Capocollo / Capicola - Day 1: Trimming and Salting

Capocollo, Capicola or Gabagool... no matter how you pronounce it, this dried cured meat is delicious. Karl and I show you how we make it using the center cuts of a whole pork loin. We don't use the traditional pork shoulder, it's too time consuming and we prefer it with less fat.
We were first introduced to this by our good friend Giovani about 10 years ago. When we discovered that it was home made in his wine cellar we begged him to teach us.
The rest is history, we've been making it ever since.
Day 1 entails breaking down your loins and salting them for 24 hours. This video shows just that. We'll pick it up on another video where we rinse, spice, and hang these perfect little jewels.

[@redfirewoodstand3808]

Fellow massively tax paying Ct guy here, lol. Yea that’s the loin not the Capocollo. The Capo is the neck just behind the ears till rob 3-5, we do run 4 but both pieces are so small so lots of my friends do the same thing you guys do. If you get a chance try the real capo meat. Neck till about 4th rib max. Meat is a lot more red with way more marbling. I just finished a batch and wish I could upload a picture. Still great video and we only get that cut as we slaughter 6-10 of our pasture pigs a year for our retail meat cuts and save the capo for us when most butchers put it in the sausage pile, such a shame. Great video and nice to see fellow Connect I Cutters!!!

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

This is NOT capicollo, or Coppa!!!! You can not make it from a pork loin! You are making Lomo or lonzino, at best but definitely NOT capicollo!!!!!!!!

[@frankdavisiii9514]

Always love seeing a sharp knife

[@Grubmasters]

Amen!!! We would still be out there cutting without it.

[@mattmcivor3374]

Great video thanks! Love the trick with the sheet pan and board!

[@Grubmasters]

Thank you Matt. Glad you enjoyed the video. We are happy to share what we can. We are ever grateful for the tricks we have picked up,and continue to pick up, along the way from others as well as trial and error. We have guest star, the master Giovani Albini, appearing in the next video. Sure to be a treat.

[@mxmdigital]

Nice video, thank you

[@Grubmasters]

Thank you Maksim.

[@TheJosephb22]

Love your style, everything well explained. Great job guys!!!!

[@georgelee5244]

Yes

[@harrybarker1408]

thumbs up for that !!!!

[@Grubmasters]

Thank you! Wait until you see day 2! We bring in a guest star.

[@corwynwarwaruk2141]

Fat is healthy! What’s not healthy in our diets is all the sugary drinks and processed foods. Good natural meat is good for your health

[@Grubmasters]

Don’t worry, nothing was wasted, it all went into the sausage we made at the same time.

[@mindofencryption]

Positive Notes: I've been wanting to make Capicola for a while and found your technique. Love the use of available materials like the iodine salt, plus no PINK salt that is awesome. Also the use of loin is great alternative, like you said less fat if that is what you want. I have thrown out pork loins because they are very lean and have no flavor but with your recipe this could be a game changer! Plus the loin is so cheap. Cheers, thanks for sharing.

[@Mrv1960]

Good video but never use Pork Loin it is too lean and not enough fat content for real Capicola It tastes like shoe leather when you eat it. Use Pork shoulder Butt or also called Boston Butt for real Italian made. If you concerned about lean then it's fine but it isn't the right name and will never have the same taste.

[@jackatwang]

What is the best tip for a beginner making capocollo

[@Grubmasters]

Find a mentor to guide and help the first few times. Having a friend named Giovani that has been doing it since he was in grade school was a huge help for us. The other key thing is being sure that you have a dry area that you can regulate and keep the temperature in the right range.

[@dougb1615]

When's part 2?

[@Grubmasters]

Today. Grubmaster John just posted. Meet the master Giovanni.

[@Horhay5050]

iodize salt? I've watch numerous videos and all of them say not to use iodize salt.

[@Grubmasters]

We address that question in the Day 30 video. We’re going to do it next year with Kosher Salt.

[@christianstclaire5706]

Iodized salt, can you explain why? Thanks

[@jamalpeoples3736]

This isn't capocollo. This is Lonza or Lomo. You can't just use what ever cut you want and call it a different product. It's still going to turn out great probably as I love lonza or Lomo.

