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Finished Dry Cured Berkshire Coppa

Written By Culinary Pen on Saturday, May 14, 2016 | 12:10:00 PM

This is a dry-cured coppa that I rolled out and put on cure back in early January.  It's just peaked over the 30% weight loss mark.  The edges are a bit drier than I would like, as I had some issues regulating my humidity as I moved from a damp, open-air basement to a contained curing chamber.  I've vac'd up a large section of this coppa, as I hope a few weeks of resting under refrigeration will help the moisture stabilize from the dry edges to the moist center.
I'm really pleased with this coppa.  It came from a Berkshire boston butt that was cut in an Asian-style to maximize the length of the neck muscle.  For me, this meant I could get the entire coppa, right where the chuck eye roll of meat begins to end and turn into the loin.  Cased in a beef bung and tied with hemp, the muscle naturally picked up a flora of mold from the other salami in the room.
In the raw state, before it got some shaping and trimming.
I cured the muscle with salt, sodium nitrite, white pepper, and fennel.  I love the aroma of white pepper and fennel, especially with anything pig-related.  Now, as much as I'm trying to relax and savor this experience, my mind is wandering to the next coppa project.  In the style of speck?  Smoked and seasoned with juniper?

It's a never-ending chase after that porky-cured-carrot.
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1 comments :

adi_o said...

Can a recipe be detailed? Thank you!!