Raw duck is healthier than raw pork, considering many people cook duck rare.

I have done it in the past. It was easy and delicious.

However, I can get pork at $0.79 a lb; duck is about $2.90 a lb. Considering how little meat you can get out from a duck, duck prosciutto is about 10 times more expensive.

dcarch

I've eaten duck prosciutto and I found it absolutely fabulous! The fat is the best part. I've been told that it is easy, much faster than pork prosciutto. It was outrageously expensive, as dcarch points out.

I've made prosciutto, pancetta and guanciale from pork. Pancetta and guanciale are both easy. Prosciutto takes a long time to cure and dry. We were impatient the first time and got very tasty ham but it was wetter than it should be. The second time we waited and got prosciutto that was pretty good. We ate all of it despite warnings from friends and family and some doubts from DH. It was a grand feast.

Caveat: our pork came from local producers who raised their pigs on pasture - no feedlots, no chemicals. I don't know what supermarket pork would be like.

Now I feel a serious need for duck confit.

Cheryl

Then, Cheryl, do not click on this link.

Last year I made some confit based on this recipe, and let it age in the fridge for a few weeks. It was indescribably yummy. For the fat I used some coconut oil in addition to the duck fat which rendered out from the rest of the carcass.

Only problem is having the self control to keep from eating the whole batch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ruhlman's Duck Confit

arley - thank goodness the link is blocked by our firewall! I agree it is yummy. The curing concentrates the flavors so you get more duckiness!

A thought - have you tried making rillettes? It's similar to confit, but made out of pork shoulder. I don't remember if you shred it before curing or after. I've eaten it and though it was better than the expensive pates also available. Delectable! This might be the way to get over my confit urges.

Cheryl

I make confit in the slow cooker. Just chuck in the legs and the'll render almost enough fat - then I add a little more to top up. I personally would never use olive oil.

I'm assuming that the term prosciutto would equate to carpaccio, the thinly sliced raw beef or am I wrong, I googled and the terms seem to be used interchangeably on cooking sites.

Not exactly. Prosciutto is a dry-cured uncooked ham made in Parma. (The whey left over from parmesan cheesemaking is fed to the hogs--that's an efficient use of resources).

Duck 'prosciutto' is a dry cured uncooked duck breast that can be used in similar fashion to real prosciutto. Like prosciutto, it's served thinly sliced.

Carpaccio is uncured raw beef, thinly sliced.

Here is a link that might be useful: prosciutto

Never made it but buy it a lot at the local greenmarket. They have everything with duck. Best is the smoked duck breast.

And as mentioned, it's pretty expensive per pound. I don't eat a lot of it every day!

I just bought 4 lbs of boneless duck breast to make a tturducken. I almost fainted at the price...$12.50 per pound and that's with DD's discount!

I will say it was beautiful and yummy. The guests loved it!
.

Moosemac, where did you find boneless duck breast?

Weather permitting, I hope to make a 3 hour trek to the DeKalb farmers market this weekend and pick up a couple of ducks along with several duck legs. Will make prosciutto out of the breasts, render fat from the carcass and confit all the legs.