Confit collective, part 2: Duck prosciutto

In addition to the many things documented here, we made some duck prosciutto during our first meeting of the "confit collective." We put together two different cures for the duck. One used a more traditional blend that included rosemary, thyme, cumin, and crushed bay leaf; the other included some five spice blend and grated orange peel. The orange peel really came through in the cure and added a nice dimension to the finished product. We left the cure on for about two days, which turns out to be far too long. From the little bit that we sampled, I thought it was way too salty. Next time we'll just give it a 24 hour cure and see how that turns out.

Making duck prosciutto cannot be more simple. First, put together a cure mix and coat the duck breast. We let the duck cure in ziploc bags in the fridge.

Rinse off all of the cure, pat the duck breasts dry, wrap in cheese cloth, and hang in a cool, dry place for at least a week. I set up a drying line in my fridge, which worked out pretty well.
After a week or two, the duck breast should be pretty firm and ready to go. Slice and enjoy with bread, on a salad, or on its own.