Pork Butt + Coppa Muscle Roasts

[BethV]

I'm making a pork butt tomorrow and I thought I would share a picture of how I separated the Coppa muscle, which includes the money muscle from the rest of the roast.

I do a lot of trimming on pork butts. It's a fatty cut of meat that benefits from long and slow cooking. I have personally never found it to be an issue removing as much outside fat and silver skin as I can.

The Coppa muscle is used for capicola if you're going to make charcuterie. I cut out the Coppa muscle along with the money muscle, trim and tie it. This is an amazing piece of meat that is hidden inside of a Boston butt. You will never see it if you are pulling the meat for pulled pork.
There is still plenty of meat on the roast to pull. I'll be slicing the coppa muscle. It is really delicious.

On the Coppa muscle I have Franklin's AP rub. On the roast I used Louisiana hot sauce as a binder and my own sweet and spicy AP rub with a light sprinkling of Franklin AP rub on top.

Into the fridge to rest overnight.

 

[Mastertech59]

I'm making a pork butt tomorrow and I thought I would share a picture of how I separated the Coppa muscle, which includes the money muscle from the rest of the roast.

I do a lot of trimming on pork butts. It's a fatty cut of meat that benefits from long and slow cooking. I have personally never found it to be an issue removing as much outside fat and silver skin as I can.

The Coppa muscle is used for capicola if you're going to make charcuterie. I cut out the Coppa muscle along with the money muscle, trim and tie it. This is an amazing piece of meat that is hidden inside of a Boston butt. You will never see it if you are pulling the meat for pulled pork.
There is still plenty of meat on the roast to pull. I'll be slicing the coppa muscle. It is really delicious.

On the Coppa muscle I have Franklin's AP rub. On the roast I used Louisiana hot sauce as a binder and my own sweet and spicy AP rub with a light sprinkling of Franklin AP rub on top.

Into the fridge to rest overnight.

Thanks Beth great information.

 

[Bytor]

@BethV your posts never cease to amaze me. How are you smoking and serving this? Is it cooked along with the Butt and thinly sliced, or more steak style? I'm thinking thin, but am interested in it all.

 

[BethV]

@BethV your posts never cease to amaze me. How are you smoking and serving this? Is it cooked along with the Butt and thinly sliced, or more steak style? I'm thinking thin, but am interested in it all.

@Bytor , Thanks. I'm going to smoke it at 225. I want them both to get a bark on them. I plan on slicing the Coppa about 1/2 thick. It's very tender at that point. Nothing like what you would expect to come out of a pork butt. (Boy that sounds bad). It's like an additional hidden gem.

The last time I did this they both cooked about 10 hours. I don't really want to do an overnight cook because it will get done too soon. So I'll put it on in the morning early. I'll take some photos when it's done so you can see what it looks like.

It really is the best of both worlds.

 

[rgreenberg2000]

Looks great, Beth! I like to take the Coppa/Money muscle out of the pork butt, too. If I've got a 2-pack from CostCo, I'll remove the Coppa, then grind up the rest for sausage. I recently made Pernil with a couple of Coppa "roasts" that I had on hand. Great meal, and sandwiches for a couple of days......

 

[BethV]

@rgreenberg2000 That looks fantastic! It's quite the little find. I've heard that people like to cut it into steaks as well. Yours looks larger than mine and I thought mine was a big one this time.

 

[rgreenberg2000]

@rgreenberg2000 That looks fantastic! It's quite the little find. I've heard that people like to cut it into steaks as well. Yours looks larger than mine and I thought mine was a big one this time.

Thanks, @BethV . Turned out great! I think these were both around 2 lbs. I don't get too careful when I'm separating, so I sometimes get some surrounding muscle, too. I'm in the midst of making my first cured Coppa (about 55 days in......)

 

[BethV]

@rgreenberg2000 Very cool. I started dry aging and making charcuterie last year. That's how I discovered the Coppa. I made capicola a few months ago. I use Umai bags. Yours looks really nice and different than mine. What sytem are you using to dry it?

 

[rgreenberg2000]

@rgreenberg2000 Very cool. I started dry aging and making charcuterie last year. That's how I discovered the Coppa. I made capicola a few months ago. I use Umai bags. Yours looks really nice and different than mine. What sytem are you using to dry it?

@BethV, I made coppa/capicola once with UMAI bags a year or two ago. It turned out well, but this November I decided I wanted to try dry aging using a curing chamber. I have a small fridge that has been used in the past as a beer fermenter, and a cheese cave, so I was already set up for humidity and temp control. The coppa above was cured for 14 days, then stuffed in a beef bung, tied and has been hanging in my curing fridge for 55 days. It's lost about 31% of its original weight, so will probably finish up in 4 weeks or so. I've also got a Lomo (loin), Pancetta, and some fennel salami hanging in there right now. Making chorizo today (since the salami is coming out and making room.) You can see the coppa in the back of this pic.....

