Tags

, , ,

Duck Ham: Not your lunchables ham

To me, it is really odd that you can not walk 10 steps in a supermarket without running into a chicken product, but can not find a single bit of duck. I do not have anything against chicken (especially thighs), but ducks are vastly superior in nearly every way. The only inferiority has to be that I haven’t seen anything in the way of fried duck with hot sauce at Harold’s. Maybe next year.

The two ducks that I butchered have had amazing yields. Duck prosciutto from the breast, duck confit using the leg quarters and duck fat, rillettes from the confit, duck-tart cherry sausage from the breast, 2 quarts of duck stock, and, finally, duck ham. Still to use are the wings and about 2 pints of duck fat.

I was really skeptical of the duck ham (mostly in name) though, since ham is cured and smoked pork hindquarters, not the breast of fowl. On the plus side, I live with a small family in the city with a small smoker and refrigerator, so the size a duck breast trumps that of a giant ham in that respect. The process could not have been much easier though; twelve hours in the cure, eight hours of drying, and two hours of smoking and it is ready. This will certainly be on the menu for summer parties and Easter brunches.

Duck Ham

Recipe adapted for one duck breast from Ruhlman’s Charcuterie

  • 1 pint of water
  • 45 grams kosher salt
  • 13 grams sugar
  • 5 grams pink salt
  • 3 tbsp. maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp. madeira
  • 1 bunch of thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp. juniper berries
    • The Cure: Dry Ingredients

    Dry Ingredients to Duck Ham Cure

    Step One: Assemble all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Let cool and the chill in fridge for an hour.

    Step Two: Submerge duck breast in cure and weigh down to keep in cure. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

    Step Three: Remove breast from cure and rinse thoroughly. Place on a baking rack on the fridge uncovered to dry for eight hours.

    Step Four: Hot smoke over apple wood until internal temp hits 160 degrees.

    Step Five: Let duck ham come to room temperature, then refrigerate.

    Duck Ham and Cheese Sandwich

    This ham is really, really good. It tastes like a country ham, but with a little more richness. I liked with some Jarlsberg, but most of all, I liked it cold on a cracker. Next time, that I make a charcuterie plate, this will definitely go in the ham slot.