For Less Greasy Pizza, Microwave Pepperoni First

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor at The Kitchn
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW's test kitchens. I've edited and tested recipes for more than 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. My favorite taste testers are my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie.
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published Jul 7, 2015
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Confession: I’m a pizza blotter. I don’t always do it, but when I encounter especially greasy slices of pepperoni pizza, I grab a napkin and dab at those orange pools, finding a bit of satisfaction that the grease is now on the napkin and won’t end up in my stomach.

But what if I told you that when you’re making pizza at home, you can remove some of the grease before you even put the pepperoni on the pizza? The magic lies in the microwave!

(Image credit: Christine Gallary)

Cook’s Country wrote about this trick and I’ve adopted it ever since with great results. For less greasy pizza, just place your pepperoni in a single layer on some paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds. This starts to cook the pepperoni, and you’ll see some of that fat start to melt out and be absorbed by the paper towel.

(Image credit: Christine Gallary)

Not all of the fat has come out of the pepperoni yet, and it’s still soft and pliable, but when you use the microwaved pepperoni to top your pizza, it will still crisp up nicely in the oven, but be much less greasy. You probably won’t even feel the need to dab anymore!

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