How To Make Capicola Recipes

HOMEMADE ITALIAN CAPICOLA

Steps:

• To make the cure, place the sea salt, sugar, red pepper flakes and pink curing salt in a coffee/spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle to grind them. (It is essential that the pink salt is evenly distributed in the rub.)Place the pork in a large bowl or on a work surface and massage the rub into the pork, making sure to get every nook and cranny.Wrap the pork tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 5 days. After 5 days flip it over so the bottom side is up and refrigerate it for another 5 days.
• After 10 days unwrap the meat. It will be firmer to the touch. Thoroughly rinse it under cold water to remove all the spices and set it aside while you prepare the final rub.To make the rub, place the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, anise seeds, red pepper flakes and black peppercorns in a coffee/spice grinder or use a mortal and pestle to grind the spices until you get a coarse rub. Lightly blot the coppa with a paper towel.Spread the rub out onto a plate or work surface and roll the coppa in it, coating all sides. Use up all the spice rub to coat the meat.
• Next you'll need a #24 netting roll. Cut a piece of netting off the roll that is a few inches longer than your coppa.Stretch the netting and feed the coppa through it (unless you have a ham-stuffing funnel, it's easiest to do this with two people).
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Fill a pan up with water and place it on the middle rack of the oven. This will create humidity as the coppa cooks to keep the coppa moist. Place the coppa on a roasting pan fitted with a wire rack and place the pan on the top rack of the oven. Cook the coppa for 1 hour, then turn the coppa over so the bottom side is up and bake it for another hour or until the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees F. Don't overcook or the meat will be dry.
• Be patient, it's not quite ready yet! Remove the coppa, place it on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for 4 hours.
• At that point your homemade Italian capicola is ready to eat! Slice it thinly and enjoy it on your sandwiches, pizzas or eaten on its own! (For professional looking deli meat slices, use an electric meat slicer.) To store, keep it wrapped tightly in plastic wrap in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.The sliced capicola can also be frozen for up to a couple of months.

CAPICOLA CANAPES

Steps:

• Slice baguette on the diagonal into 25 slices about 1 inch thick. Spread slices generously with cream cheese.
• Place a single basil leaf on top of the cream cheese and press down slightly so basil adheres to cheese. Top with a thin slice of capicola.

HOW TO MAKE CAPICOLA

Steps:

• Trim the pork. Use a heavy serrated knife to trim away the outer fat, revealing the muscle bundle beneath. Remove any excess fat from the surface, and shave away meat from the muscle bundle to round it off. Note that if you use a pork shoulder cut of meat, the muscle bundle you are trying to obtain is the portion that would like just to the side of the shoulder blade. If using pork butt, opt for Berkshire rather than Heritage since the latter has more fat and less muscle fiber content. If you cannot find Berkshire, however, commodity pork will also work. You can save the trimmings to make sausage, if desired, or you could discard them.
• Chill the meat. Wrap the pork in wax paper and place it in a cool sanitary area, like a meat locker or refrigerator. Allow it to reach an internal temperature of 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). Note that you should check the temperature of the meat using a meat thermometer. Avoid guessing; for health reasons, you should make sure that the meat completely cools to this temperature.
• Grind the dry ingredients into a blend. Place the salt, sugar, pepper, cure #2, garlic powder, juniper berries, and mace in a spice mill. Grind them down until thoroughly pulverized into a powder. Note that cure #2 is the same thing as Prague powder #2. It contains 6.25 percent sodium nitrite, 1 percent sodium nitrate, and 92.75 percent salt. In general, cure #2 breaks down at a slower pace, which makes it safer to use for meats that have a prolonged curing time, like capicola. Overall, this powdered cure blend you create must contain a minimum of 4.5 percent salt based on the weight of the meat before you cure it. This is the only way that the Trichinella sp. bacteria will be destroyed.
• Thoroughly rub the pork with the cure blend. Divide your spice-cure mixture in half. Thoroughly rub one half of this mixture over all sides of the pork. Save the rest of the spice-cure mixture in an airtight container until ready to use.

HOW TO CURE & AGE CAPICOLA - HOMEMADE CAPICOLA - PERFECT CHARCUTERIE

Steps:

• Measure out the Prague powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg, black pepper corns, bay leaves and juniper berries.
• Place the juniper berries, black peppercorns and bay leaves into your spice grinder and process this until fine.
• Add the ground spices to the rest of the powders and mix this together thoroughly.
• Place the pork neck on your work surface and roll it tightly length-ways. Use butchers twine to tie the roll firmly. This helps the roll keep its shape.
• Place the meat in a roasting tin or catch tray and sprinkle the curing mixture evenly over the meat. Pat the powder into the surface of the meat as you go until all of the meat has a coating.
• Turn a vacuum packing bag half inside out. Feed the meat into the bag and unfold the bag to close it around the meat. Pop this into your vacuum packer and seal it up good and tight. It is a good idea to give the bag a double seal for security.
• Place the vacuum packed meat in your refrigerator for 7 days to cure. You can also seal the meat in a ziplock bag, but then you must massage and flip the meat every day while it is curing.
• After the curing time, remove the meat from the bag and rinse it thoroughly under cold running water. Use a clean dish towel to pat the meat dry.
• Place the meat on a board and sprinkle liberally with paprika all over and press this into the surface of the meat. Place the meat on a rack and allow this to age for 5 to 6 weeks at a temperature of 14 to 18c, or 57f to 65f, and humidity of 60-70%.
• After this time, cut the strings away from the capicola. Cutting the roll open reveals the beautifully colored cured meat with a firm texture and an absolutely amazing aroma.
• Slice the meat thinly by hand or machine and you're ready to taste heaven.

CAPICOLA (COPPA)

Steps:

• Add the fine salt, sugar, ground red pepper flakes, and Prague salt into a spice or coffee grinder (or use a mortar and pestle) and grind them. It is essential that the Prague salt is evenly distributed in the ground mixture.
• Place the pork in a large bowl or on a work surface and rub all the meat with this spice blend, making sure to spread it out over the entire surface.
• Wrap pork tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 5 days.
• After 5 days, turn it over and refrigerate for another 5 days.
• After 10 days total, unpack the meat which will be firmer to the touch.
• Rinse it thoroughly with cold water to remove all the spices and set aside while preparing the seasoning.
• Seasoning
• Add the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, anise seeds, red pepper flakes and black peppercorns in a spice or coffee grinder (or use a mortar and pestle) and coarsely grind them.
• Lightly pat the coppa with paper towels.
• Spread this spice rub on a plate or a work surface and roll the coppa in it, coating all sides well. Use all of the spice mixture to coat the meat.
• Cut a piece of elastic meat netting a few inches longer than the capicola. Stretch the elastic net and pass the coppa through it.
• Preheat the oven to 250°F (120˚C).
• Fill a container with water and place it on the middle rack of the oven to create humidity while the capicola is cooking and to keep it moist.
• Place the capicola on a roasting pan with a rack and place it on the upper level of the oven.
• Cook the capicola for an hour, then turn it over and cook for an additional 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches around 150°F (65˚C). Do not overcook or the meat will be dry.
• Remove the coppa, place it on a dish and refrigerate uncovered for 5 hours.
• To taste the capicola, cut it into thin slices.