# Is my coppa / capocolla going bad?



## bernieross (Jul 30, 2017)

Fifteen days' drying completed, and it's lost 20%.    I'm a beginner at this, and have heard that black mold isn't good.    I have white spots, some spots of gray/blue, but also quite a large number of dark brown/black spots.   These aren't showing well on this photo, but there are quite a number of them, especially at the bottom end.   













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__ bernieross
__ Jul 30, 2017






Does this look OK, or do I have to trash it and start again ? 













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__ bernieross
__ Jul 30, 2017






Thanks!  - Bernie


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## daveomak (Jul 30, 2017)

What were ALL the steps you did in the preparation...   You don't want to make those mistakes again... 

Looks like your prep area was contaminated.... humidity too high..  temp too high.... 

Can you please post the recipe you followed.....


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## bernieross (Jul 30, 2017)

Thanks Dave.   I salted the meat first, with salt and Prague Powder No. 2.    Don't remember the proportions, but they were correct.   I left it salting for four days, removed it, patted it dry, added some fennel seed and green pepper,  and then put it into a beef bung.   I then covered it loosely in a muslin cloth and hung it to dry.  It's been hanging for 15 days.

It's been hanging in a cool spot, with variable humidity.   We had a couple of very wet days initially, when the humidity was very high (90% or more), but since then it's dropped, sometimes to around 50.    Daytime temperature has ranged from about 18 up to about 23, cooler at night.  Above 21 degrees was rare - it happened a couple of times during a hot spell. 

If those few black spots are nasty, would they be cured with a bit of vinegar?   I'm not intending to cook this, but to have it thin sliced.   The meat doesn't smell bad at all now.  The beef bung was pretty rich-smelling at first, but as it has dried, the smell has improved.

- Bernie


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## daveomak (Jul 30, 2017)

I've read some writings from accomplished folks that say, "All mold is OK"...  Others say black mold is bad... 

It has been said, wipe it down with vinegar..  I would use white vinegar ...  clean it up good...   keep the humidity from 70-80% as too high a humidity will help breed mold... 70-80 deg. f to dry the casing for 12 hours or so....   then 50-60 F for 3-4 weeks to dry...  

I think the muslin held in unwanted moisture...   air flow is important to dry the surface and help the drying process...    Some note, air speed similar to walking speed is good... not too fast, not too slow..

Len Poli recommends 4.5% salt, others say the minimum salt is ~3% including the salt in the cure...    Poli recommends refrigeration for minimum 18 days at 36 F...  while the cure and salt are doing there thing....  

I may have misinterpreted your description but, I think you do not have a good method / recipe for making coppa...

Evan M Brady
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Coppa Arancia FINAL.jpg



__ evan m brady
__ Sep 29, 2015







| Coppa con la Scorza di Arancia e Peperoncino Piccante di Calabria e Finocchio  |

Pretty straight forward here... Local Berkshire Pork (not sure what farm, but was from my towns local version of a "whole foods") cured in 2.50% Trapani Sea Salt, 0.04% Food Grade Potassium Nitrate, 0.05% Texel DCM-1, orange zest, hot Calabrian pepper powder  and flakes, and lastly Calabrian wild fennel seed.

Cured for 14 days, and then re-rubbed with spices only, and then stuffed into a 5.5"+ beef bung cap. Aged for roughly 75 days here now, and final water activity of core 0.83.


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## bernieross (Jul 30, 2017)

Thanks Dave.   I'll give it a wash with vinegar and see how it goes.   I was in two minds about the muslin - I just wanted to make absolutely sure there were no bugs on it.   That photo looks beautiful!   A lovely cut of meat with more than ample fat.   Not sure about the hot pepper for coppa though, although I must admit that orange zest and fennel is a flavour pairing made in heaven.   (and Sicily!).  I'll try your recipe next time.   I get the feeling this is going to become an obsession of mine...


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## daveomak (Jul 30, 2017)

That comes from Evan M Brady..  a member here and artisan meat manipulator...


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## sky monkey (Jul 30, 2017)

"Artisan Meat Manipulator" is one helluva title, makes my mouth water just reading it! Good luck Bernie, I'm still building confidence to go that far.


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## atomicsmoke (Jul 30, 2017)

Four days curing for a large muscle seems short. I would be more concerned about that than the mold spots.


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## wade (Aug 1, 2017)

atomicsmoke said:


> Four days curing for a large muscle seems short. I would be more concerned about that than the mold spots.


Hi Bernie. Yes I agree with Atomic. That does seem too short.Was the cure a dry mix or was it am immersion brine? It is not totally clear from your description. Did you not record what you put in the cure or follow a recipe?

Leaving that aside for now, the vinegar mentioned above is good to combat mould in the early stages. If you are storing it in an environment that is conducive to mould then it is often a good idea to add your own to out compete the other wild moulds. You can either buy a mould starter or you can make your own by washing the mould from a shop bought salami in a little warm water and then coating it onto your coppa.

Before you do that though I would advise you to thoroughly check the recipe that you are following to ensure that you have sufficiently cured your meat. If you can post up the exact ingredients of the cure that you used too that would be helpful.


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## mr ray ray (Aug 2, 2017)

Rule of thumb i use when curing a large piece of meat is 3 days per Kg for dry cure. If i do a wet cure i do 2 days per kg and also inject the brine into the meat before it goes in the brine. I refrigerate both methods. Its better to error on to much time in cure than not enough.


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## daveomak (Aug 2, 2017)

The accepted "rate of cure penetration" is 7 days per inch of thickness, for a dry rub....   longer for an equilibrium brine cure, up to 30 days...


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## bernieross (Sep 9, 2017)

Thanks for your help.  The black spots faded after a vinegar bath, but having seen them, I felt a bit wary.   Two problems: it stopped losing moisture after reaching 72% of its starting weight.  When sliced, it looked perfect - great texture, no bad smell.  But it was simply TOO salty - even for me, and nothing is usually too salty for me.   There was some wonderful flavour going on in there under the salt, but the overpowering saltiness, and my wariness over the black spots, made me decide to bin it and start again.

I was surprised at the saltiness, as so far I've done two guanciales with great success using roughly the same amount of salt cure, and I was told that coppa is one of the easiest for a newbie.

Any recommendations on amounts of salt for the intial cure?  When washing off the salt after curing, should I perhaps soak the whole thing - seems a bit of a drastic way to start the drying process.  I don't want to use sugar in the mix, simply because I understand that Italians don't, and I want to create as close to the real Italian deal as possible. 

And finally,  a real stupid newbie question:   when I salt a piece of meat, it produces, and sits in, a liquid bath of what seems to be a sort of brine -  a liquid saturated with salt.  So what is the essential difference between a wet cure and a "dry" cure?   Why is a bath of watery meat juices plus salt so different from a brine of added water + salt ?

Thanks,

- Bernie


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## daveomak (Sep 9, 2017)

Looking at your recipe.....    2.75%  Kosher salt and 0.25% Cure #2 (Prague #2)....   That will give you ~3% salt...  you don't want much more than that as it will be salty...


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## daveomak (Sep 9, 2017)

Dry brine (rub) suck the moisture out of the meat....  You want that for what you are doing..   Wet brining adds liquid to the meat...  perfect for BBQ....


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## bernieross (Sep 10, 2017)

Thanks Dave.   I'm ready to begin and will use your proportions.    Will let you know how I get on this time.


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