Goose Ham

[kuan]

It's almost 11am and I've just pulled about 20# of Goose ham out of the smoker. I have a friend who shoots them and brings them to me. It's gonna be a great season!

Kuan

[Suzanne]

You mean, as in smoked bird? Boy, that sounds really yummy! How do you use it?

[kuan]

Ah smoked, but only the breast. I cured it in brine/sugar for a coupla days before smoking it with applewood. Use it just like ham.

Kuan

[Isa]

In Think Like A Chef there is a recipe for duck ham. It’s made by curing the duck breast in a mixture of sugar, kosher salt and herbs and spices for 24 hours. After that period the ham is ready to eat.

I’ve been considering make it but I must admit I am a little skeptical. Kuan since you have experience with curing, do you think it would really work?

[bouland]

Isa: It works, but ypu may extend the cure for an extra day. Here's a recipe for Duck Prosciutto that starts the same way. I've make it and it works fine.

[Isa]

Thanks for the recipe Bouland.

I can't believe the duck is cured that fast. I thought it would, at least, take a few days if not weeks. There is no waiting period in the Think Like A Chef recipe. In fact, he says it's ready to eat the next day.

Would you know what differences there would be in the end product of both recipe?


Hope you’ll understand what I mean, I’m having trouble with my English tonight.

[bouland]

Isa: In the first recipe, the duck breast is only cured so the meat should still be fairly soft. In the second case, the meat is cured and dried. This time the meat is hard and has to be cut very thinly to chew.

There are similar examples with hams made from pork. Some are only cured whereas others are cured and dried. The cured and dried ham will not spoil at room temperature. The cured only ham usually requires refrigeration or canning. Hope this helps.

[Isa]

Thanks Bouland.

I'm in better shape this morning and realised the answer to my question was obvious...

Do you remove the skin and fat? I’m somewhat confuse about this because Colicchio says to remove the skin and most of the fat before curing yet it’s pictured with a thick fat layer.

[bouland]

Isa: I leave the skin and fat in place. I just trim it at the edges.

[Isa]

Thanks again for your help Bouland. I can't wait to try this. Will let you know how it turns out.