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My first go at Coppa

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 06:06
by markjass
I have one cut left from half a pig that I bought earlier in the year. This is the neck or coppa. Fortunately the butcher cut the pig (free range and the best pork I have ever tasted) up into European style cuts. He cut the leg into individual muscles for me. I came across this recipe in a book, by a NZ chef who cures his own meats and salami for his restaurant. It is very different to others that I have seen.

For pork loin or rump
23g of salt per kg (+cure and herbs, spices etc).
Cure the meat in the fridge for 5 weeks
Let the meat dry for 24 hrs
Cold smoke meat for 2+ hrs
Dry in cabinet for 6-7 weeks

This recipe is very different to many that I have read uses much less salt. I have found that using 30 g of salt per kg for dry cured bacon that is then cooked is almost to salty for me. He also uses cure number 1. Any comments on the long cure or anything else? I assume that the extended cure time is because of the lower amount of salt. Having said this at some point would the salt would equalise.

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 07:30
by redzed
Hi Mark,

The recipe seems to be a standard one, but I would question the length of the curing phase. The coppa is not a large cut, so you don't need that much time for the salt and nitrites to permeate and equalize. If you add 6g of cure to the 23g salt, you will be almost at the recommended 3% mark. Cure 2 is not available on Continental Europe, so hobbyists use only the nitrite/salt formulations that are available to them. So your coppa should be OK. Traditional coppa was not smoked, but a bit of cold smoke should give it a nice flavour. What is the temp and humidity of your drying chamber?

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 09:34
by markjass
It is the length of the curing phase that gets me thinking. His bacon and beef follow the same time frames. Can you over cure things?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 07:27
by redzed
markjass wrote:It is the length of the curing phase that gets me thinking. His bacon and beef follow the same time frames. Can you over cure things?
Once the meat reaches equilibrium, you can't really "overcure" it, but I see absolutely no reason to keep it in that stage for five weeks. Once the salt and nitrite permeate the cut, you need to start drying it to remove the moisture and therefore preserve the meat. Certainly large cuts or whole legs of ham require longer curing times, but a 3 or 4 pound coppa? And with your aromatics and spices, the quality of the cure is bound to deteriorate. Salt and nitrite are meat to preserve the meat and not the other ingredients.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 07:46
by crustyo44
Hi Mark,
I have done several Coppa's now, cured and spiced with different recipes.
The curing instructions varied from 10 to 14 days and one with the other halve of the curing ingredients applied again after 7 days.
Sofar I found all of them very good, they suited me down to a T. I will just keep on experimenting until I find a recipe that really stand out.
I agree with redzed about other flavours deteriorating if overcuring occurs.
Mind you, my heaviest Coppa was 1250 gram green weight.
I am still looking for some whoppers to cure but Sows are hard to come by it seems.
Good luck,
Jan.

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:25
by markjass
It is 3 weeks now since I started the cure. Tomorrow I am going to wash it down. Do you soak your coppa (and if so for how long) prior to starting the drying process? I have noticed that some people dust theirs with spices before stuffing it into bungs.

I am planning to wrap my coppa in collagen wrap and then going to tie it up (not done that before. I wonder if I will revive some ancient curses when I do this!


The beastie. 1.8 kg

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Vac packed

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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 15:43
by redzed
Mark, no soaking! Your goal now is to remove the moisture, not to add to it. Rinse off the spices and remaining salt under running water and let it drain for an hour or so before casing. I also like to give it a quick bath in red wine and dust it with paprika (sweet or hot) then case.

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 07:43
by markjass
Thanks redzed. Coppa going well. It has lost about 20% weight. Will post my notes when the coppa is ready.

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 08:16
by markjass
Here it is my first Coppa. I did not smoke it as it is not traditional to smoke coppa

Pork kg 1.58
Salt g 36.34
White Pepper g 3.16
Ground Coriander g 3.16
Garlic Powder g 3.16
Sugar g 3.16
Wine g 15.8
Cure #2 g 3.95


Dry Rub

1 Tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground coriander. Rub into coppa.

Start Weight 1558 aim to drop to 1092. Loss of 466g = 30%


Process and Progress

15 September: Started Cure
Cleaned up coppa. Rinsed and patted it down. Tipped over vermouth and then applied cure. Vacuum sealed it. When I remembered I gently massaged it; maybe a couple of times a week. Stored it in the fridge.

Dry Cure for 25 days.

After cure rinsed coppa with water, patted it dry, dusted it with dry rub and wrapped it in collagen sheet. The sheet was dipped in water and then squeezed dry. The coppa was stuffed in a netelast stocking and hung in 70% humidity at about 14 degrees c.

10 October: Started Air Drying

17 October: Wt 1448g lost 110g = 7%

20 October: had to vinegar wash (15 mls vinegar per litre of water)

24 October: Wt 1242g lost 316 g = 20%

31 October: Wt 1106 g lost 452g = 29%

1 November: Wt 1086g lost 472g = 30.3.

The half a pig I started out with was top notch. Tastes beyond my wildest dreams. A lot of room for improvement. Better than the stuff I pay between $50 and $80 q kg.


Does not look that appealing. It will be good

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Yessssss

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Thanks everyone for your advice, help and suggestions

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:13
by crustyo44
Mark,
That is a very good looking Coppa, I bet you ate a fair amount already.
You should buy some Italian made stretch netting much superior to what you have used on the Coppa. I have changed over and the difference is between chalk and cheese.
Cheers mate,
Jan.

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 16:29
by redzed
Very nice coppa Mark! I'll bet it tastes great and will probably improve even more if you can manage in letting it hang for a few weeks more. Do you know the breed of that half pork you got?