Capocollo- How to make Coppa

Capocollo, in Italian mean "top of the neck", is the major muscle found in the should of pork. In it's simple form the Coppa is rubbed with salt and spices, allowed to cure, and hung to dry. Curing meat is another passion of mine. It takes much practices and attention to details. Always make sure to use gloves and make sure all equipment is sterilized. The next very important step is finding the best quality and freshest pork. I am using a local Berkshire that has aged a week. As with all recipes they are guidelines and stories of trial/error. With charcurtier you must be careful to do your homework and follow the directions carefully. Happy cooking.

Dry-Cured Coppa (Capocollo)

 Ingredient                                       Metric      Percent %

2ea Pork Coppa                           2270 g         91.97%

5 Tbs.  Salt*                                110 g            4.46%

5 Tbs.  Sugar, cane                      65 g              2.63%

1½ Tbs.  Pepper, black               10 g               0.41%

1 tsp.  Cure #2                             6 g                0.24 %

2 tsp.  Garlic powder                   5 g                0.20%

10 Juniper Berries                       1.5 g             0.06%

   

Item Weight Start            Finished Weight

1360 g (3 #) Coppa           907 g (2#)         Coppa (30% lost)           

METHOD:

1. Trim out the pork shoulder to obtain the muscle bundle to the side of the shoulder blade. Trim excess fat of the surface of the coppa and round off the muscle bundle…save the trimmings for other sausages.

2. Premix all the above dry ingredients and pulverize them in a spice mill. Note: The mixture must contain a minimum of 4.5% salt (based on weight of the meat before curing) to destroy Trichinella.

3. Rub the meat on all sides with half of the spice-cure mixture. Lay them down in a single layer in a plastic (or non-reactive) container and cure the meat in the cooler or refrigerator for 9 days at 36-38oF (2-3oC)

Keeping the meat covered with plastic wrap to exclude air and prevent drying

4. After the 9 days, rub them down with the remaining cure mixture and turn them in the cure and keep them in the cooler or refrigerator for an additional 9 days.

5. Remove from cooler, rinse off any remaining cure and air-dry them on a rack for 3 hours.

6. Before stuffing, flavor the coppa to your liking by mixing the following ingredients 3 parts Dextrose and1 part of spice mix (30g per coppa). The spice mix can contain any one of these spices: Black pepper, crushed; or, half cayenne and half paprika; or half black pepper (fine ground) and half ground fennel seeds. Stuff into beef bungs and hold at 70F-80F (21- 26C) for 12 hrs to dry out the bung. Hold at least 17 more days at 60oF (15C) @ 70-80% relative humidity. The drying process may take 2-3 weeks.