Duck Prosciutto (Finsihed) - Charcutepalooza

The duck prosciutto has finished!  The melting fat, the flavorful meat, mmmmmm. 
It was so easy to make I'll now always need to fight over searing the breast or making prosciutto.  Guess I'll just have to buy two ducks.

I found the best way to eat the duck was with a little blue cheese.  Although it is also great in sandwiches.

Slicing with my boning knife worked well.  Any really sharp thin blade works well for making the very thin slices.

Duck Prosciutto - Charcutepalooza

The middle of last week provided time for all the 'hard' work for the Duck Prosciutto.  It still has a few days to age but the work photos were burning a hole in ...hmmm... well they wanted to be posted.

Good Dog

I always practice responsible kitchen practices.  It is important to have something to drink while in the kitchen.  Getting your drink ready ahead of time give you something to hold as you survey the recipe again.  AppleTreow makes a sorghum spirit which I currently enjoying.   Back to the duck...  

While I was happy to joint the duck I should have thought about what I was really doing and deboned the duck.  The best online instructions to debone a bird are here, by Jacques Pepin.









Here are the untrimmed breasts off the duck.  Great color and very nice clean fat.  I saved all the trimming so I can render the fat and cover myself fry potatoes.  Duck stock is also wonderful pleasure when making South Asian soups.









I'm not really sure how this picture got to look so much like split pig hocks but it really is duck breasts on salt.












Once removed from the salt 24 hours (well 26.5, I couldn't really be home at the 24 hour mark) the color is a wonderful dark red.  I was amazed at how firm it was already.  Although it became more flexible after a quick wash and warming up.









Lastly the little roast tie for drying.  I placed my duck in an un-used and barely heated bedroom.  The last few days I can feel it become firm again.  Nothing is hard or feels dry. 









I should start making better plans for the final product other than slicing thin and eating.  I do think that it is a great idea but maybe a cracker or two to counter act the shame of eating two duck breasts a wafer thin slice at a time.

Charcutepalooza

So this is the start of Charcutepalooza here at Madison Wisconsin Foodie.   
Honestly I’m not sure if we were not starting with my second favorite animal; duck; I would be involved.  Don’t get me wrong I love the pig.  The magical animal of bacon, ham, chops, ears, hocks, ribs, and made of everything tasty.  There is just something devilish with starting with a duck.

So last Saturday I picked up a duck from Blue Valley Gardens at the Dane County Farmers Market.  By tomorrow I’ll have a defrosted duck to butcher.  The legs will get the confit treatment and added to the four legs and two rabbits already in storage.  The wings and back will be added to the duck stock bags.

I do hope that we do a few fresh and cured sausages; since that will get me finally purchase the attachments to either my hand grinder or Kitchen Aid mixer.