Pepperoni, also known as pepperoni sausage, is an American variety of salami, usually made from cured pork and beef mixed together.Pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red in color.he term pepperoni is a corruption of peperoni, the plural of peperone, the Italian word for bell pepper. The first use of pepperoni to refer to a sausage dates to 1919.