Where It Began
The recipe didn't start in Pittsburgh.
It started in Sulmona, a hilltop city in the Abruzzo region of Italy — known for centuries as the home of confetti (sugared almonds) and hand-crafted cured meats. The Ricci family kept a spice blend there, passed down through generations, that nobody outside the family ever wrote down.
When Ernest Ricci Sr. came to America, he brought it with him.
"The recipe hasn't changed. Not once. Not a single ingredient."
1945: A Basement in McKees Rocks
Ricci's Italian Sausage was founded by Ernest and Stella Ricci in the basement of their McKees Rocks home. They mixed the spice blend by hand, ground the pork themselves, and stuffed every link the way Ernest's family had done it in Abruzzo.
Later that year, they opened an Italian grocery store at 926 Island Avenue in McKees Rocks — imported groceries, specialty meats, and the home-made Italian sausage Pittsburgh would come to know them for. Word spread fast. Families drove in from across the city. Restaurants started calling.
Stella ran the counter for nearly fifty years and was a fixture in the neighborhood — known by name by every customer, and by more than a few local celebrities. She remained active in the business until 1994.
Three Generations of Master Sausage-Makers
Ernest Sr. taught the recipe to his son, Ernest Jr. — Master Sausage-Maker, Generation II — who carried it forward and taught it to his own son, Ernest B. Ricci, Master Sausage-Maker, Generation III. Same spice blend, same hand-mix, same stubborn refusal to change a thing.
Today the shop sits at Kenmawr Plaza — 500 Pine Hollow Road, still in McKees Rocks, still making the same sausage Pittsburgh has been lining up for since 1945.
From the Hot Case: Lil's Famous Stuffed Sausage Rolls
Lil's Famous Stuffed Sausage Rolls — a Ricci's original since the early days.
Over the years the counter grew. Under Lillian Ricci's watchful eye, Ricci's added a hot case of prepared foods — cooked sausage in sauce, homemade Italian meatballs, sweet and hot stuffed banana peppers, and Lil's famous stuffed sausage rolls, a Ricci's original made nowhere else.
The hot case is still part of the daily ritual at the shop. Made fresh in-house, the same way, every morning.
A Boutique Sausage Maker
Ricci's is a boutique sausage maker. We make everything in small batches — roughly 200 pounds at a time — hand-mixing every seasoning ourselves. Real paprika, whole fennel seed, imported spices. All natural ingredients, no additives, no preservatives.
That's a different category from the big sausage houses pumping thousand-pound batches through a line with liquid paprika and ground fennel. The federal limit for fat in hot Italian sausage is 35%; in sweet, it's 50%. Ours runs well below the line. Low fat, low sodium, low salt. Lean meat, real spice, and a long enough mix to do it properly.
The Abruzzo Difference
Our sweet sausage is Abruzzo-style: crushed black pepper, no fennel, and — please — no garlic. That's how it's made in Sulmona. It's lighter, more aromatic, and lets the pork do the talking.
Our hot sausage is Calabria-style: real paprika, crushed red pepper, and whole fennel seed. Slow heat, full flavor, the way Calabrian families have made it for generations.
Both are made from 100% USDA-inspected meats and imported spices. Natural casings on every rope sausage. Hand-mixed, in the same sequence, every single time. No cereal fillers. No artificial spices. No "designer" seasonings. No shortcuts.
USDA Federal Inspection · Since 1973
Ricci's has been federally inspected by the USDA since 1973. It's why we can stand behind every link, and why we can ship our sausage anywhere in the country.
Ricci's is the only USDA-inspected sausage maker in Pittsburgh that also runs its own retail counter and serves hot food. Hand-made sausage, hand-prepared hot foods, every day.
Founded in McKees Rocks, PA
Ernest and Stella Ricci begin making Italian sausage in the basement of their McKees Rocks home, then open an Italian grocery at 926 Island Avenue.
USDA Federal Inspection
Ricci's is granted federal inspection by the USDA.
SBA Family Business of the Year
A national nod for the kind of family shop that never changed the recipe.
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
Inducted for the way Ricci's has shown up for the Italian-American community in Pittsburgh — every week, for decades.
ESPN College GameDay Feature
Pat McAfee and the ESPN crew visit the counter, highlighting Ricci's Hot Italian Sausage as a legendary Pittsburgh game-day staple.
WQED "What Pittsburgh Eats!"
Regular features on Pittsburgh's own public television station — bringing the Ricci story to new generations of Pittsburgh families.
Now Shipping Nationwide
For the first time in eighty years, Ricci's is shipping coast-to-coast. The recipe stays the same. The address of the table changes.
Now — Shipping to You
For eighty years, the only way to get Ricci's was to drive to McKees Rocks. Now, we're boxing orders for Pittsburgh transplants, for friends-of-friends who tasted it at a Sunday dinner, and for people who've heard about it for years and finally want to try it themselves.