Coppa

[JOSEPH FLORES]

Aloha

Just a question about time and weight. I made a couple of small coppas (about 2.5 lbs each) I followed all the required recipes with time and weight loss. This is my first try . I have been 5 weeks out and loss of a little over 1/3 weight. I opened one of the coppas and it looked good and the taste was fair. My question is…the center of the meat did not seem to be cured and was soft compared to the outer areas. (not cured enough) I did note that there some air in the bag. If I left it there longer, would the cure be more centered in the meat. The colour is good and the outer meat tastes good. I am not at home to take pictures and will try later.

Mahalo
Kamano

[Jim]

Hi Kamano,

One question: How long did you cure the coppa before bagging into UMAi Dry?
Basically, the salt that you cure the coppa in has to migrate to the center of the meat and draw some moisture out of there before the drying step that can take up to two weeks and the meat should be relatively “stiff”.
Having said that, eventually the moisture will migrate out of the meat anyway, it may take a few more weeks.
The “air” in the bag doesn’t matter at all since UMAi Dry is not a vacuum bag, but rather a membrane that protects the meat while it is drying in the fridge. Some coppa’s can take up to 3 months to dry, you may have cracked it out a bit too early.

[JOSEPH FLORES]

Aloha Jim

Mahalo for the reponse…I believe I cured it in the fridge about 7-10 days. I checked for firmness and it seem quite firm to me. I do believe that you are correct in that I jumped the gun a bit. I resealed the coppa and will wait another month to see how it turns out. The Meat was on sale and it was a good time for me to experiment on the coppa. Meat is very very expensive here in Hawaii…so I hate to waste.

Mahalo
Kamano

[Rick]

Its going to take some time for the Coppa. Mine was weeks before i sliced it. I thought dang its not cured in the middle but it was fine.

Keep us posted.

[Joe]

Hi All

please help. i have recently attempted my first Carcuterie Copa.

it has been drying for 7 weeks now and i feel its ready to eat.

however im a little concerned about a little white patch that has developed on the meat inside the bag.
people have told me to be carefull of mold?

please see link to photo and advise if you think this will be safe to eat.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d16/jpatamisi/Copa1_zpsc50764d3.jpg

thanks

[Doru]

I have the same problem with my coppa. The inner part is kind of soft and a little bit moist. The main problem is I cut it in 4 pieces and don’t know what to do now: can I eat it, should I dry it more, how can I do that? Somebody please help!!

[Jim]

In principle if the meat has lost about 35-40% of its weight it should be ready to slice. If you have uneven drying, you may want to wait a few more weeks. It is difficult to say if something is safe to eat or not without looking at it, smelling it, touching it etc.
Basically the entire UMAi Dry process takes place in a refrigerated environment which makes it safer.
The Coppa that is shown in the UMAi Dry video was also a little soft in the center and it was perfectly good eating.

Also, it is possible for small areas of white mold growth to appear on the surface, this same white mold often covers the entire surface of a traditionally aged Coppa.

[Doru]

My coppa lost 35.55% of weight but still soft and a little bit moist in the middle. Can I put all 4 pieces in a dry bag and let it dry for another few weeks or should I eat it as is? The smell and taste is awesome.

[Jim]

Doru,
You can definitely reseal the meat into UMAi Dry and let it continue to dry, however you may not get the bond that you got originally since the surface of the meat is already dry. At 35% the meat is pretty much cured and dried. If you like a firmer texture, next time you can increase the salt amount you add in the curing stage, it will get saltier and firmer.

[Doru]

Thanks Jim. I decided to eat it as is but next time I’ll be more careful on the curing stage and definitely I will leave it to dry longer

[Author]

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