Coppa So Close I Can Taste It

oakville smoker · January 31, 2010, 02:57:50 PM

Coppa progress report:

After 15 days in a fridge cure:

Out of the bag and drying:

Seasoned up and into a veil casing which is a sheep casing that is 'wrap around", really easy to use

17 more days and this baby will be done. I think I will start another one while the weather is still cold

FLBentRider · February 01, 2010, 08:28:36 AM

Looks good. I'm not sure I can wait either.

oakville smoker · February 01, 2010, 09:09:31 AM

FLB

I could slice you some very thin and mail it to you LOL

oakville smoker · February 23, 2010, 05:06:52 AM

Update

Its been way over the 17 days called for in the recipe
The coppa still feels a little soft when squeezed so I am holding off slicing it open
Its is drying out for sure, the string is not nearly as tight as it was when it was originally tied around the coppa
I am not sure if its supposed to get really hard
I might be waiting for something to happen that is never going to happen

I know I dont have ideal drying conditions in the garage but its the best I can do

I have another one of these babies in the fridge right now, 9 days today, re spice tonight and then 9 more days still stuffing

Waltz · February 23, 2010, 05:45:49 AM

I have a piece of Coppa in a similar condition: started early January, cold smoked early Feb. and drying in the garage. Still a bit softer than I think it should be but should be ready in the next week or so. Keep us posted on how yours turns out.

Waltz

oakville smoker · February 26, 2010, 09:33:34 AM

Coppa update # who knows what
Captains log 02 24 10
Year of the smoker

I gave my coppa a squeeze last night ( I know already that this will cause me grief here ) and it was firm
I am not sure what its supposed to feel like ? Hard as rock, firm with a bit of give ? Obviously not mushy.

I am really tempted to cut this baby open and give it a try as I have convinced myself in what is left of my
little twisted mind that it must be done.

If I do bust it open and it turns out that it is not done ( not sure how I will tell that either ) have I arrived at the
point of no return or can I keep aging it somehow hoping it does not go bad ?

This is becoming stressful ! LOL i have a piece of pecarino romano in the fridge that is dying to meet this coppa

Waltz · March 02, 2010, 07:07:17 AM

I feel your stress OS (poetry)!
Some of the best cured meat I have done has been the stuff I forget about and rediscover weeks (or even months) later. By that time it is either spoiled or wonderfully cured. I haven't checked my Coppa for about a week but will give it a squeeze tonight, should be approaching ripeness. Like you I am not sure what constitutes 'done' but I think and hope if I cut into it too early and find it is not the way I want it, it should go on curing if I leave it a while longer.

Waltz.

azamuner73 · March 02, 2010, 07:10:06 AM

Just be thankful you're not making prosciutto.

I hear that takes anywhere from 7 months to 2 years. :o

oakville smoker · March 02, 2010, 12:19:34 PM

Waltz

I am going to hang on another week, as big a challenge as that might be
My pancetta will be hanging until at least late spring and I think I can deal with that
But damn I want to slice into this coppa so bad
For now I will be conent with my well cured salami

Waltz · March 03, 2010, 01:51:45 AM

Hi OS,
I am going to cut into my Coppa this weekend. I checked it last night and it seems about as firm as I would expect, may be a little soft in the very centre but the extra few days will help that. I will let you know how it turns out.
Waltz.

Waltz · March 07, 2010, 04:33:01 AM

Its Ready ;D.

I cut into my Coppa yesterday and found it is good, a little soft in the middle at the thickest part but all edible and nearly finished as I write this. Pictures below.

It was a fairly small piece of coppa I had trimmed from a fairly small shoulder joint, only about two inches in diameter at the tickest part when dried. It has been in production for approx 10 weeks. It shows a little bit of a darker ring on the outside quarter inch so may have benefited frrom slighly longer drying but the results are so good I have another larger piece going into cure this afternoon, unfortunately I expect it will take longer.

Waltz.

oakville smoker · March 07, 2010, 08:19:58 AM

Waltz

How did it taste ???????

I am slicing into mine this afternoon
When I slice it, I will pop some pics and post
I just finished stuffing a new one into a beef bung and its tied with the casing drying out
I expect this will be done late June
i just hope it does not warm up too much in the next couple of months

Waltz · March 07, 2010, 11:43:49 AM

Sorry OS, I should have said. The taste was excellent, so good it is now all finished. The spices had penetrated all the way through the meat. I had added some cloves so ocassionally there was a burst of mild clove flavour when you encountered a piece of that, which added to the flavour (flavor).
The next piece of coppa, which is much larger, is in the cure now.
Waltz.

oakville smoker · March 08, 2010, 06:02:10 AM

Congrats Waltz. Happy is always good, tasty is even better
I did not cut into mine yesterday although I did intend to
I think Wednesday will be the day ;D

Now I am looking forward to this. I think mine was a touch bigger than yours and it makes me wonder if I should wait

Waltz · March 08, 2010, 07:30:59 AM

Hi OS,

The best piece of mine - the piece which I felt was the way it really should be - was like a hard dry salami texture when I pressed it. That was the thinnest part and had the same texture all the way through. The thickest part had a bit more give to it and felt like it was hard on the outside but had a softer core and that is the way it turned out when I cut into it. It was still as good if not better flavoured than any I have bought. It started to firm up a bit after leaving the cut end in the fridge overnight but it didn't get the chance to fully firm up as it all got eaten the next day.

Waltz