Neil is no stranger to charcuterie, having been the bacon and pancetta maker when we participated in Michael Ruhlman’s BLT from scratch challenge back when ELTW was in its infancy. I bought him Ruhlman’s book, Charcuterie, but to date, we’ve only ventured as far as that one challenge. So when I saw my lovely friends Kim and Cathy chatting on Twitter over the holidays about “making 2011 the year of meat” using Ruhlman’s book, I immediately signed us up. Then I told Neil LOL! Fortunately he is a jolly good sport (well, and it involves meat!) so it looks like we’re making meat with the Charcutepalooza crew every month this year!
January’s challenge was duck prosciutto. Which worked out well since I needed duck for the latest Daring Cooks’ challenge, cassoulet and duck confit. We literally got to work the day after we arrived home from Mexico and since it only takes around 8 days to cure, we just scraped in just in time to post for this month.
Neil did actually all of the work in this challenge since he is so adept at breaking down poultry and dealing with things in gauze in the cellar (wait, that sounds wrong, doesn’t it?).
Duck prosciutto is very easy – you salt the breasts overnight, then rinse them off and pat dry, then add whatever herbs and spices you like and wrap them in gauze for about 8 days or until they have lost about 30% of their weight. Neil used juniper berries, kaffir lime leaves, Australian crushed black peppercorns and a touch of cloves on one breast and cracked peppercorns by themselves on the other. We kept checking the weight and the feel of the duck every couple of days…
I posted that picture on Twitter and someone mentioned it looked like an underground lab. Well, kind of. It’s our cellar. And it’s scary and dark. And a bit damp.
Finally it looked (and felt) like they were ready…
Yeah, it’s not the most attractive, is it?
But when you slice it…
It *does* look lovely. Looks like it is supposed to. A little dry and jerky-esque around some of the edges and VERY fatty but the meat is tender and flavourful – you could really taste the kaffir lime leaves – and the right texture. Me, a non duck eater, well I would not have known it was duck had I not, well, known. It’s definitely a stronger flavour than pork but not overly “ducky” (which is funny because I found the confited duck to be quite overpowering…)
Quality control, you know. She wasn’t entirely sure. Fussy little miss!
We took some to friends for a nibble on Saturday night and they gave it the seal of approval. Then Neil whipped up one of his signature pasta dishes…
Spicy tomato sauce for pasta with chanterelles and duck prosciutto.
This is a perfect product to cook with – the fat means you don’t need any extra oil or butter – and it cooked into the sauce without going too crispy, so there’s a definite “chew factor” there still – you can taste it’s prosciutto and not just fried bacon or whatever. It’s definitely the star of the dish.
I can see some pizzas in our near future too. Endless possibilities!
Want to join us? Buy Charcuterie on Amazon Canada or Amazon US and see all the Charcutepalooza details here.
Awesome, simply awesome. I don’t know that I am ready to tackle such an endeavour, but I am saving this post for the day that I might be!
Buy Ruhlman’s book. You will be inspired.
well done, mr. neil! if we lived closer, i know steve would be neil’s charcuterie apprentice; after all, he is someone who thinks salted and cured meats should be their own food group . . .
You mean – they aren’t?!?!?
Steve should have been here for the cured and smoked salmon I did in December. Cleo went NUTS!
Steve will have to come for a visit!
Congratulations! I keep wanting to make this, I hope I’ll be as brave!
Oh Lael, you guys could *so* do this!
You guys definitely stepped up to that challenge – incredible! I would never have thought to use keffir lime leaves.
No, Neil is quite creative like that!
Looks wonderful. I’m so intrigued by all this charcuterie (plus, I just like how I feel so fancy saying it). Sounds like an awesome experience! Excited to see what’s up next month!
Yes it’s a lovely word to say!
still waiting for mine– am sooooo excited
Isn’t it excruciating? 😉
WOW! I’m impressed! I don’t think I could make something like this. It seems too complicated for my limited patience. I could totally eat it though, so if you guys will make this stuff (or similar) once per month and can’t finish it, please let me know!
Not complicated but yes, you need to be patient!
Duck prosciutto – that’s incredible! It looks amazing and I love the combination of flavors that you used. We make prosciutto all the time, but I’ve never made a duck one…it’s never too late to try. Thank you!
No I have never had a duck one either and it tastes much nicer than I was thinking!
Your Duck prosciutto looks so delicious! What a great event and such great benefits from it:) The photo of your cat is so adorable. Wow it only took 8 days to cure? I would think it would be longer. Will be looking forward to your other recipes from the event.
We left ours for 10 but it was probably ready after 8…
Excellent Challenge and excellent results. My husband’s family does all things meat – even their own smoke house – but not duck. I love duck. I don’t eat meat (digestion issues) but love it. This looks incredible. Standing ovation to you both!
