A Taste of Home: How Pepperoni Rolls Connect Me to My Roots
The official state food of West Virginia, pepperoni rolls are a staple for funerals, wakes, and periods of convalescence. Southerners bring casseroles in times of crisis; West Virginians bring pepperoni rolls.
The recipe in its simplest form is bread dough and sliced stick pepperoni. Some people make their own dough; some people use frozen rolls. (Bridgford is the only acceptable brand to use). Some folks like to add cheese to their pepperoni rolls, but in my family that’s tantamount to blasphemy.
Chili Dogs and Family Roots: Exploring the Legacy of Our Beloved Recipe
But the one thing on the menu that kept people coming back to Griffin’s Bar-B-Cue was the chili sauce. In West Virginia, hot dog chili sauce is king. The whole state has an obsession with the dog topper that borders on the obsessive. Strict rules differentiate “chili sauce” from “chili.” It’s always called chili sauce, it never contains beans, it must be a tiny bit sweet (to counteract the saltiness of the dog), and it must always include ground beef simmered in water - never browned first.