Cup and char pepperoni is pepperoni made to curl up into small cups when it bakes. The rims crisp and char, the centers hold a pool of seasoned oil, and the result is one of the most loved pizza toppings in America.
All pepperoni is a cured, seasoned sausage, usually pork and beef with paprika and other spices. What makes cup and char different is how it is built. It is stuffed into a casing that shrinks fast in the heat, it is a narrower stick, and it is sliced at a thickness that lets the edges lift while the middle stays put.
Put it in a hot oven and the edge of each slice tightens before the center does. The slice pulls itself up into a bowl. The rim is now sticking up into the heat, so it crisps and chars. The fat that renders out collects in the middle instead of running across the pizza.
Cup = the slice curls into a little bowl.
Char = the exposed edges get crispy and blackened.
There are three things that decide whether a pepperoni cups or lies flat.
Cupping pepperoni uses a casing that shrinks quickly once it gets hot. Because the casing wraps the outside of each slice, the outer ring shrinks first and pulls the edge upward. Flat pizza pepperoni is typically made without that kind of casing, or with the casing removed, so there is nothing pulling the edge up.
Slice it too thin and the whole thing curls up like a potato chip and burns. Slice it too thick and it is too heavy to lift. The sweet spot is a slice thick enough that the center stays anchored in the cheese while the edges rise.
Meat processors have found that the way the meat flows into the casing during stuffing also matters. When it fills in a slight U shape, the slices naturally want to curl in that same shape when they cook.
| Cup & Char | Regular Flat Pepperoni | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape in the oven | Curls into a cup | Lies flat |
| Edges | Crispy, charred | Soft, sometimes shiny |
| The grease | Pools in the cup | Spreads across the slice |
| Size | Smaller diameter, thicker cut | Wider, thinner slices |
| How it's sold | Usually a stick sliced in-house | Usually pre-sliced |
| Where you see it | Buffalo pizzerias, craft pizza shops | Chains and frozen pizza |
If there is one place cup and char calls home, it is Buffalo, New York. Buffalo-style pizza is known for a thicker, airy crust, a slightly sweet sauce, cheese spread right to the edge, and a top covered in small, charred pepperoni cups. In Buffalo, a pepperoni pizza with flat pepperoni just doesn't look right.
How much does Buffalo care? In late 2020, when meat plant disruptions caused a cup and char shortage, Buffalo pizzeria owners made national industry news scrambling to find enough of it. Local supplier Battistoni sold out, and shops paid whatever it took to keep it on their pies, because for a lot of them it is what makes their pizza their pizza.
Joe has reviewed hundreds of Buffalo pizzerias, and you can see their scores at Best Pizza Buffalo.
Cup and char has spread well past Western New York. Detroit-style shops, New York slice joints, and craft pizzerias all over North America now advertise it on the menu, and grocery brands have started selling pepperoni designed to cup at home.