🙂
Valerie
Sigh – to have a smoke house….
Looks amazing. The colour is just gorgeous. You make it sound so easy. Must give it a try.
Oh it’s really not so hard. The waiting is the hard part!
Wow…just wow. I thought that 2011 would be the year of meat for me, too. This book was one of the biggest items on my wish list and yes, I got it. 🙂 Now I just need to get started on making something out of it. Guanciale was on top of the list but I’m having so much difficulty finding a pork jowl. I might have a go at this instead. This looks marvelous!
It’s worth seeking out: we did that last year too. Mmmm.
Neil is right, worth seeking out!
How daring and delicious! I love cured meats, but have not had the courage to try the process myself. You make it look easy.
It IS easy!
BEAUTIFUL pics! Love it, I’m totally inspired to join the challenge. Living in Tuscany, charcuterie is coming out of our ears here, I don’t think my hubby could live without it so we’re just learning recently to make our own. Thanks for sharing this; definitely one to try.
Wow, if I lived in Tuscany, I prob wouldn’t bother but it is terribly satisfying!
Super jealous that you have a cellar! So cool to make your own duck prosciutto.
You don’t need a cellar Penny. But soon you can enjoy this for yourself !
Fabulous!!! The pictures truly made my mouth water!! I would love to try this but I don’t really have anywhere to cure the duck – it is just too warm here in So. Cal (high today was 80 degrees – yikes!!)
So, I guess I’ll just have to enjoy it vicariously.. looking forward to the next production!!
You need a little wine fridge… Which you would have to empty, oh the shame?!
Well done Mardi & Neil with the duck prosciutto, gorgeous colour to it & I can imagine the ideas would be limitless to use it up.
I’m keen to pick up Ruhlmans book, I keep spotting amazing meat curing ideas & all roads lead back to Ruhlman. Thanks for sharing & will be following along the Meat trail with you. Good luck with it girlfriend 🙂
Yes all meat curing leads to the master Ruhlman!
Oh dear…I kind of wish I hadn’t seen this post. Don’t get me wrong…your duck prosciutto looks absolutely amazing…but now I think I have to participate in Charcutepalooza too! I’ll go buy the book tomorrow and see if I’m really up for this type of challenge. Thanks for the inspiration!!
It really is so much easier than it looks – a couple of specialty ingredients and a whole lotta meat and patience!
come on, it’s too much for me to see this before breakfast! it looks amazing!!!
OMG That looks so delicious. I love the first picture!
That is one incredible looking piece of duck prosciutto Mardi. Great stuff. Congrats on yet accomplishing another challenge!
I adore duck prosciutto…there’s something so incredibly satisfying about the silkiness of cured meat and fat. Mmmm….
Yes I was so pleased it had the right texture – that’s a great word for it, “silky”…
Bravo!
If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was looking at something Linda wrote here. 🙂 That duck prosciutto looks pretty incredible.
Now THAT’S a huge compliment – thanks!
That looks beautiful Mardi! I think I’m going to try it out too! Congrats on the CNN acknowledgement. 🙂
Dan
Dan you should join us!
Wow… you make it look easy but I wouldn’t be game to try. And it looks very appetising!
Oh Corinne, it really is super easy!
Congrats! I just saw on CNN! 🙂 Did you do the happy dance? I would be dancing all day long! 🙂
Yes it was pretty exciting, thanks!
Nice work. Its been so long since I’ve had good dusk. You stirred my appetite.
Mardi, the pasta and duck prosciutto are both simply gorgeous. Looking forward to the Year of Meat!
Maria – thanks so much! Me too!
I have duck envy! Absolutely stunning fat on your prosciutto. 🙂
You can get duck prosciutto in the supermarkets in France. I know that’s not the point, but it’s so good and not expensive. By the way, I’ve never had confit de canard that had any strong taste at all. It’s very mild, almost bland, if sometimes salty.
Hi Ken and thanks for commenting.
I , too lived in France for many years and they range of charcuterie available is just mind-blowing compared to here. I envy you! But you are right, the point of Charcutepalooza is not that it’s cheap to buy in some places, it’s learning to make these things from scratch, and honestly, even if this was easily available here, I still think I would make it myself next time too. So easy, so tasty.
Re: the confit, since duck is something I never eat, it’s possible that the “strong’ I was experiencing was simply “different”. Neil, who eats everything, said it was not strong at all, so I guess it might just be me.
Fabulous looking Duck Prosciutto! I had this once on a photoshoot homemade by Ming Tsai himself. Check it out here.
Thanks for the link – looks like a fun time. And glad you enjoyed my post!
I am working on some duck prosciutto and am having some issues. Can I email you to discuss and get your opinion instead of posting it here?
You can click on the “Contact me” form to get in touch.