| Capocollo | |
| Alternate Name: | Capicollo (Tuscia viterbese, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria), ossocollo (Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia), finocchiata (Siena), coppa di collo (Romagna), capocollo or corpolongo (northern Lazio and central-southern Umbria), lonza (central-southern Lazio) or lonzino (Marche and Abruzzo), scamerita or scalmarita (northern Umbria and Tuscany), capicollu (Corsica), gabagool (New York City and New Jersey) |
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Capocollo[1] (pronounced as /it/)[2] or coppa (pronounced as /it/)[3] is a traditional Italian and French (Corsica) pork cold cut (salume) made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder or neck. It is a whole-muscle salume, dry cured, and typically sliced very thinly. It is similar to the more widely known cured ham or prosciutto, because they are both pork-derived cold cuts used in similar dishes. It is not brined as ham typically is.
This cut is typically called Italian: capocollo or Italian: coppa in much of Italy, Corsica and southern Switzerland (Ticino and the Grisons).[4] This name is a compound of the words Italian: capo ('head') and Italian: collo ('neck'). Regional terms include Italian: capicollo (Campania and Calabria) and Italian: capicollu (Corsica).
Outside of Europe, terms include bondiola sandwich or Spanish; Castilian: bondiola curada in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and capicola or capicolla in North America.[5] The pronunciation gabagool has been used by some Italian Americans in the New York City area and elsewhere in the Northeast US, based on the Neapolitan language word Neapolitan: capecuollo (IPA /kapəˈkwol.lə/) in working-class strata of 19th- and early 20th-century immigrants.[6] It was notably used in the television series The Sopranos, and its use has become a well-known stereotype.[7] [8] [9]
In its production, capocollo is first lightly seasoned often with red and sometimes white wine, garlic, and a variety of herbs and spices that differs depending on region. The meat is then salted (and was traditionally massaged), stuffed into a natural casing, and hung for up to six months to cure. Sometimes the exterior is rubbed with hot paprika before being hung and cured. Capocollo is essentially the pork counterpart of the air-dried, cured beef bresaola. It is widely available wherever significant Italian communities occur, due to commercially produced varieties. The slow-roasted Piedmontese version is called coppa cotta.
Capocollo is esteemed for its delicate flavour and tender, fatty texture, and is often more expensive than most other salumi. In many countries, it is sold as a gourmet food item. It is usually sliced thin for use in antipasti or sandwiches such as muffulettas, Italian grinders and subs, and panini, as well as some traditional Italian pizza.
Three particular varieties, coppa piacentina, capocollo di Calabria from Italy, and Coppa de Corse[10] from France have protected designation of origin status under the Common Agricultural Policy of European Union law, which ensures that only products genuinely originating in those regions are allowed in commerce as such.[11] [12]
Five additional Italian regions produce capocollo, and are not covered under European law, but are designated as prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies:
Outside Europe, capocollo was introduced to Argentina by Italian immigrants, under the names bondiola or bondiola curada.