Duck Prosciutto Crudo

I wanted to set up some sort of contest to see if you could guess what in the world that picture is.

But the title to the post sort of gives it away. It's a shot of duck breasts, wrapped in cheesecloth, hanging in a wine cellar in our basement. In other words, it's duck prosciutto crudo in the making.

Prosciutto? Yep, usually ham. But Bruce has morphed it into a duckish version, using skin-on, boneless duck breasts. It's tasty, salty, full of mineraly notes. Wow.

One note: crudo means raw in Italian. Techically, the porky prosciutto we eat is called prosciutto crudo. Yep, it's raw. You've been eating raw pork--and may not have realized it. And prosciutto crudo is different from prosciutto cotto, which is cooked ham.

Thus, duck prosciutto crudo is raw food. That is, cured duck breasts. You must follow these instructions exactly and exactingly. It's charcuterie. Which means you can die if you're off your game. So take proper precautions and have at it! Because I swear, you'll be dumbfounded. Your friends and family, too.

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Pizza with Prosciutto and Artichokes

It's the last of the weeks of our ham tour on this blog. All to celebrate the publication of the new book: HAM: AN OBSESSION WITH THE HINDQUARTER--which is now officially out and, as they say, available at fine stores everywhere. Or skip the stores and go online. Get yours here. While it's hot!

Today, we've got a pizza with prosciutto, one of a couple pies in the book--but one of about 25 recipes in a larger chapter that deals with all the European dry-cured hams, from jamón ibérico to sunca, from presunto to jambon d'ardennes, speck to jambon de vendée.

In some ways, these hams represent the very origins of pig curing. They are undoubtedly the ancestors of American country hams, like Virginia hams (and the Kentucky ones I found in the trip narrated in the book). And for many foodies, they're the sine qua non, the (as Aquinas called such a thing) first and final element.

Ha! A reference to Aquinas on a food blog. And a direct tie between medieval scholasticism and ham. My work is done here. Except for the recipe for today.

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