Experiments in Charcuterie - Part 2: Duck Prosciutto Recipe

A lot has happened on the charcuterie front since my last post. I'm about to begin the process of making my first violino di capra (whole leg goat prosciutto held like a violin when thinly sliced). But today I owe you an explanation of where I'm at in the process of the duck prosciutto and a how to so you can make your own. Don't worry, it's easier (and faster!) than you think.



The final product (I hope)

A note about duck breasts: I made this recipe using four breasts from my Khaki Campbell's: a breed well renowned for it's egg production but actually incredible in its meat flavor. The catch is they're quite small. If you don't have easy access to your own ducks, you can get moullard (a very large very meaty variety) breasts at your nearest Asian market for very affordable prices. Or go to your nearest large market like Whole Paycheck and spend triple or more on the same product from the same farms. Either way, what I mean to say is that it doesn't really matter what variety you use or your source, the recipe will be tasty. I do not, however, recommend this on wild birds except at the very tail-end of spring when the birds are plump and well fed. Otherwise they will be too lean and you'll end up with something closer to duck jerky. You also never want birdshot holes through the middle of a cured meat - more places for bacteria to hide. But if you are a hunter, or know one, and want to use wild birds, go for it, so long as you're using whole muscle and trim any shot spots, this recipe is perfectly safe.I

ngredients:
Duck breasts, skin on - 4 small or 2 large
Salt, non-iodized - a lot
White pepper - 1 tsp

Preparation:
Fill a non-reactive container at least 1/4 inch deep with salt. Make sure this container is large enough to hold all of your duck breasts without any of the breasts contacting eachother or the sides but small enough to fit in your refrigerator.

Place your breasts on the bed of salt skin side down.

You don't need more than about an eighth inch gap between breasts, but that gap IS vital

Next cover the breasts with salt at least a quarter inch above the highest piece of meat, making sure to get salt between each breast and the edges of your dish. The idea is to completely surround the meat with salt.

You can see a few spots where I had to add more salt

Now pop the dish into your refrigerator for 24-hours.This is just long enough to allow the salt to completely penetrate the meat but not so long you draw all of the moisture from the breasts. Do be careful not to go beyond 30 hours in this step or you'll over salt and don't go under 20 or you'll have under salted breasts.

After 24 hours, remove the breasts, rinse them thoroughly with cold, clean water, and pat them dry with a paper towel. Notice how the color of the meat has deepened in color, the texture has firmed and they have lost about 15% of their mass.

The lower two breasts have cured, the top two are raw

Sprinkle your breasts on both sides with a fine dusting of white pepper. Some folks use a much heavier blend of spices, but I still want to taste the duck when I'm done and, given how thin these muscles are compared to a larger prosciutto, I'm keeping it simple.

Wrap the prosciutto in butter muslin, cheese cloth or clean linen or cotton. I like cheese cloth as it's open and allows the prosciutto to really breathe.

You can wrap them all in a single piece of cloth, just use chip clips or something similar to keep them separate

Once they're wrapped, hang the prosciutto-to-be in a cool place (~50 F and 60% RH). A miniature refrigerator with a small dish of wetted salt at the bottom does the trick almost perfectly.

After 7-10 days, when the texture of the meat is firm but not hard, about like the webbing between your fingers when stretched tight, it's ready to eat. I'll update this post with the final result in about 3 days - my prosciutto has been in the fridge for 5 days now.

Nutrition per ounce:
Calories: 92
Fat: 5 g
Carbs: 0 g
Protein: 12 g
Sodium: 600 mg