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View of the inside cut of capicola.

Homemade Capicola

Course: Appetizer, lunch
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: capicola, homemade capicola
Prep Time: 2 hours
Drying and maturing: 97 days
Total Time: 97 days 2 hours
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 83kcal
Author: Victor
An improved approach to making high quality capicola at home.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1000 g pork neck coppa
  • 27.5 g kosher salt 2.75%
  • 2.5 g Cure #2 0.25%
  • 0.45 g black pepper cracked; 0.045%
  • 0.25 g cloves ground; 0.025%
  • 0.1 g bay leaf ground; 0.01%
  • 0.15 g cinnamon ground; 0.015%
  • 0.1 g nutmeg ground; 0.01%

Instructions

  • Trim the meat into a boneless, uniform shape. Make sure there are no cuts in the meat where bacteria could enter, and cut off any loose pieces.
  • Weigh the coppa in grams. Divide by 1000, then multiply each ingredient by that number. For example, if your coppa weighs 2650 g, you need to multiply the ingredients specified above by 2.65.
  • Mix all the salt and the seasonings together, and rub on the meat. Place the coppa and all the extra salt and seasonings in a vacuum-sealable bag and seal. You can also use a Ziploc bag.
  • Place the bag in the fridge for 7 days. Flip the bag every day or so.
  • After 7 days have passed, remove the meat from the bag and gently scrape off any excess salt and seasonings.
  • Prepare the coppa for hanging by casing (veil, beef bung) and trussing. Poke a lot of small holes all over the surface with a sterilized needle to remove any trapped air.
  • Spray with white mold solution.
  • Weigh the meat and write it down on a tag. Attach the tag to the meat.
  • Hang and dry in the curing chamber for about 7 days as per the schedule below in the note section.
  • Mature in the curing chamber at 55F - 57F (13C - 14C) and 80% - 82% for 3+ months.
  • When the meat is ready, remove the casing, slice as thin as possible and enjoy.

Notes

Stage Duration Temp RH
Fermentation 10 hours 75F (24C) < 99 %
Drying 15 hours 72F (22C) 75-85 %
Drying 24 hours 66F (19C) 68-78 %
Drying 24 hours 64F (18C) 65-75 %
Drying 24 hours 62F (17C) 68-78 %
Drying 24 hours 60F (16C) 72-82 %
Drying 24 hours 59F (15C) 76-86 %

Nutrition

Calories: 83kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 767mg | Potassium: 212mg | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg