"The Sopranos," they call it "gabbagool." But what, exactly, is capicola? For those
of us who haven't been initiated, we have the answer. Just be careful who you tell, capisce?
Let's clear up a big one here — what exactly are you eating when you take
a bite of capicola? It's impressively specific.
We'll start with where it comes from, and according to DePalma Salumi, capicola,
or capocollo, is one of a number of types of cured Italian meats. This one comes specifically
from the area of the pig between the neck and the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder.
That's what the word means, in fact: "capo" means "head" and "collo"
means "neck." Academia Barilla gets even more specific and says the pigs
of choice are at least eight months old and weigh at least 300 pounds. Traditionally,
the best of the best comes from large breeds typically raised in the south of Italy.
In case you're wondering what makes this part of these pigs so special,
SBS said it's all because of the fat ratio. Capicola is 30 percent fat and 70 percent lean,
and that means it's both tender and moist, even after it's been cured.
According to Academia Barilla, capicola goes
back to the era of the colonies of the Magna Graecia. But what does that mean?
For that answer, we'll need to turn to the Ancient History Encyclopedia.
The Magna Graecia were areas along the coast of southern
Italy that were colonized by the Greeks between the 8th and 5th centuries BC.
Those ancient Greeks were attracted to the area by the particularly fertile lands and its perfect
position within a larger trade network, and when they settled there, they made it completely Greek.
Not only did they bring things like the Olympic Games, but they also brought stuffed pork
sausages. That kicked off the start of the area's deep love of all things pork, and they're still
known for their large-breed pigs and their pork products today — including capicola.
There are a lot of different terms you've probably heard
used to refer to various meats, and a lot of them sound very similar to "capicola."
Let's clear up any potential confusion with help from DiBruno Bros.
At the root of the confusion is the fact that many regions in Italy have their own
version of capicola, and some are very specific just to that area. Think of
champagne — the real stuff only comes from the Champagne region of France.
Otherwise, it's more accurately described as sparkling wine. For example, Coppa
Piacentina [KOH-puh pee-uh-chen-TEE-nuh] involves stuffing the meat into a casing of intestine.
Then, there's ham capocollo, which is also called ham-capi and it's also a different thing. That's
essentially a spiced and boiled ham, and it's said to be a cross between ham and capicola.
There are still other types of capicola, according to DeLallo Foods. The region
of Umbria uses coriander and fennel, while Basilicata traditionally uses hot pepper powder,
and their version is typically not as salty or smoky as the stuff from Calabria. The
long and short of it is yes, there are different varieties and they come from different regions.
Cured meats all go through a similar process of washing,
salting, and drying. So what makes capicola different from other thin-sliced, cured meats?
Essentially, it's where the meat comes from on the pig that makes it different,
said the Huffington Post. Take prosciutto. That comes from the pig's hind leg,
and it cures for anywhere from nine months to two years.
Speck also comes from the hind leg, but it's made using different spices and it's cold
smoked after it's cured. Speck, prosciutto, and capicola can all be used pretty interchangeably,
but they're going to taste different and capicola is from an entirely different part of the pig.
What about soppressata? That can come from pretty much any part of the pig,
and it can even include "leftover" bits like the head and tongue. Serrano ham?
That's Spanish, and it can only be called that if it's from a certain breed of pig,
the Landrace. Similarly, Iberico ham has to come from Iberico pigs.
The confusing part isn't over just yet.
It's also worth talking about the two different ways capicola is made.
Technically, said The Daring Gourmet, capicola refers to the thin-sliced neck and shoulder meat
that's been cooked. When that piece of neck and shoulder meat is dry-cured, it's more
appropriately called coppa. Although in the U.S., the terms are often used interchangeably. If you
order capicola at your local deli counter, you might just get the dry-cured stuff.
So, what does it mean when we talk about the process of dry-curing?
Again, this is also different based on region and tradition, but essentially, DeLallo explained
that the process involves taking your piece of meat, adding salt and other spices, then
putting it into a natural casing, tying it up, and letting it age for at least several months.
And here's why Italy is so good at making these types of meats.
According to Academia Barilla, the combination of humidity and temperature
found in particular areas of Italy make it perfect for slow aging.
Capicola might be hard to find, depending on where you live,
and it also might be pretty expensive. But there's good news: you can make it at home.
All you'll need is a pork shoulder, whatever seasonings you like, a curing salt mix,
and casings. After seasoning your pork shoulder — with the marbling,
without the fat cap — there are a few things you can do. You can wrap it tightly in plastic
wrap and let it sit in your fridge for a few weeks before putting it into your casing,
or you can cover it in salt and let it sit for one day for each two pounds of weight.
Either way, it's the aging process that's the real key here. You'll need somewhere to hang and age
your capicola for months before you actually get to cut into it, and you're going to want
a place that holds a relatively high humidity but temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit,
according to Sausage Maker. Complicated? A bit. Long process? Very. Rewarding? Absolutely.
If you know capicola from The Office or The Sopranos
you probably know it as "gabagool." Where the heck did this name come from?
Atlas Obscura said it's because of a weird phenomenon: the development of an accent
that's not just regional, but specific to the descendents of a group of Italian immigrants.
"Don't eat 'gabagool,' grandma. It's nothing but fat and nitrates."
"Gabagool? Over here."
The development of language in Italy is so confusing that even
professional linguists aren't sure what the heck happened,
and we're definitely not here to argue about linguistics, so we'll talk basics.
