We chefs have an affinity for charcuterie, the process of preserving meat. The end product, of course, is a delicious treat, but we love to work with our hands, employing the techniques and methods to transform the meat into its new cured form. Our duck prosciutto is aromatic, flavorful and has a balanced ratio of tender meat to fat.
At Cedar, we have just unveiled our duck prosciutto, after five weeks of tending to the dry-cured Hudson Valley Moulard duck breasts. A Moulard duck (not to be confused with the wild Mallard duck) is a very large duck which results from a hybrid cross of Pekin and Muscovy ducks. The Moulard duck we use is raised in the Hudson Valley for foie gras, and is renowned for yielding the highest quality of duck livers.
The word prosciutto stems from the Latin perexsiccatus, from which modern Italians derived prosciugare, meaning "to thoroughly dry." The duck prosciutto is dry-cured by definition. We used an all natural sea salt and spice rub to cure the duck breast, rather than using nitrites (which give the meat a desirable even rosy color, but can be toxic in large concentrations).
Making the Duck Prosciutto:
We toasted juniper berries, star anise and coriander seed, and then crushed them with bay leaves and added them to a mixture of fresh thyme, garlic, sea salt and sugar.
We then packed each duck breast in the spice and salt rub, and wrapped each one tightly in plastic wrap.
After four days, we rinsed the cure off the breasts and dried them before wrapping them in cheesecloth and hanging them in the refrigerator with twine for four weeks.
After four weeks of patiently monitoring the duck prosciutto to make sure that it is not contaminated by unwanted mold or that the environment has just the right amount of humidity, we were eager to open the package and taste the first slice of our efforts.
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