Coppa, in or out?

Post Reply
fatboyz
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 512
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 19:26
Location: Alberta

Coppa, in or out?

Post by fatboyz » Wed Feb 01, 2017 20:22

My coppa is ready to case and dry now. The recipe I have from here is to hang for 21 days. My chamber is loaded with fresh product so RH is in the high 80's. Temp is set at 13C. Should I put the Coppa in the chamber or leave it hang in the shed which the temp is set at 13C but Rh is around 30%. I can surround it in plastic with a pail of water in the bottom to get the RH up to about 50%.Thoughts?
BlueMonkey
User
User
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2016 10:36
Location: Gold Coast

Post by BlueMonkey » Thu Feb 02, 2017 00:01

Hi Fatboyz.

For what is worth, I usually aim for weight loss, not time hanging, and tend to favour a loss of around 38 - 42%.

My Coppa sit at about a 79 - 80 rh, and 13 degree C. Takes about 3 months.

I use a mix of recipes, and I know our sister site has a recipe calling for 21 days, however i successfully use that recipe for this time period.

I believe you are unnecessarily risking case hardening running at only 50%rh, and suggest you put in your chamber, but work off weight reduction. Your fresh product will be dropping rh soon, and certainly will not have any adverse effect. Time is your friend!
fatboyz
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 512
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 19:26
Location: Alberta

Post by fatboyz » Thu Feb 02, 2017 01:39

Thanks Blue! I'll go with that. The coppa's are 2.6 kg each. I'll get them wrapped and netted and into the chamber.
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Thu Feb 02, 2017 03:36

Yes it is important to start drying at higher humidity and then progressively drier as the water activity slows down. A bit of case hardening is normal, but you don't want it to form in the early stage of the process.
fatboyz
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 512
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 19:26
Location: Alberta

Post by fatboyz » Thu Feb 02, 2017 04:09

she's in the chamber and on its way!
User avatar
Bob K
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2232
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2013 15:16
Location: Northwest Ct

Post by Bob K » Thu Feb 02, 2017 13:43

Like was already stated use the higher humidity of the chamber. 3 or 4 months is not to long to dry them and the reward for patience is great flavor development!

Those are large coppas, did you include part of the shoulder or loin?
fatboyz
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 512
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 19:26
Location: Alberta

Post by fatboyz » Thu Feb 02, 2017 15:20

Bob our normal hog break down is 3 ribs back but Chris had mentioned that Italians will split the front off 5 ribs back to get a longer Coppa so that's what I did. They weighed 2.7 and 2.6 kg. So in essence yes a portion of the loin is added. I wasn't too worried about how many chops I'd get off that hog as it was a good sized one so I made the Coppa's bigger. I also de-boned one loin for speck.
Post Reply