First Coppa

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 22:40

After a 7 day cure, I've got my first Coppa hanging in the "cave". I am using the recipe that's over on Taste of Artisan (Victor, I think?), though I decided to give it a coat of paprika before casing it, just for some color. This is the first time that I've seen a beef bung, let alone stuffed one, and there was a little learning curve there. Not too much trouble, but had to create a couple of patches for the odd hole here and there. I went ahead and inoculated both of these with the Mold 600, and now, I will wait.....

wasuky · Post by **wasuky** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 23:45

Those look great. Can't wait to sort out my humidity issue to start drying.

Just curious, when you say "a couple patches", what exactly do you mean? I made a few holes in the bungs I was cleaning the other day and have been thinking how to "repair" them ever since (I don't think a few holes can spoil the entire drying process but I just need to know for the same of learning).

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 00:12

wasuky wrote: ↑
Sat Nov 28, 2020 23:45
Those look great. Can't wait to sort out my humidity issue to start drying.

Just curious, when you say "a couple patches", what exactly do you mean? I made a few holes in the bungs I was cleaning the other day and have been thinking how to "repair" them ever since (I don't think a few holes can spoil the entire drying process but I just need to know for the same of learning).

Well, I'll preface my reply with that fact that I'm not really sure I know what I'm doing!

After I had stuffed and trussed both coppas, I had a hole in each that was maybe 3/4" or less in diameter. I had some bung left over, so I just cut a piece that was a bit larger than each hole, and tucked them inside the hole. I think it's likely that the holes would not have affected things too much, but I decided that I'd prefer to attempt a repair. I guess I'll see in a couple of months if I did any irreparable damage!

Also, I honestly don't know if I'll have humidity issues or not, since this is my first run with the drying chamber. I had it running empty the other day at my starting target temp, and it was sitting at 77F, 95%, so I'm guessing that with some fresh meat hanging, I won't have any problem keeping humidity up for the first few days. I do have a dehumidifier in there now, so I should be able to keep it from turning "jungle" wet in there..... We'll see....

R

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 22:48

So, a question if anyone is looking...... When does the fragrance of the beef bung dissipate? It's not horrible, but there is a distinct smell in the cave right now.....

I ordered some collagen sheets yesterday so I can skip the bunginess next time.

R

bluc · Post by **bluc** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 01:53

I was just thinking how cool they look and was going to try a bung instead of collagen sheet next time

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 02:36

bluc wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 30, 2020 01:53
I was just thinking how cool they look and was going to try a bung instead of collagen sheet next time

Hey, you have to try it to know if you like it or not. Now that I know what the bungs are like, I'll try the collagen sheets and see if I like them better. I know they won't have an odor, but there may be other "cons" that I decide aren't worth it (though from the various videos, etc. out there, they look pretty straight forward.) Cost is probably the biggest factor, then again, bungs aren't necessarily cheap either.

Rich

bluc · Post by **bluc** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 05:08

I have done two coppers and two bresaola just put my third coppa in chamber. I use collagen sheet then an elastic netting seems to work. Zero issues with them. I like the frankenstein look of the natural cases once sewed up.

Post by **redzed** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 18:59

Just give it a few days and the smell will be gone. And it's not that bad! Get used to it! Besides natural casings impart flavour to the meat, house beneficial bacteria such as Staphyllococcus xylosus, lessen case hardening, have better mould cover, and look great.

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 21:23

redzed wrote: ↑
Tue Dec 01, 2020 18:59
Just give it a few days and the smell will be gone. And it's not that bad! Get used to it! Besides natural casings impart flavour to the meat, house beneficial bacteria such as Staphyllococcus xylosus, lessen case hardening, have better mould cover, and look great.

You're right, Red, it's not that bad.....not something I'd wear as cologne, but....

No real updates on my coppa, other than my curing chamber is running pretty easily at 55F, 75% average (51-58F temp range based on controller set points, and the humidity drops every time the fridge cycles on, but recovers pretty rapidly.)

I'll be back with more updates......like when I actually see some mold growing. None yet.

R

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Thu Dec 03, 2020 17:33

We have mold (the good kind!)

Looking good. Chamber is ranging between 51-58F, and ~70-75%RH outside of when the fridge is actively cooling. I'm sure the weekend scientist in me is going to want to tweak all of that to get tighter bands of temp and RH, but I'm certain this will work for now. I'm cycling the air in the chamber 2-3 times a day by just "flapping" the door a few times (chamber is in my office, so easily accessible while I'm "at" work.) I will move the coppas around the chamber this weekend, just to even out any environmental differences in there.

bluc · Post by **bluc** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 06:15

Looking good

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Sat Dec 05, 2020 16:48

I decided that I'm going to track the weight of these two pieces every week. As of today, the larger piece has lost 8%, and the smaller one has lost 10%. Does that seem on track for the first week to all of you experts? My chamber is at 55F, and the humidity swings between 69% when the fridge cycles to 78% before it cycles again.

Everything looks good, and the the products give off a whiff of the spices from the cure, as well as a sort of musty odor that smells like a salami (which I presume is the Mold 600?)

Making some small diameter chorizos today so that I have something to entertain myself between now and when these are done!

R

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 16:49

Day 14

The large piece has lost 10%, and the smaller one has lost 15%. Full mold coverage, and as far as my rookie eye (and nose) can tell, everything is going well. Added in some chorizo buddies last week....

rgreenberg2000 · Post by **rgreenberg2000** » Wed Dec 16, 2020 02:04

Just needed to say it smells like my teenage boys dumped all their football socks in my office......and I don't have any teenage boys! I've read a lot about the "dirty sock" smell, man, that descriptor is dead on! Is it perverse that I'm enjoying it? I guess it means things are going in the right direction....

R

Post by **Butterbean** » Wed Dec 16, 2020 17:46

Looking good. They do throw off some strange aromas at times. I love to smell their progression. I like it the most when it smells like cheese but once got a floral bouquet I thought interesting. I think you made a good choice dusting the outside with paprika as this should make it look really nice. Keep showing the progression.

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