Duck Prosciutto

First time for making Duck Prosciutto and it seems I've knocked it out of the park!  This easy recipe was pretty straight forward in accomplishing it's goal.  The end product looked and tasted like a fine Italian Prosciutto.  I've decided that I am going to make some more but expand more on my cure, seasoning and drying.  My biggest challenge was hanging my duck.  There was literally nowhere in my refrigerator I could tie a hanging line to, or use a hook, nothing.  I asked my daughter and her boyfriend to help me devise a way to hang my duck.  Finally after what seemed like forever, the answer was staring us all in the face.  My daughter's boyfriend pointed at the refrigerator and said,"Will those work?"  I never thought four tiny rare earth magnets would ever come in handy but they certainly did that day.  My daughter got on her hands and knees, put the string between two of the magnets which tightly held the string.  Two more above the glass and viola, hanging duck!.

Ingredients

• 1 whole boneless Moulard or Pekin duck breast, about 1 lb., skin on, split
• 2-3 cups kosher salt, more as needed 
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper  
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander seed
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seed                                                                                                                        

Directions

1. Weigh breasts so you can check their progress toward curing. With a sharp knife, score skin of each breast in a crisscross pattern. Put about 1 cup salt (a half-inch layer) in a resealable bag that will just hold the breasts without touching. Nestle breasts on top of salt, skin side up. Pour more salt over breasts so that they are completely covered. Remove air from bag, seal and refrigerate 24 hours. I prefer to weight the bag down with something heavy.
2. Remove duck from salt, rinse thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. The flesh should feel dense and its color will have deepened. Dust breasts with pepper, coriander and fennel on both sides.
3. Wrap each breast in cheesecloth and tie with string. Hang for about 7 days in a cool (50 to 60 degrees is optimal), humid place, like a garage, a basement or in an unlit fireplace. After curing, the flesh should be stiff but not hard throughout; the color will be a deep rich red. If they still feel raw in the center, hang for a day or two longer. Generally, dry-cured products are ready when they have lost 30 percent of their original weight.
4. Remove cheesecloth, wrap duck in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep several weeks or more.