Quote:
Originally Posted by JackInDaCrak
Thanks! The coppa is easy to identify once you learn the layout of a shoulder. Basically it's the opposite end from where the blade bone enters. If you search for BBQ money muscle that muscle comes out of the muscle group that forms the coppa. You can also get a mexican butcher to cut one for you as "cabeza del lomo".
Not necessary to age it but I think it matures the flavor. This wasn't cured for 18 months, only about two weeks in cure and then hung for 2 months until it dried at which point I vac packed it and stuck it in the bottom of the fridge.
I tie and hang uncovered, don't see any need to mess with casings especially as I cut my coppae smaller than most.
thx brother!
I grind about 90 pounds of shoulder a week and we're trying to remove the coppa piece and save it to cure. I think I have the right spot but I'll see if I can find a mexican butcher to help me out.
I gotta work on my reading comprehension, "aged" registered as "cured" in my random brain. Have you noticed a big difference in the flavor from the longer aged coppa?
We apply a salt rub to the coppa, put it in the fridge for 9 days, then apply some more salt rub and back in the fridge for 9 days. Then I wash it off with cold water, pat dry and apply a final rub of assorted spices (cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, etc) and then hang in a fridge at approx 60 degrees with 85% humidity. Are you doing something similar?