Crazy good, but also interesting for their history. The "coppiette" of pork, or strips of flavored and dried meat, they are a typical product of Lazio made in the Castelli Romani, especially in Ariccia, Frascati, Albano, Genzano and Monterotondo. They are also produced in the provinces of Frosinone and Latina.
Once they were prepared with horse meat, today they are made with pork. It is said that a long time ago the "coppiette" were prepared by shepherds with cattle that died accidentally or with injured animals that could not be slaughtered. Therefore, while a goat or sheep that could not be treated was slaughtered to then consume the fresh meat, the same thing did not happen for the horse whose meat was not easy to sell.
This is how the "coppiette" are born from the preservation of meat”: the shepherds cut the horse meat into strips, seasoned it with salt, wild fennel seeds and chilli pepper to reduce the sweetness of the meat and put it to dry by hanging it in the huts.
Currently the "couples", born out of necessity, are a cult product present in wine shops and proposed together with other local cured meats. They are almost always irregular in shape and their color ranges from bright red to dark brown. Their name derives instead from the fact that they are served in pairs. They are usually dried two by two and tied with string. The strips, as well as from the loins, are obtained from the shoulders, thighs or abdominal muscles of the pigs. The meats are processed within 24-48 hours of their slaughtering. The length of the strips varies from area to area, but they generally range from ten to 15 centimetres.
Commercially the novelty on the market comes from 25 Snack, a family business in Nepi (Viterbo) which produces dried meat from an Italian supply chain and which has transformed the "coppiette" into snacks for 25 grams of product contained in the package for sale in pubs through the activity of some distributors and in various places on the national territory and abroad.
I major foreign markets of reference will be the Baltic Countries, Germany, Belgium, England, the United States of America, Canada and Japan. The company's sales target is 15 “25 Snack. The Italian Jerky” a month by 25 December 2018.
