Coppiette

I doubt many of you have heard of coppiette. If you come to Italy, and order them at your specialty grocery store, you will get pork coppiette, which are strips of pork covered in fennel and salt, then air dried until "cooked". Well what you see photographed here is something very different.  


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The coppiette photographed are made in the same way that ancient Roman Jews used to make them.  Jews couldn't eat all the cured pork products like prosciutto, so they made their version at home with beef. Today, Roman Jews still make coppiette at home in the same exact manner.

Thin strips of fatty beef are covered entirely in copious amounts pepper and salt, and then they air-dried outside on a clothesline. The result is better than beef jerky, trust me! A whole bag-full can disappear in minutes in our house. 

Each Roman Jewish mamma has her own recipe, and each son thinks his mamma makes the best coppiette in town.  But as far as I'm concerned, my mamma's truly are THE BEST!