[@Grubmasters]

You are correct. We live in a town and area of CT with a heavy Italian population. Most families have been here for 2 and 3 generations. We checked in with our mentors after others pointing out the same. From what we understand, they all started making it with the shoulder. Over the last 30 years, many started shifting over to using the loin because of the ease of trimming and the less fat in the cut. They all continue to call it capicola. One of our mentors that grew up in Italy, smiled when I told him about the comments and admitted that yes it was lonza. The reality for these families is that they basically make two things. Dried sausage and what started out as capicola. They do big quantities once a year and then enjoy all year round. With the exception of adding motorized grinders and fancy stuffers, they follow the same methods as came over from Italy. They just never changed what the called it. Agree 100% that it still tastes great. To give you a heads up, we will be filming the harvest in about an hour. I suspect the post production by Grubmaster John will put us out a week or so until we go live. Thank you again for commenting and for watching.

[@cmsense8193]

Grubmasters New Haven, Meriden CT had large Italian populations as well. We all know is lonza, lomo but still a nice piece of cured meat!

[@Grubmasters]

Agreed, it’s all about the tradition, camaraderie and final product.... the name is far less important. Thanks for watching!

[@sotirisfrangos580]

Americans ! Did you expect anything else ?

[@phillylazono4125]

Great video could I use beef?

[@Grubmasters]

I don't see why you couldn't do beef. Perhaps an eye of the round roast. That might be worth a try next year. I wonder what the final taste would be...

[@jaybob44]

Philly Lazono Sure. Why not? These guys are using lean pork loin, so you might as well use beef. Heck, try chicken while you’re at it.

[@alfaromeo6985]

@@Grubmasters I am curious why no one uses chicken or turkey with this method?

[@users8298]

Did you use insta cure? Because I do not want to.

[@Grubmasters]

No, just salted for 24 hours.

[@mtrimble8392]

Iodized salt to cure meat??? Please explain.

[@Grubmasters]

Thank you for the question. Sorry for the delayed response. The salt does its primary work in those first 24 to 36 hours drawing moisture out of the meat. The wine is used to look to rinse off what salt remains that wasn’t already removed from the moisture leaching out of the meat.

[@dustinwinter8724]

@@Grubmasters - I think you're missing his question. Iodized salt imparts a bitter iodine taste to the meat. You guys would probably get a better end product using kosher salt, sea salt, canning salt, or any other salt that is not iodized. Table salt is iodized to basically fight off iodine deficiencies is the greater population. This little bit of iodine staves off birth defects and other health issues. However, it kinda tastes like crap in large doses; such as when curing meat.

[@Grubmasters]

That’s a good point. This recipe is an old family recipe. We’ve learned that a lot of that had to do with what was on hand and readily available. Kosher salt is coarser and I always use it making jerky marinades, dried bacon brines, or wet brines. For those the salt is a big part of the end product. Here we use it and then rinse it off. I’m sure some gets absorbed though. We’ll have to experiment with a kosher batch. Maybe do a side by side comparison. Thanks for the comment!

[@ericleander6048]

If it's not the copa muscle... how exactly is it capicola? I mean cured pork loin... sure. But a capicola it is not. You need that marbled fat.

[@Grubmasters]

Watch the third video in the series for an explanation. But your correct.

[@jeanforget2483]

no go for iodized salt! Wrong!

[@krtherapper]

wrong way to make it. capicollo means pork neck the collo of the pig so they using wrong meat. two keep the fat on the meat so when you slice you see meat and fat combined. you take the pork neck you put salt on it , pepper on it, garlic on it. leave it in the fridge for 24 hours, then you take any red wine cheap one expensive up to you and wash the salt off in a wine bath. then you dry the meat up with a towell, then you put more pepper on it, wrap it in pig intenstines or a wrap that breaths. then pour a little more wine on the outside of it just a tiny splash then you store in your freezer for 2-2 1/2 months or in a wine cellar with temperatures not exceeding 15 degrees. if you hang them outside make sure to do it in the winter and the purpose of black pepper on the outside so that animals wont touch it they hate pepper after two months you can slice it open and see how cured and fresh the meat still is. i prefer honey on mine honey, pepper capicollo

[@Grubmasters]

Thanks for watching and sharing your experience. Be sure to watch the last installment in the series where we address the naming issue.

[@uppervalley299]

Collo! Look up the meaning of what you think you are making.

[@chefenricoa.7861]

then you must call this Lonza. Period.

[@sarys73]

Gabaool lol smh

[@plainguy4996]

Iodized salt? No thanks. forget day 2. Goodbye.