Essentially, most Italian immigrants came from different regions in southern Italy, and even
when they settled in the U.S., they were still divided into regional groups. And those groups
spoke different versions of their native language. When they came together in the U.S., bits and
pieces of the languages held on, and formed a sort of Italian-American Italian language.
When that happened, letters started taking on different sounds and inflections. Without
getting too complicated, it's all about accents and whether or not a letter's sound comes from
your vocal cords or your mouth. The hard "c" in "capicola" became a "g," "p" shifted into a "b."
"o" got elongated to "ooh," and — like in so many other words — the last vowel disappeared.
"I will have the gabagool."
"The what?"
"The gabagool."
"Uh, I don't really know what that is."
So, here's a question: What the heck do you do with capicola? Sure, you can put it on a
platter and serve it just as it is, but that's not all. Capicola is surprisingly versatile,
and you can use it for every meal of the day, for a main course, and for appetizers.
Since it's so thinly sliced, that makes it perfect for making some super-easy, super-elegant bites.
Use it to line mini puff pastry nests and cradle a dollop of mashed potatoes, or use it to wrap
things like dates and spears of asparagus, or fold them onto crackers and top with a chunk of melon.
You can also use it to dress up what might otherwise be a pretty boring dinner. Use
slices to stuff chicken breasts, or even dice it and sprinkle over your pasta or onto your pizza.
For breakfast? How about adding it to your breakfast sandwich or on top of your Italian
eggs Benedict? It'll give whatever you're making an undeniably delicious, super salty kick.
"How is that?"
"Salty."
"Have you ever considered becoming a food critic?"
Capicola is delicious, versatile and authentically
Italian, but you don't want to go overboard with it, and here's why.
Nutritional information is tough to come by, because there are so many different ways to
season and salt capicola. So, for something of a baseline, let's turn to Boar's Head,
one of the premier companies for charcuterie. Their hot, uncured capocollo comes with a
serving size of just one ounce, which includes 590 milligrams of sodium.
Now, let's put that into perspective. The American Heart Association
warns that most Americans get way too much sodium on any average day,
and said that ideally, we should be eating no more than 1,500 milligrams per day.
That means that one little ounce of capicola contains more than a third of your daily
recommended intake of sodium, and if you have three of those little appetizer bites,
you're already over where you should be for the day.
And that's a big deal. Too much sodium increases your risk of high blood pressure,
heart attack, and stroke, and on average, most Americans already get twice the sodium they
should be getting. That makes capicola just as bad for you as it is delicious
and, like many things, moderation is key.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of capicola comes from the history
of the processes that go into making it. According to the BBC,
people have been air-curing meat for hundreds if not thousands of years.
And it's a little weird. You don't want to eat that raw pork chop you pulled out of the fridge,
put on the counter, and forgot about when the doorbell rang, right? So why on earth would you
want to eat that piece of pork that's been hanging around for months, then sliced into capicola?
It's a fascinating bit of science, and it starts with salt. Salt kicks off a
massive bit of evaporation inside that piece of meat that's eventually going to be capicola,
and as the evaporation happens, it turns that piece of meat into a barren,
inhospitable wasteland that bacteria can no longer thrive in.
There are a lot of factors that play into everything that's going on here — like humidity,
temperature, and making sure bugs, beetles, and other nasties stay away from the meat — but yes,
thanks to a little bit of science and a lot of human ingenuity,
we've perfected the dry-curing process by now.
Capicola can be made anywhere, but there's actually a few different types that are
extra special. They've been awarded a Protected designation of origin,
or PDO status, and that basically means that particular name
can only be used if the entire product is made in a particular area or region.
Let's talk specifics. If you buy Capocollo di,
that's a PDO capicola. That means you know it came from pigs that were born and raised in
the Calabria region of Italy, and that it was made there, too. It's also required to have a
layer of fat that's at least three millimeters thick — that helps keep it soft as it ages.
There's also Coppa Piacentina, and according to Emilia-Romagna Region Tourism and Commerce,
the pigs can be born and raised anywhere in Lombardy or Emilia-Romagna, but the capicola
itself needs to be made in Piacenza. And they've been doing it for a long, long time.
Coppa di Parma has a slightly different designation, and that's PGI, or Protected
geographical indication. Regulations are a little looser, said the European Commission,
and it basically means that the product has a characteristic tied to the region.
This particular capicola is made in several provinces, but always uses meat from pigs that
are at least nine months old, and are within a 10 percent weight range of 160 kilograms.
Defining what capicola tastes like is difficult because there are so many methods
and varieties that it's entirely possible you can find one variety you don't like,
and another you absolutely love. We can give you a few general guidelines, though.
Most capicola retains a heavy to slight smoky flavor, and DiBruno Bros. – who only carries
capicola made in America — said there are two different types of flavor profiles you might
expect. It comes down to whatever spice mixture the maker decides to use, and while there's some
wiggle room in specifics, most American capicola is either made with red pepper — which will make
it hot and spicy — or with black peppercorns, which will make it more on the sweeter side.
Flavors are so varied that before you pick out a nice-looking side of capicola, you should
definitely peek at the ingredients to get an idea of what flavor profile you're looking at.
Take some do-it-yourself recipes: While some call for paprika, chipotle powder, juniper,
chili powder, and nutmeg, others might call for fennel, anise, red pepper, and coriander to
compliment the base of black pepper. Bottom line? There's one out there that's perfect for you.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Mashed videos about your favorite foods are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.