coppa or similar curing process...important question

andrejwout · Post by **andrejwout** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 13:49

Hi, ive been curing coppa in fridge (2nd stage - 14 days or so)as per recipe in MArianksi and i seem to be getting a light greenish liquid and tint to the meat. The smell and integrity of meat is fine. IS that normal, ie to do with the process, nitrates/nitrite?

My butcher says it shouldnt be cling wrapped or bagged and though youd lose some of the brine effect, its better to hang when curing. He says the green is ok, but should be removed before fermenting etc. Im now a bit unsure for next time. I dont want to hang, lose brine and too much water/weight to the meat. On the other hand i dont think the method is good from the green point of view. Maybe i should have ziplocked rather than cling wrapped, though i cant see much obvious diffeence between the two.

Any thoughts would really help

Thanks

Andrej

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 00:54

Andrej
The green liquid, not sure I have answer to this question, without actually seeing the liquid. Give Chuckwagon a chance to review your post he might have an answer to the liquid question. If possible post what you used in the recipe, example what type of salt and how much, did you use cure # 1 or #2. Then maybe a few pictures, take up close photos with good back ground light. One more thing, does this Coppa recipe have cumin in it, if so I wonder if the light green liquid is from the cumin?
Good luck!
Uwanna

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 04:45

Hi Andre,
Uwanna wrote:

Give Chuckwagon a chance to review your post he might have an answer to the liquid question.

I appreciate your confidence in me although I am surely no expert. I do have an opinion though and perhaps it may help. I believe ol` Uwanna is spot on. Stan`s recipe has cinnamon, cloves, paprika, red pepper, and cumin. All are in powder form and all can combine and tint exudates. I wouldn`t wrap the meat with plastic however. I`m sure what Stan meant was to drop-kick the thing into a plastic food lug or non-reactive pot and cover it with plastic wrap (to keep the oxygen from forming a hard pellicle on the meat). The salt will naturally draw moisture from the meat and if it has been rubbed with powdery spices, they`ll be sure to tint the water in the bottom. You`ll be surprised how much moisture will come from the pork butt. What is the temperature of your refrigerator? I doubt very much if anything has gone wrong. I think your capicola will be just fine. Keep us posted Andre.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

andrejwout · Post by **andrejwout** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 23:06

Hi, thanks for replies. Yes, i concur now. Ive asked more people and read more and i agree thats what Stan meant. I think it must go into a non reactive container, then covered to reduce air etc/hard skin blah blah. I shouldnt have had it in close contact with the cling wrap.....but it wont hurt. Ill just clip off the greeny bits, as they are in no way rotten, but unsightly. Im doing a seconfd batch this weekend with a revised storage/curing technique and i think it will stop the problem at hand. I ve been told the green isa in no way dangerous, just ugly. Its a reaction with the cling, thats all. But its worth rememebering i guess, unless one wants a green coppa!!

Cheers

Andrej...........will keep you posted. Ive just successfully, it seems, built a ferment chamber, with good temp regualtion and humidity control. Im very pleased, as it took a lot of work and worry. My temps and humid are working to the 14c/70% humid i set, and so im very optimistic, at this point. Roll on.......