Here's what I did.
Ingredients:
Kosher Salt - a lot, (no pun intended) about 4 cups.
4 duck breasts with skin and fat
Rinse and pat dry the duck breasts.
In a non reactive pan (I lined a half sheet pan with plastic wrap) put down a layer a layer a salt.
Next, nestle the breasts, skin side up close - but not touching on the bed of salt.
Cover with salt completely.
Wrap with plastic wrap and and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove the duck from the salt, discard the salt and rinse thoroughly. Pat completely dry with paper towels.
Per the book, "The flesh should feel dense, and it's color will have deepened." Indeed!
Dust both sides with white pepper.
Wrap each breast in cheese cloth and tie with a string. Hang in a cool humid place ( I'll use the basement) for about 7 days.
I'm going to diverge for two of the breasts and cold smoke them with the pastrami and Canadian bacon before returning them to their place in the basement.
Into the smoker for 4 hours.
Out of the smoker.
Re-wrapped and ready to join the others hanging in the cool basement.
After 8 days, only one breast seems ready. The other two need a day or two more. But let's get back to the one that is ready. The brown on the string is from the smoke.
Unwrapped. It is firm but not hard.
Slice on a bias with a sharp knife. A lovely color, and a sheen of luscious fat.
Homemade duck breast proscuitto, baguette, arugula salad, shaved Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano, olive oil and balsamic reduction.
Are you kidding me? Salty, toothsome, silky. Wow!
Make this now! It is so easy. Duck + salt + time = pure deliciousness.
Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!
The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
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