"Gabagool" redirects here. For the comic book, see
Gabagool!
Capocollo
Alternative names
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 Jersey)
Capocollo[1] (Italian:[kapoˈkɔllo])[2] or coppa (Italian:[ˈkɔppa])[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 thin. 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.
Etymology
This cut is typically called capocollo or coppa in much of Italy, Corsica and southern Switzerland (
Ticino and the
Grisons).[4] This name is a compound of the words capo ('head') and collo ('neck'). Regional terms include capicollo (
Campania and
Calabria) and capicollu (
Corsica).
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.
Capocollo di
Martina Franca[15] is a traditional capocollo of Apulia. It is smoked with laurel leaves, thyme, almonds, Mediterranean herbs and pieces of bark of
Macedonian oak (called fragno in Italian), a tree typical of Southeastern Italy, the Balkans and Western Turkey. Usually it is served with figs or
burrata;
Capocollo tipico senese or finocchiata, from
Tuscany;[16]