Pepperoni Rolls….Yum

 I often stop by a place called Colassessano’s Pizza to pick up a pepperoni roll with sauce and cheese. Many of you are probably wondering, “What in the world is a pepperoni roll?”  Well, let me tell you. I know them quite well. I have been eating them since 1974.

  Many years ago, Italian immigrants traveled to North Central West Virginia to work in the coal mines. Many of them settled in or near the city of Fairmont, which is about 2 hours south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Miners used to carry  hunks of bread, cheese, and pepperoni in their lunch pails.

     In the early 1920′s, Giuseppe, “Joseph” Argiro, a miner himself, realized that it was awkward to bite into the hunk of bread and pepperoni at the same time. The conditions weren’t the best for the underground miners. So, he decided to slice the pepperoni into smaller pieces and bake it  into the bread.  It was an instant success. It was so successful, that he later quit work in the mines to open his own bakery, Country Club Bakery.

 He passed the recipe on to his son, Frank “Cheech” Argiro who owned the Country Club Bakery until 1997.  Cheech was good friends with my husband’s grandmother, so we were able to hear from her all of the details of the famous pepperoni roll invention. Others have claimed to be the first, but don’t believe them. Frank Argiro was King Pepperoni Roll.

A pepperoni roll is a few thin slices of pepperoni baked in dough. Pepperoni grease seeps out of the ends of the roll as it’s baked, leaving an orangish-red coloring  at either end. Some places, like Colassessano’s Pizza, which is famous in of itself, split their buns open and place cheese, marinara sauce and peppers (if you like) on the bun before baking.

  There are many bakeries in the area that make pepperoni rolls. There used to be a place in the small town of Monongah that I stopped by often when I was pregnant with my son, Adam. I ate there so often, that the owner told me that I was going to have a child with red hair because of all the sauce I was eating. After his birth, I took him into the shop and place his car carrier down on the counter. Lo and behold, red hair.

  If you ever get the chance to travel through West Virginia, stop and have a pepperoni roll. I guarantee you that you will order more to take with you. They travel well and don’t need refrigerated. I think most West Virginian’s  stop and buy a bag of pepperoni rolls if they are getting ready to go on vacation or a long car trip.

  One word of advice- If you have never had a pepperoni roll before, don’t buy the ones that are sitting on a counter in a convenience store. They are ok, depending on the vendor, but your first experience should be at a table, perhaps with a beer and music in the background.

  North Central West Virginia includes cities such as Morgantown, Fairmont, and Clarksburg.  Interstate 79 runs right past those three cities. If you want to see the true Pepperoni Roll Capitol of the World, you would get off Exit 132 at Fairmont, also home of gymnast Mary Lou Retton and me, a mediocre blogger.

   Enjoy!