Coppa -11/2012

Coppa, is a traditional Calabrian Italian cold cut (salume) made from pork shoulder or neck, and dry-cured whole. The name coppa is Italian for nape, while capocollo comes from capo—head—and collo—neck—of a pig. This was our first attempt of making coppa.

Project Participants- Mike, Blair and My Dad

 We decided to follow Len Poli’s recipe. We used 4.4% of salt per 5lbs of pork to follow the USDA guidelines.  We also used cure #2, which is specifically formulated to be used for making dry cured meats. It is made up of Sodium nitrate, which breaks down to sodium nitrite and then to nitric oxide to cure the meat over an extended period of time.  The other ingredients in the cure are Pepper, Mace, Juniper berries and sugar. Below is a picture of the ingredients broken into 5 bags for 5- 5lbs coppas.

First step was to mix all the ingredients together and then split each bag of cure into 2. Half of the cure is applied to the coppa and then the coppa is sealed in a zip lock bag for 9 days at 36-39 degrees. After 9 days we reapply the cure mixture and place back into the cooler for an additional 9 days.

After  18 days of curing the coppa’s are ready to begin the drying process.  We air dried them at room temperature for a few hours.  We applied a spice mixture of dextrose (sugar), cayenne pepper, paprika and black pepper.

The coppa’s are then stuffed into a 100mm collagen casing, which is a cross between synthetic a natural casing.  The next time we make coppa’s we are going to use a natural beef bung because of air pockets. Air pockets can trap bacteria causing the meat to spoil.

The coppa’s are then left to dry at room temperature for another 6 hours. After the intial drying phase we opted to spray our coppas with bactoferm mold 600. You will see me use this a lot in my curing. The spray is composed of a bacterial culture that’s sole purpose is to ensure the beneficial surface mold wins the battle over the pathogenic bacteria. The mold strain is laboratory-created 100% Penecillium nalgiovense, the most desirable of beneficial molds for sausages. This product creates a nicely marbled white/grayish surface mold that will prevent contamination by other outside bacteria, prevent case hardening, create a characteristic flavor, and reduce drying time, rancidity and discoloration. This step requires fermentation which is done at 73 degree and 80% humidity for 24-48hrs. Below is a picture of the coppa’s in the fermentation chamber.

After fermentation the coppa’s are off to the drying room, which right now since its winter is my grandfather’s cold cellar.  We monitor the temperature, humidity and airflow. We are looking for 49-57 degrees with 70-75 % humidity. The coppa’s will dry until the lose 30-45% of the water weight. I think they taste better at 40-45% loss. Below is a picture of the coppa’s drying with great mold coverage.

And finally one of the coppa’s is ready to eat. Mangia"