Duck Biltong

Ingredients

• 1500 grams Duck breast (Trimmed weight from 2 kg duck (note 1))
• 90 grams Coarse sea salt (Note 2)
• 80 grams Coriander seeds
• 20 grams Black peppercorns
• 6 grams Garlic powder
• 10 grams Smoked paprika
• 130 grams Apple cider vinegar (Note 3)
• 30 grams Worcestershire sauce (Note 4)
• 20 grams Honey (Note 5)

Instructions

1. 1

   preparing: Trim up the duck breasts. Remove any excess fat and all the visible silver skin and sinew. Leave enough fat to cover the breast on one side. Pluck out any feathers that might be left. Do not burn them off with a blow torch as this will result in them still being left in the skin anyway.

2. 2

   rinsing: Once cleaned and trimmed, rinse under cold water to clean. Dry with a paper towel and weigh out the meat. Multiply the weight in grams by 0.06(6%). This is the amount of course ground salt you need to use.

3. 3

   salting: Salt the duck breasts all over and let it cure on the skin side for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, flip the meat, and cure for another 30 minutes. Once cured, you remove the salt by simply wiping it off with a cloth. Do not rinse with water.

4. 4

   spice: While the meat cures in the salt, you can make the spice mix. Roast the coriander seeds in a dry pan until nice and fragrant. Blend in a coffee blender until flaky but not fine. Blend the pepper without toasting in a pan and blend to a medium fine powder. Add the smoked paprika and dried garlic, before giving it all a nice mix to combine. Spread onto a tray and set aside for now.

5. 5

   marinade: Mix the wet ingredients and pour over the salted duck breasts into a non-reactive container. Soak the meat for an hour in the marinade, flipping over every 15 minutes to make sure it marinates evenly. After an hour, remove from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.

6. 6

   spicing: Place the duck breasts into the spice mix and press the spice into the flesh. Leave it to stand for 5 minutes, then repeat the spicing so that more spice sticks to the meat. Once spiced, you ideally need to weigh each duck breast. Label them individually to track the weight loss while drying. You can hang it on non-reactive metal or plastic meat hooks if drying in a biltong box or simply open space. If drying in a dehydrator use toothpicks to stick the weight label onto.

7. 7

   hanging: For most people, especially those living in small apartments or humid climates, drying the biltong in a dehydrator is the best option. Set the temperature to a minimum. Don't set a timer. Place a cheap thermometer with a wire probe into the dehydrator to monitor the temperature. Not all dehydrators are accurate. It will take about 2–3 days to dry.

8. 8

   result and storing: Dry the duck until it's lost 50% of its weight. Ideally, you vacuum seal it tightly once cured to even out the moisture and mature the texture and flavour. Keep it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days before slicing. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap instead. After this, you can freeze it for long storage. It will keep vacuum-sealed in the fridge for a few months.