Coppiette

[JohnsMyName]

I am new at curing, but have dove into this hobby head first. This is a very easy beginner recipe that doesn't require a lot of time or equipment and I'm glad I found it early on in these endeavors. It can be completed in 6 days with no curing chamber. The recipe was taken from a book by Hector Kent and modified to my tastes.

Coppiette (meaning "couples" in Italian) is a jerky type meat snack traditionally made with horse or donkey, but now commonly made with pork. It is meant to be a quick snack for the pocket or as a means of making tavern patrons thirsty due to its saltiness and spicy heat.

Recipe:
Pork Loin trimmed of all fat and silver skin.
3% Salt
1% Coriander
1% Fennel
1% Chili flake
.75% Raw Sugar
.50% Black Pepper

Procedure:
Cut trimmed loin into 3/4'' strips. (Helps to freeze meet slightly first)
Toast spices and grind.
Vacuum seal or put in freezer bag with no air left.
Put in fridge for 3 days (or more if you want).
Pull from bag and lightly rinse in a cup of white wine (this is optional) (I infuse mine with smashed garlic cloves).
Tie "couples" together with string and leave in a cool dry place for 3 days. (Authors note says that traditionally hung in front of fire place, but he hangs from his kitchen rafters. If the summer is hot and humid, you can put on a rack in the fridge, just flip once a day to get even drying.)

Hope you all try and enjoy. These are super quick and easy, and go great with a cold beer or glass of wine.

 

[biteme7951]

Let the games begin....

 

[atomicsmoke]

Never seen it before. You go by a weight loss target (for drying) or how you decide if they are dry enough?

How about some smoke?

 

[shoebe]

Wow, thanks

 

[JohnsMyName]

I've done it a few times and each time went by my feelings on it. The meat is thin enough I think it really comes down to preference. Some pieces will ultimately be thicker and thinner and when it's that thin, it could be by 50%. The thinner ones will get hard and chewy, the thicker parts will be softer, but still harder than most cured meats. Being a whole muscle and drying as much as they do, I believe the salt content is sufficient for safety (the book confirms this).

The recipe I posted is to my taste buds and wouldn't benefit from smoke in my opinion. I think it would be great smoked with other spices though. If I was smoking it and trying to stick with something similar to this, I'd probably lose the coriander and up the black pepper considerably and maybe add garlic powder. I'd also lose the wine rinse step as that would be lost by the smoke.

ETA: Welcome shoebe! :)

 

[Maple]

Looks good will have to give it a try.

 

[indaswamp]

Thought I'd post this here:
http://italian-salami.com/2017/09/19/coppiette-ciociare/

 

[indaswamp]

Never seen it before. You go by a weight loss target (for drying) or how you decide if they are dry enough?

How about some smoke?

Through doing some reading on the internet, one Italian site I translated said dry until 60% weight loss....

 

[indaswamp]

BTW, I'm Cajun/Italian so I have to give this a go....

 

[JohnsMyName]

That's a neat website, thanks for sharing. I think bothering to weigh them is a waste of time, you'll see when you make them. Update us on how it goes when you try it!

 

[indaswamp]

Just picked up a 7# loin. Need to pick up some coriander for the spice blend and I'm good to go on this....Cutting it up tonight.

 

[JohnsMyName]

I'm glad to hear it! Make sure to cut off all fat and silver skin. Also, putting in the freezer for a bit helps immensely with the slicing. Let us know how it goes!

 

[indaswamp]

I trimmed about 2# off the loin and set that side for sausage. Got it seasoned up and inda fridge for 3 days to cure. I think I will hang the meat in my smokehouse and give it a kiss of orange wood smoke. Smelling the whole spices roasting in the pan and orange wood just hit me as a great pairing. Besides, they hung these next to the fireplace to dry so a little smoke is traditional right?!?!

 

[JohnsMyName]

Sounds wonderful!

 

[indaswamp]

Alright, it's been 3 days. Got the strips out, soaked in wine, and dried on a rack.

I currently have them in the smokehouse with orange wood chips to get a little smoke on them. Plan on smoking for about 2 hours. Then I'll pull them and transfer to a dehydrator. I would snap a q-vue pic but it is raining right now. IT was suppose to clear out by now...if it stops when I go to pull them I'll take a pic.

 

[JohnsMyName]

Good stuff brother!

 

[Maple]

As mentioned in an earlier reply looks good, now you have me making it. Have the same book and I'm trying the salting method 2 using hard apple cider as the liquid in the brine. Also used a pork tenderloin I had in the freezer. Not sure how I'm going to dry it yet. Might just hang it in the kitchen as he does in the book.

 

[JohnsMyName]

Maple - Sounds good, would be interested to hear your thoughts on the brine if you go that route. As far as drying, I think anywhere clean with a cool temp would work just fine. Even fridge, but they may get harder than you'd want in there.

indaswamp - Have you dried enough to eat any yet?

 

[indaswamp]

Yea...
I smoked it with orange wood for about 2 hours @190* then pulled it. Put it on the deydrator @135* for almost 20 hours. Good stuff....The seasoning was very strong when I pulled them from the dry brine bag but a rinse with white wine pulled most of it off...what remained was mostly infused into the meat, but some still stayed on. Very good. I can see making this again when pork loin goes on sale again. The smoke gave it a great color too! The orange wood compliments to spice profile perfectly!

It is spicier than I anticipated. May be the the cayenne flakes I used ran a little hot...

Close up...

I'm saving this batch for a trip out of town turkey hunting...might make some more...it's amazing how small 10# of pork looks after drying....

 

[JohnsMyName]

Great to hear. I think I will try a very light smoking next time too. I use a mix of Aleppo and Calabrian chili flakes. The chili is the one thing that will very from user to user as the heat profiles can change so much.