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Sweet and Smoky Cured Duck Breast

By Michael Pendley author of Timber 2 Table Wild Game RecipesJune 15, 2022
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Prep Time

30M

Cook Time

2H

Serves

2-8

Ingredients

 

4 to 6 duck breasts (these 4 weighed 624 grams)

Kosher salt (for 624 grams of meat 16 grams of kosher salt)

Instacure No. 1 (for 624 grams of meat 1.6 grams) 

1/2 cup sweet sorghum honey or maple syrup (more if doing more than 4 breasts)

Cooking Instructions

Start by weighing your duck or goose breasts, in grams. Then place them in a glass or plastic dish.

You can use skin-on or skinless breasts.

Multiply the weight of the meat by 2.5%. Take care to do this right: The weight of the meat in grams times 0.025 equals the weight of kosher salt in grams. Now, figure the Instacure weight by multiplying the weight of the breasts by 0.25% or 0.0025. Round to the nearest tenth of a gram. Mix the salt and the Instacure and rub into all surfaces of the meat. Pour over the sorghum and cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 6 to 7 days, turning the breasts once or twice during the curing time. 

Apply the salt, cure, and sorghum to the breasts and refrigerate to cure.

After curing, rinse the breasts well under cold water. Pat dry.

Rinse and pat dry after curing.

Smoke at 180 degrees for 2 to 3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees.

Smoke at a low temperature.

Remove the meat from the smoker and allow to rest before slicing thinly. Serve by itself, as a sandwich, or stacked on a snack cracker with a slice of your favorite cheese. If you have trouble slicing the warm duck breast, place it in the freezer for 30 minutes, slice, then gently reheat in a skillet before serving.