The Pig Weekend - Capocollo and Pancetta

Well this is third and final part of the Pig Weekend series and I’ve saved the best for last. The prime cuts from the pig are saved to make capocollo using the pork collars (neck muscle) and the pork loins and the pancetta is made from the pork belly.

 

As is typical in most of these Italian traditions there are many methods in making these and everyone thinks theirs are the best. This is just the way we do it which of course is the best!

 

Capocollo

 

For the capocollo we save the two neck muscles as well as the pork loins. The below pork loin is taken from the mid section which we cut in half for ease of management.

 

We then simply sprinkle on some pepper, salt and fennel seeds and let it sit in a container for about 8 days. During that period, each day they are massaged and flipped over to make sure the spices penetrate into the meat and that moisture is drawn out of the meat.

Once they are ready we wash them down twice. Once with water to get rid of any surface build up and then with white wine. Why do we do this? It’s just what we do; there is not always a good reason for everything!

So once they are washed down with the wine we pat them dry with a paper towel. The next step is the tricky task of putting them in their casings which is all done by hand and slowly manoeuvring them in taking care not to tear them.

We have always used natural casings, which while are more expensive, again fall into the basket of how we’ve always done things. And as the saying goes; “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”.

 

Finally they are ready to go into the netting which holds them tightly in their form. We have a tool to assist us for this part which is basically a fancy PVC pipe with handles, but makes the task much easier. Tie some strong butchers twine to the netting and after a smearing of paprika over the outside they are ready to hang.

 

Here they will hang for about 3 months until they are ready.

 

Pancetta

 

The pancetta follows a very similar process to the capocollo but with some different ingredients.

 

The difficult part is preparing the pancetta and removing the skin without hacking the piece of meat. Previously we have always left the skin on and hung them as whole pieces but now we like to roll them as they present much better. We’re getting fancy these days!

 

Once cut and trimmed, similarly to the capocollo we add our spices which for the pancetta include mainly salt and chilli.

 

Again leaving for about 8 days and turning each piece over each day you end up with something looking like the below.

 

We don’t wash these down at all, just simply pat them dry with a paper towel and you are ready to roll.

 

They should be rolled firmly ensuring as much as possible no air pockets and tied as tight as possible.

Unlike the capocollo they don’t need to go into any skins, just placed in some netting, smeared with paprika and tied securely.

Don’t they look fantastic hanging!

Well I hope you have enjoyed The Pig Weekend Series and if you have ever thought about curing your own meats hopefully I’ve given you the inspiration to go out and give it a go. Just remember that this sort of thing is very much seasonal and weather dependant, so not something you can do whenever you feel like it. There’s still time this year! The satisfaction that comes along with doing this is huge, so I would definitely encourage you to have a go if you’re thinking of it.

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments below. Happy to answer any questions if you’re thinking of having a go yourself and you’re not sure about something.


Not Your Average Joe