Keeping the Italian tradition going! Today I will be sharing with you, our family recipe and method, for making and curing, homemade capicola, from scratch. It is easier than you think and the results are amazing. Nothing scientific here, and no fancy curing agents, just a simple technique that has been used in our family for generations and I am very happy to be sharing this with you today. Hope you give it a try!!

Making Italian Sausage, from Scratch Complete StepbyStep Guide and Recipe
   • Making Italian Sausage, from Scratch ...  

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https://amzn.to/43QZHMH fibrous casing

00:00 intro
00:55 cutting the meat
05:39 salting the meat
07:57 16 hours later
08:59 rinsing the salt
10:13 seasoning the meat
12:04 casing the meat
18:15 hanging the meat to rest
19:14 bone intermission
19:50 3 months later
20:40 remove from casing, rinse
23:06 first look inside
23:35 taste test
25:05 outro

Making Home Made Capicola, from Scratch – old fashion, Italian way, Our Family Recipe
Ingredients/accessories:
• Pork Butt or whole pork shoulder (you will only use a portion of this)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Paprika or chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
• Container to hold pork.
• Capicola casing or elastic mesh
• Sting or butcher’s twine

Process
• Remove the boneless portion of meat, off the shoulder blade.
• Cut/shape this into a tubular shaped “roast.”
• Put in a container and cover generously with fine table salt, all around the entire “roast” (use plenty of salt and cover all around and the sides as well)
• Let it sit in your cantina (cold room) (or fridge) for 15 – 16 hours MAX.
• Remove the capicola from the container and remove all salt and then wash off any salt still clinging on to the capicola. (You want to ensure all the salt has been removed)
• Pat the capicola dry with a paper towel, and then season your capicola. For a mild capicola, season with black pepper and paprika. For a hot capicola, season with black pepper and hot chili pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper). You can rub the spices onto the capicola.
• Place your seasoned capicola into an elasticized mesh sleeve, or into a capicola casing (if using the casing, be sure to poke holes in to casing to allow for drying)
• Tie off both ends of the sleeve or casing, and then hang it in your cantina (cold room) for typically 3 months. Note, there must be air flow around the capicola i.e. nothing touching it
• In 3 months, you can squeeze the capicola and it should be firm and thus, cured (it may be ready a week or 2 earlier, or a week or 2 later, depending on your cantina and the size of your capicola.
• At this point, you can eat it, or you can store it for a later date.
o if you want to store it for a later date, simple vacuum seal it in plastic and it will keep like this, right on your countertop – no need to keep it in the fridge (or, alternatively, in the old days, they put the capicola in a container and then completely covered it/submerged it in vegetable oil)
o If you want to eat it now, then with cold tap water, just wash off the spices from the outside (a brush works well) and then dry it with paper towel, slice and enjoy.

Notes:
• Ideal humidity level in your cantina would be 65 – 70%
• If there is a bit of mold on the outside of your capicola, that’s O.K., and typical just wash it off after it’s dry and cured.
• You can also use a any boneless pork roast, that you can buy at your local store, and follow the same procedure as above.


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