Duck Prosciutto

Step 1

First a note on the meat. When you breast out the bird, leave as much skin and fat on it as possible; you'll get these "tails" of skin on both the tail and neck end of the bird if you do, and this is what you want: They will come in handy later. If you haven't already, peel off the "tender" on the meat side of the breast. Deep-fry in batter and enjoy!

Step 2

Weigh your duck breasts, in grams. Yes, you need to. Whatever that weighs, measure out 2% of that weight in kosher or pickling salt, as well as 0.3% - that's three-tenths of a percent - in Instacure No. 2.

Step 3

Mix the salts, sugar and thyme together in a large bowl. Coat the goose or duck breasts in the mixture well. Massage it into the meat, and make sure every bit of it has cure on it. Put the meat into a vacuum bag, along with any stray cure. Vacuum seal this and set in the fridge.

Step 4

Cure in the fridge for 3 days to a week. Since this is what is called an equalization cure, you can safely cure your duck breasts for a week without worrying that they will get too salty.

Step 5

When you're ready, rinse off the cure and dry the breasts thoroughly. A lot of people will tell you to rinse off every smidge of cure, but I don't like this -- I like the few remaining bits of thyme here or there. But you need to get most of it off, and it is imperative that you dry the goose breasts after rinsing. Let the breasts dry on a rack, skin side down, for an hour or two.

Step 6

Now it's time to hang them. You will need a humid place (60-85 percent humidity) that is between 40-60°F to hang your goose prosciutto. Poke a hole in one of the skin "tails" and either run an "S" hook through it or some string, or wrap loosely in cheesecloth. Hang on a rack so it does not touch anything else for at least 2 weeks and up to two months; more if you are experienced.