I made some coppa and soppressata over the winter and finally got to taste it. Delish!

That looks awesome!

That looks beyond AWESOME!

I bought a case of 10 pork butts yesterday and set 8 of them on the deck to freeze (~4F last night).  I've got one going into the smoker tomorrow and another I'll carve up for fresh sausage.  One day I am going to cure the coppa.  Please keep posting pics to light a fire under my ass.

Do you cure in a basement?  Mine is pretty constant at 60F, but the humidity is low.

Hi James
I use a wine cooler in my basement, which has a temperature setting.
Vito

Wow!  That is gorgeous!

I've never cured anything in it, but I keep a freezer-less fridge with an external thermostat set at 55*F (I could set it to any cool temp) in which I store wine, cheese, nuts and anything else I want to keep cool. It's a great tool.

What temperature do you use?  If I remember correctly, optimal temp for wine is about 55F.  I put a thermometer in the basement last year to see how it would do for fig storage.  It was 60F +/-1F every time I checked, regardless of the weather outside.  I'll have to put a humidifier down there, as well.  The ambient humidity is only about 25%.  I was a bit bummed that I couldn't use it for overwintering figs, but thought I was close to being where I need to be to cure meat.

Outstanding. Thanks for sharing Vito. Now I have to hit the net and find out how to make this stuff! Wish me luck!

Vito, that cured meat looks fantastic!

My mouth is watering

wow that looks amazing vito!

Oh my.  It's a good thing you are far away or I'd be at your door.  Yum  Super job

Gina, that fridge would be perfect.

@ James, I keep it at 60F.

@ Chrisk, it's not that hard, the internet is a great help.

I just ate two large plates of pasta, but I am starving just looking at that!

Wow!  Congratulations!
Do you trade for any fig cuttings??? 

Great job, it looks wonderful!

Reminds me of my dad. His mother used to make it in there basement. Looks so good. I never ate it. my dad just told me stories how they made it during winter

Vito

The Coppa looks great and so do you! Where is the picture of the sopressata??? I wish I could bring you a bottle of wine so we could snack on your treats...

Hi all
Thank you for the kind words.
@ Rafael, I only live three hours away, come on up :-) :-)
@ Gina, I also make a little cheese now and then.

What kind of cheese do you make?

I really enjoyed cheese making. Only problem was I couldn't get good enough quality milk for the finer flavors. Had good luck making parmesan and some of the blue cheese however. Talk about having to be patient, lol.

Gina, I only make ricotta. Sometimes I'll salt it and age it.
I am also not able to get quality milk either, I get mine in the supermarket.
Vito

I made ricotta a few times, but don't use it much. The milk I used was also from the supermarket. You really can't make good cheeses without it being raw milk. And that's almost impossible to find here at reasonable prices. $8 a quart when you need 3-4 gallons to make it worthwhile? Nope. One could be successful if you have your own cow, or own a share in a cow.

Vito,

Thank you for the inspiration.  Next year, I'll post my photos when you post yours.

Looks delicious!!!