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By Root 329 0

Although you could serve it warm, this is even better when cold, and it is superb as part of a charcuterie plate or sliced and served on greens with a vinaigrette. It pairs especially well with blue cheeses, cherries, and walnuts.

THE BRINE

2 quarts/2 liters water

3⁄4 cup/175 grams kosher salt

1⁄4 cup/50 grams sugar

3⁄4 ounce/20 grams pink salt (4 teaspoons)

1⁄2 cup/125 grams maple sugar or 1⁄2 cup/125 milliliters maple syrup

1⁄2 cup/125 milliliters Madeira

1 bunch fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon/8 grams juniper berries

1 tablespoon/6 grams chopped sage

6 whole boneless Pekin (Long Island) duck breasts, about 6 pounds/3 kilograms, skin on

1. Combine all the brine ingredients in a large pot, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely chilled.

2. Add the duck breasts to the brine and weight them down with a plate to keep them submerged. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

3. Rinse the breasts under cold water and pat them dry. Refrigerate them on a rack set over a plate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours.

4. Hot-smoke the duck (see page 77) to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F./71 degrees C., about 21⁄2 hours. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: 6 smoked duck breasts

MAPLE-CURED SMOKED BACON

Today, when people no longer need to preserve food to survive, this recipe is a powerful reminder of America’s rich culinary history. Likely made popular by English settlers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (all manner of cured pork sides were, writes Alan Davidson in The Oxford Companion to Food, “peculiarly a product of the British Isles”), cured or smoked pork has long been a part of our cooking, essential in regional specialties from New England chowders to Southern succotash. Making your own bacon embodies all the reasons we should take the time to do it at home. There may be no better flavor than good bacon, and even if you only have a charcoal grill, you can achieve excellent results.

Many small producers make excellent versions of bacon in this country, varying with time of the cure and the seasonings used. This recipe is for a sweeter bacon. There should be some sugar or sweetness to balance the salt, but if you prefer a more savory taste, omit the maple syrup. If you like black pepper, add it to the cure. Seasonings can vary infinitely, but it is the curing and the smoke that make bacon one of the greatest flavors on earth.

THE CURE

2 ounces/50 grams kosher salt (about 1⁄4 cup)

2 teaspoons/12 grams pink salt

1⁄4 cup/50 grams maple sugar or packed dark brown sugar

1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters maple syrup

One 5-pound/2.25-kilogram slab pork belly, skin on

1. Combine the salt, pink salt, and sugar in a bowl and mix so that the ingredients are evenly distributed. Add the syrup and stir to combine.

2. Rub the cure mixture over the entire surface of the belly. Place skin side down in a 2-gallon Ziploc bag or a nonreactive container just slightly bigger than the meat. (The pork will release water into the salt mixture, creating a brine; it’s important that the meat keep in contact with this liquid throughout the curing process.)

3. Refrigerate, turning the belly and redistributing the cure every other day, for 7 days, until the meat is firm to the touch.

4. Remove the belly from the cure, rinse it thoroughly, and pat it dry. Place it on a rack set over a baking sheet tray and dry in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours.

5. Hot-smoke the pork belly (see page 77) to an internal temperature of 150 degrees F./65 degrees C., about 3 hours. Let cool slightly, and when the belly is cool enough to handle but still warm, cut the skin off by sliding a sharp knife between the fat and the skin, leaving as much fat on the bacon as possible. (Discard the skin or cut it into pieces and save to add to soups, stews or beans, as you would a smoked ham hock.)