini both played into the vinegar family of mocktails with hints of Bloody Mary or shrub drinks. This goes in a different direction, and I think it’s closer to the technique known as “fat washing” in modern mixology. Fat Washing involves infusing a spirit with the flavors contained in a fat (usually bacon fat or some other smoked item) through a mix and remove process. You mix in the fat while it’s in a liquid form, allow it to mingle with the spirit, then skim off the fat once it’s cooled into a solid. You don’t have that sort of time with a carbonated beverage unless you’re fat washing the syrup prior to mixing in soda water, but the there’s a hint of the idea still there.
To make mine I crisped up some thin sliced pepperoni (Boar’s Head was the best available in my grocery store) then I poured cold Dr Pepper over the pepperoni into an ice filled glass. I actually filled half the glass with Dr. Pepper first because I forgot the order of operations. No matter. As the Dr Pepper runs over the crisped pepperoni it picks up some of the paprika/cayenne flavors as well as some salt. I could taste and smell pepperoni, but it didn’t smack me in the face. There was some subtlety to it. I opted to drink it with a straw because the congealed fat on top of the drink was a big turn off. I did also eat the pepperoni. I enjoy Dr Pepper while eating pizza, so it all basically made sense.
Again, I don’t think I would ever do this again unless I really wanted attention from people around me, but I would rather have a Dr Pepperoni than quite a few other mass market sodas out there.
Here’s a link to other Dr Pepper experiments, as well as my Unholy Mocktails.
Sodafry 