Ray’s Gabagool

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Sven Svensson

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Dec 5, 2021
1,552
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Sonoma County, California
Greatly inspired by sawhorseray sawhorseray I started curing my first capicola back in December or January. My hope was it would be cured and dried by Easter. indaswamp indaswamp broke the news to me that it would be more likely Memorial Day, which turned out to be correct. Today I got out my Berkel slicer and set it to whisper-thin. “So thin it doesn’t have a backside” to quote one of you recently.

The weight loss stalled for about 2 months but I patiently rode it out. Finally, I lost my patience and decided to take it out of the UMAi bag and vacuum seal it for a month. I cut into it a couple weeks ago for samples. Today was slicing day. It’s glorious and was worth the wait.

Now I’m a Gabagool fiend. I think I’ll be picking up a couple of shoulder double packs and making 4 of them on this next round. I’ll grind the extra bits for sausage. I’m also switching from the Umai bags to using Dry Steak Wraps. My success with UMAi has been hit-and-miss so I’m going to change it up just for fun.

Enough text, here’s the glamor shot. I purposely placed one slice on the pattern of the plate so you can see how thin I was able to get it. Tomorrow I’ll pick up some fresh cantelope or honeydew and get to work on enjoying this project.

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Very nicely done Sven!! Now that you have made it and tasted it yourself-your life will never be the same!!!! LOL!!!
It’s so freaking good And thanks for cheering me on. There’s so much flavor compared to the store-bought stuff. It doesn’t compare. It’s got a nutty, rich, umami goodness to it. Ray’s spice blend was perfect.
 
What a wonderful thing to see Sven you nailed the coppa! I have one gabagool curing in the fridge, another done in the freezer, and just so happened I made a pizza for dinner tonight. Thanks for the props, looks to me lie you got it goin' on for sure! RAY
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There’s so much flavor compared to the store-bought stuff. It doesn’t compare. It’s got a nutty, rich, umami goodness to it.
Most of the store bought stuff in the U.S. is fast processed with minimal aging to bring the product to market as quickly as possible. It just does not give it enough time to fully develop those complex deep rich flavors. Now if you go big and buy the authentic Italian imported stuff from a reputable Salumerie following D.O.P. regulation- it will have been aged properly.
 
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Hey Sven, Now you understand why I am building a 42.5cu.ft. maturing chamber!!!! LOL!!!
I have way too many chambers (smokers, grills, etc) and there’s no way I can make another but I am so crazy tempted. I just had some cheap capicola from Costco the other day and it was so unremarkable. You’re right about the aging.
 
sawhorseray sawhorseray The pizza is coming. Soon!

Hey Sven, making your own sausage and charcuterie you are all set to make the best pizza on the planet! There's a million different dough recipes out there, I finally settled on a real simple one, I'll post it here, I took the advise of chopsaw chopsaw Rich and started letting the dough ferment covered in the fridge for 4-5 days, up to a week. After making my own dough for 30 years and never quite being really happy that one little trick made a world of difference, first bite my wife said "best pizza you ever made". Whatever dough recipe you decide to go with try Rich's fermenting technique, it works and makes a real difference in the finished product. RAY

 
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Looks absolutely gorgeous! I have used Umai before but only for salumi, have not tried the capicola type yet so you are sure an inspiration to push me over the hump and go for it already. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
 
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