How Capocollo (Gabagool) Is Made In Italy | Regional Eats | Food Insider

Claudia Romeo: You may know it by the name

capocollo

, coppa, capicola,

gabagool

... dozens of names to describe an Italian delicacy: a distinctive cured meat

made

from pork neck, easy to spot thanks to its bright red color and its beautiful veining. . Unlike ham, the fat from the pork neck makes

capocollo

a soft, tender, and incredibly flavorful cut. We are in the countryside of Martina Franca, Italy, and today we are going to talk about one of the best capocollo in the country, the capocollo di Martina Franca. This type of capocollo is very special because it is

made

with pigs that feed only on acorns from a local tree, the fragno.

And it doesn't stop there. The tree is also very important in the manufacturing process. Let's find out more. Claudia: The piece that Giuseppe works with is large, about 3 or 4 kilos, which at the end of the curing process will lose around 50% of its weight. The meat is then seasoned with salt, pepper and a touch of Senise chili, a variety of chili from the neighboring Basilicata region that adds a sweet, smoky aroma to the meat. The capocollo is then cured for 15 days and rubbed by hand every other day to ensure it absorbs all the flavors of the spices.

Unlike other types of capocollo that are directly dry cured, this one is also left in brine for six hours. But this brine isn't your average water and salt: it's vincotto, cooked grape must. Grape must is that fresh, thick juice obtained from crushing grapes to make wine. Its freshness also makes it high in sugar, a perfect sweetener but also a drink. After wrapping it, Giuseppe punctures the capocollo to let out excess air, tying a rope tightly so it can be hung during curing. To make the capocollo a perfect cylindrical shape, he first wraps it in a sock and then passes it through a custom-made funnel.

Claudia: Wow. The goal now is to remove all the excess liquid from the meat. This drying phase will be carried out gradually in three different temperature-controlled environments. The first is a drying room, where the meat will spend seven days and lose all its liquids, such as grape must and blood. The second, a pre-curing room, is a room with high humidity levels to reintroduce some moisture into the meat. Claudia: After another seven days in the pre-curing room, the meat reaches the final destination of its curing process, the curing room. He will remain here for 150 days. Claudia: At the end of the 150 days, it's time to take off your socks to finally reveal the capocollo hiding inside.

Wow. Claudia: Giuseppe fooled me when he said that the capocollo calls us to try it. We still have another step to see: smoking. To better understand to what extent this step affects the final product, we must go back to the forest so dear to Giuseppe. While he takes off all his socks, his son Andrea tells me more about the local oak, the fragno. Claudia: Stretching from the Balkans to Turkey, the Itria Valley is the only place in Italy where this type of oak can be found. The fertile soils of this mountainous farmland, along with the very Italian practice of curing pork neck, make Martina Franca's capocollo a truly unique product.

After breathing in the fresh air of the Fragni Court, I join Giuseppe in the smoking room, or the "black room" as he likes to call it. Wow. Hmm. Hey, we have a new project that we are very excited to show you. Here is the trailer. Herrine Ro: So what are you going to show us today? Daniel Boulud: Well, I love wine. This is a Japanese knife. Herrine: What do you use this for in the restaurant? Daniel: We use it, of course, for m

eats

, steaks, ducks, roasts. It moves and cuts, and cuts, and cuts. It's indestructible! C'est bon?

Herrine: Yeah, it's great. If you like the look, subscribe to Food Insider and tune in tomorrow for the full episode.