Lou, so glad I found your videos. Very informative. I am 3rd generation Italian here in the states.(about 45 miles south of Chicago) I am afraid that most of these traditions were lost when my great grandparents passed as no one in my family is currently doing any thing like this. EXCEPT, I have taken it upon myself to revitalize them. I started making Italian sausage last year, and I am up to about 100lbs total. The plan is to make 100 lbs at Christmas this year and involve my kids and anyone else in the family who what to learn. I Will start curing in the coming months as I am tracking down the needed equipment. I also started making wine in 2019 and love that also. keep up the good work.
Lou great job, your methodology is definitely accurate. I’ve been making Coppa for many years and the equilibrium method always produces the best results. Try a mix of black pepper, fresh thyme + rosemary, a bay leaf and some fresh garlic (minced in a spice mill or food processor) before you stuff it in the bungs. You think will enjoy the results..I will be making 50 with 4 of my friends next week in NJ (Mercer County)...
Very informative. Have any suggestions where to get coppa online? I have been butchering the coppa from a Costco pork shoulder. No butcher near me has coppa or is interested in butchering for me. Looking for higher quality
Excellent! I do the same with prosciutto and capicola . However, since I measure a desired percentage of salt to use (2%), I do not refer to this method as true equilibrium. Hence, the meat is not in a complete salt saturated state. Still hands down the best way to salt whole muscles as over-salting is avoided. Good job!
It is what it is. I had a live camera and a recording camera going at the same time. Once the process was done, there was no going back for a retake. Frustrating, but I hope to make further videos
Great video...would like too see more information on your chamber...is it home made...white mold looks perfect...your recipe is spot on ,,glad too see you use pink cure for precautionary reason...yummmm
Join this Facebook group. There's a ton of info you can gather there. I am the administrator and it's easier to post photos and make comments on the group. Thanks facebook.com/groups/curedmeat/
Hey Lou. Thanks for making this video and sharing your knowledge! Much appreciated. I saw you mentioned in a soppressata competition video then stumbled on to these videos. Great stuff! In regards to the meat netting. I see different sizes. What do you recommend for the capocollo? Also, I can appreciate the simplicity of chilies or pepper but for experimental purposes I read not to add garlic to meat but is powder ok? Thanks again!
You can definitely use garlic powders. Do not use fresh garlic in ANY product you're going to hang. There is a high risk of botulism. You can use fresh garlic in fresh sausage because it will be a cooked product. I believe the netting is either a #16 or #18.
Lou, where are you getting the salt and seasoning ratio breakdowns from? I noticed it was 2.5% in the soppressata video and for this one it's 2%. So i am assuming the ratio is adjusted based on type of product you are making. Is there some sort of guide where this information can be found?
Yes. I have some coppa's right now that are 7 pounds. I am a bit concerned about the size. I may use pasted hog sheets and netting instead, although the beef bungs will definitely promote better white mold growth because of the water they retain.
I know I know. To her defense, I had two cameras side by side, one for facebook live. The other camera was perfect. LOL I was in no position to re-take the whole process. Oh well.
I always have the chamber loaded, and I never had any issues with it growing the proper white mold on it's own. I've never had to use the Mold-600. From what I've seen, the 600 puts quite a thick coating on them. Mine are still solid white, but it's more like a dusting.
"Can you see this? Yeah". What is she drunk? Half the video your head is cut off and what you're showing is off camera."Can you see it in the video? Yes" As your work area where you're coating the capicola in red pepper is hidden behind the bowl of beef bungs. Great explanation of the process though. Pretty much exactly the same process as I use and have been using ever since I started making cured meats with my parents and grandparents as a child back in the 70's. We use paprika in our initial coating of spices. For our capicola we use paprika and red pepper(salt and #2 curing salt of course). My curing chamber is the cellar down in my basement which maintains around 55 degrees year round. Humidity? Your guess is as good as mine, but I've never encountered any problems. But it being a cellar in my basement I'd have to guess the humidity maintains at least 70%.
Mike Lysic to her defense, there were two cameras, one recording live on facebook and the other for youtube. Unfortunately there was no reshooting the video and there was no way to use the facebook live video for editing for youtube. It is what it is.
@@lousantello2498 I figured that. Just razzing you. It was pretty aggravating though. Good info in the video though. Like I said, pretty much the same way we've been making capicola ever since I can remember. Except we hang ours in our cellars. Used to use the salt box method way back in the day. But now we use the EQ method since we now have vac machines.
