Ray’s Gabagool

[Sven Svensson]

Greatly inspired by sawhorseray I started curing my first capicola back in December or January. My hope was it would be cured and dried by Easter. 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.

 

[indaswamp]

Very nicely done Sven!! Now that you have made it and tasted it yourself-your life will never be the same!!!! LOL!!!

 

[indaswamp]

"Gabagool- it's like an amusement park for your taste buds!"

 

[Sven Svensson]

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.

 

[sawhorseray]

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

 

[indaswamp]

Hey Sven, Now you understand why I am building a 42.5cu.ft. maturing chamber!!!! LOL!!!

 

[indaswamp]

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.

 

[Sven Svensson]

sawhorseray The pizza is coming. Soon!

 

[Sven Svensson]

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.

 

[Ringer]

Excellent job Sven! It is amazing on its own but I can't wait to see what else you decide to do with it. Great slicing job too!

 

[SmokinEdge]

You will like the wraps over the Umai bags. Nice work Sven.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Very nice Sven, I would find it hard to wait , but like they say . Good things are worth waiting for.

Like the old TV knife commercial
" Cut it so thin the in-laws won't come back "

David

 

[crazymoon]

SS, Nice job ,you are hooked now ! :)

 

[gmc2003]

Looks great Sven. Excellent Job

Point for sure
Chris

 

[chopsaw]

Nice work Sven .

 

[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 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

Prime-Time Pizza Dough

Get Prime-Time Pizza Dough Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

You nailed that Sven! Looks great. Made sawhorseray proud for sure. Good thing too. Had you disgraced him he might have sent Danny two dimes to your front door with a baseball bat for a little knee cap busting.

 

[checkdude]

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.

 

[xray]

Gabagool!! Ova here

This is something I’ve been meaning to make forever. Yours looks absolutely fantastic!

My grandfather lived off this stuff, seeing yours brings back some nice memories.

 

[chopsaw]

Gabagool!! Ova here

I'm gonna have to get the Sopranos DVD's out .