Duck prosciutto 4.0

This week I started to cure some more duck prosciutto. This project is something I could do over and over again... And it's something I will do. Over the course of the next couple of days I will keep posting my progress. For today I have done the cure! The recipe is as follows:

1 TBSP of pink salt
1 cup of salt
4 TBSP peppercorns
16 allspice berries
1tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp orange peel
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 whole duck breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

At this stage you need to see whether the duck breast needs to be cut or kept whole. If the breasts are a good size you can cut the whole breasts into two pieces and cure them separately. If you keep the breast whole you need to make sure all the nooks and crannies are coated in just the pink salt.

The peppercorns allspice and mustard seeds all need to be toasted in order to bloom the oils and flavors. Let the spices cool and then grind to fairly coarse grind. Then you mix your orange peels and freshly ground nutmeg along with the salt and your freshly ground spices together. Liberally coat all of your duck breast with the salt rub (if you have the whole breast don't forget to coat the whole breast) and place in a zip lock bag. Once you have done that you can pour the rest of the salt cure over the breasts and distribute that throughout the bag! Let the bag sit in a bowl or on a plate to avoid cross-contamination in case of a leak.

For the next 24 to 48 hours that can sit in the fridge.
(Here endeth part 1 of the recipe)

So just some notes on the finer points:
1. Pink salt (sodium nitrate) can be bought online or at a butcher supply. I bought mine on Amazon.com. I little bit goes a long ways. More does not mean better but you do want to coat the meat entirely.

2. The duck breast I buy are free range and I get them at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms, the only thing is you need to get them as fresh as possible and use then as soon as possible.

3. The spices can be whatever you want. I tend towards warmer spices. Cardamom cloves and allspice are my favorites. They come through in the duck when the cure is complete.

4. Thanks to Michael Ruhlman for his book Charcuterie!

Next post wrapping trussing and hanging!