Duck Breast Proscuitto
I love proscuitto, as much for the flavour and texture as the method: curing meat rather than using heat to preserve it.
Traditional proscuitto is made from a big hog's thigh, better known as a pork leg... it's wrapped in salt for months, with care taken to not let it rot. Sounds tough, eh?
Well, get a little daintier with this recipe to make proscuitto with a duck breast.
Duck Proscuitto Recipe
The ingredients:
"1 Moulard duck breast (magret), about 1 pound
⅓ pound coarse salt
½ cup red wine vinegar
ground white pepper"
A Moulard duck is a sterile hybrid of a Muscovy duck and a common duck. Learn something new everyday, eh?
An important step is to score the meat with hatch lines:
I'm on my way to buy a cheesecloth right... now!
Traditional proscuitto is made from a big hog's thigh, better known as a pork leg... it's wrapped in salt for months, with care taken to not let it rot. Sounds tough, eh?
Well, get a little daintier with this recipe to make proscuitto with a duck breast.
Duck Proscuitto Recipe
The ingredients:
"1 Moulard duck breast (magret), about 1 pound
⅓ pound coarse salt
½ cup red wine vinegar
ground white pepper"
A Moulard duck is a sterile hybrid of a Muscovy duck and a common duck. Learn something new everyday, eh?
An important step is to score the meat with hatch lines:
1. Score skin side of breast diagonally into small squares, taking care not to cut the flesh of the duck. Burry breast in salt overnight.
2. Rinse off salt by dipping breast into vinegar for 1 to 2 seconds. You do not want magret to regain moisture it lost in the salt. Cover breast generously with ground pepper on all sides.
3. Wrap in cheesecloth and hang in a dry, well ventilated, cool (max. 60º F) place for about 15 days; the basement, not too far from the broiler, is the ideal location. When the magret becomes firm, it is ready. Unwrap and cut on the diagonal into paper-thin slices. Serve with sliced cantaloupe, wrapped around breadsticks or in a sandwich.
2. Rinse off salt by dipping breast into vinegar for 1 to 2 seconds. You do not want magret to regain moisture it lost in the salt. Cover breast generously with ground pepper on all sides.
3. Wrap in cheesecloth and hang in a dry, well ventilated, cool (max. 60º F) place for about 15 days; the basement, not too far from the broiler, is the ideal location. When the magret becomes firm, it is ready. Unwrap and cut on the diagonal into paper-thin slices. Serve with sliced cantaloupe, wrapped around breadsticks or in a sandwich.
I'm on my way to buy a cheesecloth right... now!
