The coppa, also called "capocollo", is a cured meat that is prepared with pork. You can prepare delicious sandwiches, aperitifs, or enrich the pasta sauce. A professionally prepared cup is not available anywhere in the world but, with a little patience, time and attention to detail, you can try it too.
Ingrediants
For 2, 5 kg of meat
2, 5 kg of pork shoulder or thigh
Mix for Seasoning
- 110 g of salt
- 65 g of brown sugar
- 10 g of black pepper
- 6 g of seasoning salt (salt, nitrite and sodium nitrate)
- 5 g of garlic powder
- 10 juniper berries
- 0.8 g of mace
Flavoring
- 125 ml of glucose powder
- 60 ml of corn syrup
- 15 ml of spices (ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, black peppercorns, fennel seeds etc …)
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Prepare the Pork
Step 1. Cut the meat
Use a sharp, serrated knife to scrape off excess fat and bring the underlying muscle to the surface. Round the piece of meat by cutting the edges a little.
- If you are using the shoulder, the piece of muscle you are trying to clean should be the lateral portion of the shoulder blade.
- If you use pork leg, get a less fat and more muscular cut.
- You can save the leftovers to make a sausage if you like, or just throw them away.
Step 2. Cool the meat
Wrap the pork in parchment paper and put it in the fridge or in a cold and hygienically clean place. Wait for the internal temperature to reach 2 ° C.
You should check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Do not "go to the eye", for health reasons the meat must reach that certain temperature
Step 3. Grind the dry ingredients in a blender
Put the salt, pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder, juniper berries and mace in a blender and pulverize them.
- Seasoning salt is a compound that contains 6.25% sodium nitrite, 1% sodium nitrate and 92.75% salt. This salt has a slower action and is safer and suitable for long-maturing preparations, such as coppa.
- Most importantly, the mixture you have blended must contain at least 4.5% of the weight of the meat in salt. This is the only way to kill the Trichinella spiralis bacterium.
Step 4. Rub the pork with the seasoning mix
Divide the mixture in half and rub it on all sides of the muscle.
Store the rest of the mixture in an airtight container until ready to use
Part 2 of 4: Seasoning the Pork
Step 1. Chill the meat for 9 days
Put it in an inert container and then in the refrigerator set at 2-3 ° C. Let it rest for 9 days.
- If you are preparing more than one piece of meat, do not stack them in the same container.
- Use a glass or plastic container. Avoid reactive materials such as metal.
- Cover the meat with cling film to prevent the air from drying it out.
Step 2. Rub the pork with the leftover mixture
Remove the foil after 9 days and rub the meat with the seasoning mixture, flip it and return it to the container.
Step 3. Put everything back in the refrigerator and wait 9 more days
Remember that the temperature must be 2-3 ° C.
Meat must always be covered with cling film
Step 4. Rinse it
After 18 days in total, remove the meat from the fridge and rinse it under running cold water.
Pat it dry with absorbent paper before continuing
Step 5. Let the meat air dry
Put it on a sanitized grill and in a cool, dry place. Wait at least three hours.
Part 3 of 4: Prepare the cup
Step 1. Prepare the gut
Go to a specialized butcher shop and buy a large piece of pork intestine. Turn it inside out and soak it in a citrus-water solution for about 2 hours.
- You can make the solution by squeezing the juice of two oranges and two lemons into a liter of cold water. You can also add the peels.
- This process allows you to eliminate any odor and any residual cholesterol from the gut.
- Wait for the casing to air dry for another hour.
Step 2. Mix the flavors
You can use whatever you like, but they should still contain 8 parts of glucose powder, 4 parts of corn syrup, and one part of spice. Mix the ingredients in a bowl until you get a smooth mixture.
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For spices you can try:
- ground black pepper;
- half cayenne pepper and half paprika;
- half ground black pepper and half fennel seeds;
- half chopped black pepper and half paprika.
Make Capicola Step 12 Step 3. Flavor the meat
Rub the mixture on all sides of the meat and let it sit for 10 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavors to penetrate.
Make Capicola Step 13 Step 4. Slip the meat into the casing
Work very carefully to spread the gut around the meat, covering it entirely.
- If you don't use processed pork casings, you can use beef or collagen casings.
- If you notice air bubbles between the meat and the casing, use a clean awl to pierce and deflate them.
Make Capicola Step 14 Step 5. Let it dry
Put the meat in a place with a temperature of 21-26 ° C and let it rest for 12 hours if you use beef or pork casing, 6 hours if you use collagen.
If you want to smoke the meat, you can skip this step and go directly to the “smoking” session. The coppa does not necessarily need to be smoked, and you can consume it after careful aging in the casing
Make Capicola Step 15 Step 6. Dry the meat on a lower temperature for 17 days or more
It should age at around 15 ° C.
Relative humidity should be between 70% and 80%
Part 4 of 4: Smoke the cup
Make Capicola Step 16 Step 1. Preheat the smoker to 32 ° C
A traditional one would be preferred, but if you don't have it you can also use the grill. Charcoal grills are more suitable than gas grills.
In particular, try to use a “boiler” or Japanese-style ceramic grill, both of which look like outdoor ovens. You can also consider water smokers with a fireplace and a separate combustion chamber
Make Capicola Step 17 Step 2. Smoke the meat for 10 hours
Put it in the smoker and close all the lids and vents. Check the temperature (32 ° C) and keep it constant all the time.
If you leave the air intakes open at the beginning, you help the gut to dry. You can, however, close them about three-quarters of the way when you think they're dry. In this way the meat receives a small amount of smoke
Make Capicola Step 18 Step 3. Continue smoking for another 15-20 hours
After the first 10, close the vents and continue the process keeping the temperature constant.
Make Capicola Step 19 Step 4. Remove the meat and immerse it in boiling water
Have a large pot with boiling water ready near the smoker for this purpose. It will take a few moments.
In this way the intestine shrinks and adheres to the meat
Make Capicola Step 20 Step 5. Let it dry for 20 days
Put the cup in a dry room with a relative humidity of 65-75% and a temperature of 21-24 ° C.
