It's Capicola Time

A few years ago, my brother-in-law's father taught me how to make home-cured capicola. Made from whole pork loins, it's cured briefly with salt, then seasoned and allowed to hang and age for about 60 days.

Winter is the perfect time to do this, because a cold attic is ideal for hanging the capicola (I have a small closet in the center of my attic that I use specifically for hanging and aging meats.) And so, every January, I get together with family and friends and a case of pork loins.

Today's post will show the first steps. As time goes on, I'll show the rest of the process as we go through. It's fairly straightforward - and I'll include a materials list now so if you want to try your hand at it, you can buy the stuff and make your own along with me.

Most of the actual activity takes place this first week. You'll need:

2 whole pork loins
Kosher salt or sea salt
A gallon jug of cheap white wine
Coarsely ground black pepper
Hot paprika or cayenne pepper
Sausage casings - you'll need beef middles, about 3 inches in diameter
Wooden slats, about 14 inches long (these can be ripped on a table saw from a 1-inch thick pine board)
Long plastic wire ties (heavy 12-inch ones are best.)
Cotton butcher's twine

For today, all you'll need is the pork loins and the salt, but in a couple of days you'll need the rest.

Start by cutting each of the pork loins in half and removing the plastic. You'll now have four shorter loin pieces. Coat each of these pieces with salt so they are completely covered. It doesn't have to be a thick crust, but there should be a good, even coating on all surfaces. The picture on the right shows about what it should look like. You'll need about a pound of salt to effectively coat all four chunks of pork.

Now put the salted pork loins into a non-reactive container to cure for about 48 hours. A cheap Styrofoam cooler or a plastic cooler with a food-grade white plastic lining is great. Put the loins into the cooler, sprinkle in additional salt if your fingers have rubbed any spots bare, and then close the cooler and leave it in a cold but not freezing spot for two days. If you have room in your refrigerator, you can put the cooler in there. If not, you can leave the container on a cold enclosed porch, in your cold attic, or in the cellar on the bulkhead stairs where it usually stays cold in winter.

Okay, so our pork loins are safely salted and stashed in a cold place. We're done for today. Tomorrow, we'll take a peek inside the cooler and see what's going on.

TOMORROW:
Checking the pork loins and turning them to ensure an even cure.

SUNDAY:
We prepare the cured loins for aging into capicola.

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