We salted and hung five wraps of duck prosciutto on June 3rd. We came back from our Tennessee Travels on June 18th, so I checked on the Prosciutto, June 19th.
Initial weights were written on the tape attached to each breast, but I did not record them here so I will have to check on that and write them down later.
After the 16 day hang at 63 degrees, 57% humidity, here are the weights.
Leg one: 0.11 kg. Initially 0.225 kg, for >50% weight loss. This was a skinless breast.
Leg two: 0.205 kg.
Leg three: 0.20 kg
Leg four: 0.155 kg, Initially 0.240 kg. 35% weight loss. This was a skin-on breast.
Leg five: 0.135 kg, Initially 0.260 kg. 48% weight loss.
I took leg one and leg four home to slice and sample.
Removing the cheese cloth required some pulling, as it adhered pretty firmly. Final size. This is a tiny cut of meat.
First slice of the skinless breast. The texture is firm, with just a little bit of rind, good meaty flavor, with just a hint of the spices coming through, not overly salted.
Next the skin on breast. Note: every down feather that we missed was sticking up like a little flag on the finished product. They are easy to pluck out, but really detract from the look. You can see a clear gradation of color from the dark of the muscle side to the lighter color of the fat side. The fat is creamy, very lightly salted. Delicious in small, thin slices, but would not do to eat in large amounts. Adam thought it would go well with a sharp cheddar and he was right.
Overall, I would call this experiment a success so far. The duck breast was much, much easier than the leg of lamb, and much faster. My worry is we will not be able to eat all the duck prosciutto in the next three weeks, but…
No, I’m actually not worried about that at all.
Little Farm in the Big City 