Preserving meat, and curing is a simple method that anyone could do at home. Cured meats keep for a while, and are good cures for protein cravings due to the concentrated meaty flavours. A simple thing to start with is duck prosciutto, as long as the distinctive taste for duck has been acquired, and there is the vision to experiment with a strong ducky flavour.
Curing at home means personal preferences of tastes can be worked into the meat. Here the duck is cured with bay leaves, pepper and marjoram. Really simple, but some strong flavours to counteract that of the duck.
Ingredients
1 Mallard Duck breast
9 Peppercorns
3 Bay leaves
Handful of dry marjoram
Enough gauze to wrap the duck breast
String
Method
Salt the duck breast over night. Rinse, and pat dry, then add herbs and spices. Wrapped in gauze and tied it up in string, as you would a roasting joint. Weigh, and label them with their weight. Hang them up in a dark dry area, away from anything that may want to have a nibble. The back of my shed is ideal, as is an empty dark fridge. It is essential there is good air circulation. Weigh them every other day until they go down in weight by 30%.
The duck can be sliced and served with a salad, in pasta, with bread, or simply enjoyed by itself.
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