 

[BethV]

@rgreenberg2000 OMG! That's a photo for a recipe book! I'm love that. I'm getting ready to dry age another large rib roast. And I am going to start thinking about making salami. You are inspiring me.

 

[BethV]

The coppa muscle came off 12 hours later. Final temperature is 174°. It's an amazing piece of meat that comes out of this Pork Boston Butt. The rest of the roast is still cooking. It's still in the stall but moving out slowly.

 

[Waterboy]

That looks really good @BethV. I’ll be doing that with the next pork butt I cook.

 

[Buckeye1]

Same here!!! Beth, what temp do you normally shoot for on the Coppa? Did you pull at 175 because of the long stall or is that target?

 

[rgreenberg2000]

That turned out great, @BethV! The ones I cooked for my Pernil I took to just under 180 also, and they were perfect for slicing! I'll have to try one low/slow, too.

R

 

[BethV]

Same here!!! Beth, what temp do you normally shoot for on the Coppa? Did you pull at 175 because of the long stall or is that target?

I use temperature as a guideline but it comes down to the look and feel of the meat. I haven't had pork of any kind get to even 190. I've been in the food industry a long time so I'm very comfortable with my cooks as well as waiting for meat to come out of the stall. It does not unnerve me.

The Coppa was 1lb, 13 Oz. It cooked for a total of 12 hours at 225. 6 of those hours the small roast was wrapped in butcher paper. It was in the stall for 6 hours. The probe of my thermometer went through the roast as if it were warm butter which is what I always wait for. If it's not at the prescribed temperature, I don't worry about it because it's still very safe to eat. If the meat is probe tender it's ready to go.

I never want to take a chance of overcooking it.

I had two 12 lb briskets on since 11:00 pm last night. They have been in the stall for hours and will stay there probably for hours more. What I do find interesting is that there is a 20° difference between the two pieces of meat that weigh the same. Sometimes it's just the meat and you need to let it do its thing.

I also had a backup of four brined turkey thighs that I also smoked on the grill at the same time. So we didn't go hungry

 

[C. Keeper]

I use temperature as a guideline but it comes down to the look and feel of the meat. I haven't had pork of any kind get to even 190. I've been in the food industry a long time so I'm very comfortable with my cooks as well as waiting for meat to come out of the stall. It does not unnerve me.

The Coppa was 1lb, 13 Oz. It cooked for a total of 12 hours at 225. 6 of those hours the small roast was wrapped in butcher paper. It was in the stall for 6 hours. The probe of my thermometer went through the roast as if it were warm butter which is what I always wait for. If it's not at the prescribed temperature, I don't worry about it because it's still very safe to eat. If the meat is probe tender it's ready to go.

I never want to take a chance of overcooking it.

I had two 12 lb briskets on since 11:00 pm last night. They have been in the stall for hours and will stay there probably for hours more. What I do find interesting is that there is a 20° difference between the two pieces of meat that weigh the same. Sometimes it's just the meat and you need to let it do its thing.

I also had a backup of four brined turkey thighs that I also smoked on the grill at the same time. So we didn't go hungry

@BethV have you ever had a situation where the meat was probe tender and not at temperature?

This isn't a trick question. I was just wondering if it was possible.

Thank you.

Chris

 

[BethV]

@Chris_G all the time!! You can wait until the meat hits 203° or the recommended temperature, and it won't be probe tender. That doesn't mean it's time to take it off. It's just not ready yet. If you take it off, you may not be happy with the results.

 

[C. Keeper]

@Chris_G all the time!! You can wait until the meat hits 203° or the recommended temperature, and it won't be prep tender. That doesn't mean it's time to take it off. It's just not ready yet. If you take it off, you may not be happy with the results.

Thank you.

 

[rgreenberg2000]

@Chris_G all the time!! You can wait until the meat hits 203° or the recommended temperature, and it won't be probe tender. That doesn't mean it's time to take it off. It's just not ready yet. If you take it off, you may not be happy with the results.

@Chris_G, I would add that the reverse is true as well......you can have a piece of meat that is probe tender before whatever target temp you are shooting for. I've had briskets and butts that meet my tenderness threshold at 190F, so I always start probing for tenderness (in several spots) around 190F just in case. In BBQ (and lots of other cooking endeavors), times and temps are merely guides. The meat will tell you when it's ready if you listen.

 

[C. Keeper]

@Chris_G, I would add that the reverse is true as well......you can have a piece of meat that is probe tender before whatever target temp you are shooting for. I've had briskets and butts that meet my tenderness threshold at 190F, so I always start probing for tenderness (in several spots) around 190F just in case. In BBQ (and lots of other cooking endeavors), times and temps are merely guides. The meat will tell you when it's ready if you listen.

Thanks