A question about a recipe: Melissa Clark's Really Easy Duck Confit

Can the duck legs be "over-cured?" I have 5 lbs. of fresh duck legs (8 legs) and was wondering if it would be a problem to cure them for 48 hours as this would be the convenient time frame for me. Any problems with this? What is the optimal amount of time for curing this amount of duck?

I'm preparing the duck for the holiday and was going to begin curing this evening (Thursday).

Thanks for any help you can provide.

JanetRoss
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Melissa Clark's Really Easy Duck Confit
Recipe question for: Melissa Clark's Really Easy Duck Confit

2 Comments

Kristen M.
Kristen M. April 5, 2012
With this recipe, because the salt amount is very modest, the extra curing time should be just fine. When I tested this with larger duck legs (about 1 lb. each) I actually preferred the longer cure time. Just be sure to scale up the amount of salt slightly based on weight -- it should be more like 1 7/8 tsp, plus a pinch more of the dried herbs and pepper too.
 
micook
micook April 5, 2012
I made these a couple weeks ago and cured them closer to 48 hours. I varied the recipe by using Madeleine Kamman's duck confit spices (cumin, coriander, etc) and her measurement for salt(i/3 of an ounce per pound of meat). I thought it was a touch salty and blamed the extra curing time, but no one else complained. We were literally licking our plates. So I would say the 48 hours isn't a problem but you might lessen the salt a bit.
 
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