Black Truffle Sea Salt Coppa

[harleykids]

Just finished making a black truffle sea salt coppa, anyone use the black truffle sea salt from Savinitartufi? It has 3% black truffle in it, which apparently is about 3x the normal black truffle content from other vendors.

3% doesnt seem like a lot, but you can smell the truffles thru the package! And if I pick out a black truffle piece by itself, it has a great black truffle taste!

I believe Evan at Craft Butcher Pantry carries it now (at least I think he does)

Label recommended using 2.5-3.0% for whole muscle cuts, and 1.5-2.5% for salumi.

I normally put quite a bit of Calabrian sweet and hot pepper powder in my coppa cure, plus a handful of other spices, and they come out great.

But for this experiment I decided to let the truffle shine through and not complicate that flavor.
So here is what I came up with (meat weighed 903g):

0.3% cure = 2.7g
2.5% black truffle sea salt = 22.6g
0.5% white pepper = 4.5g

Vac bagged it on 8/11 and will let it cure for 20 days.
On 8/31 I will take it out, rinse, pat dry, lightly dust with white pepper, and stuff into a beef bung. Then into the chamber to dry until 38-40% WL or so.

Also did an orange lonzino and a bresoala as well, so I will have three whole muscle cuts to case on 8/31.

Will get some pics when they come out of the cure.

[StefanS]

On 8/31 I will take it out, rinse, pat dry, lightly dust with white pepper, and stuff into a beef bung.

Why do you want to rinse taste and smell of black truffle??

[harleykids]

Normally after curing the whole muscle is rinsed of its curing agent...that's what I have done in the past. Hopefully the truffle flavor will have penetrated the meat, at least around the edge as the cure takes the salinity into the meat cells.

Won't it be too salty end product if I don't rinse it off?

Chris/Bob, care to offer some advice? Is rinsing the cure liquid off after 20 days curing necessary? I have always done it, but open to advice!

thanks!

[Bob K]

You would usually rinse if you are removing a spice mix and applying a fresh one, or for a non-equilibrium cure, rinsing excess salt. Equilibrium with just cure, salt and a litttle W pepper there is really no need to.

[harleykids]

Thanks Bob so if it was your Coppa would you rinse?
And I hate to apply more of the black truffle sea salt as I don't really want to add more salt before casing correct?

[redzed]

Since you are using equilbrium method, with amount salt at the low end for dry cured products, and you are not using any other aromatics, there is probably no reason rinse the meat. Make sure you report on the results. I'm tempted to try truffles one of these days. Maybe I'll bring some back from France next month.

[Bob K]

Jason-
You can just pat it dry with paper towels and apply more pepper if you want. Don't add any more salt.
No I would not rinse.