Coming into Christmas, ham is on the shopping list for many families. But pork isn't the only smoked meat available for your fork.
Key points:
- Duck farmers in south-west Victoria are producing a ham product from their birds
- The process of flavouring and smoking duck is similar to making ham from pork
- The Clarkes diversified their business after restaurant orders dried up during COVID-19 lockdowns
Duck farmers Greg and Jodi Clarke decided to trial creating a new delicacy, duck ham, during Victoria's COVID lockdowns.
"It looks like ham, the texture is similar to ham, but you can also taste the duck," Mr Clarke said.
The Clarke family runs a 16-hectare property in Port Campbell, in Victoria's south-west.
"For us it's always about trying to do something different, going the other side of the herd, we're always looking for something new," he said.
"And then someone told us about a great butcher in Mortlake and we thought we'd give it a go.
"It's all about diversifying the business and value-adding products, getting a few more bucks from the duck."
Mortlake butcher Brendan Bouchier said he had never created ham from a duck before but he was "rapt to give it a go".
"We put it in the ham mix and brine and we left it in there for about 48 hours," Mr Bouchier said.
"Then we smoked it using German beechwood and it's come out absolutely beautiful.
"It's a really rich red colour and the flavour is really nice."
Mr Bouchier said the main difference between making ham from duck meat and pork was the size difference of the cuts.
"With a pork being a bigger product, you actually have to inject the ingredients into the meat, whereas with the duck ham I just leave it in the brine to marinate into the meat.
"The cooking process is exactly the same, other than the duck doesn't take as long to cook as the ham, which takes 16 hours.
"Ducks only take three or four hours at a low temperature, so it doesn't dry out."
Enhancing flavour
To enhance the flavour of the duck meat, the Clarkes' ducks are free-range and spoilt with a fruit soaked grain the birds love.
"The ducks love [their feed], and it's another point of difference for our business," Mr Clarke said.
"A happy, stress-free duck has to taste good, that's our view.
"They are ultimately food, but while they're waddling around, it's about making them happy."
But Mr Clarke said simple feeds such as good quality grass were also important.
"We had a French chef out here once years ago who said the grass was a really critical component of flavour," he said.
"Much like having grass-fed beef, compared to grain-fed beef."
Necessity, the mother of invention
The Clarkes' business relied on high-end Melbourne restaurants for more than 10 years before the pandemic, and when health orders closed hospitality businesses in Victoria, Mr Clarke said the effects were shocking.
"It became all about survival, 24 hours after the first lockdown we had zero orders," Mr Clarke said.
"We were doing north of 250 a week and we went to zero.
"In the first instance, it involved processing a lot of birds then freezing them, and then coming up with creative ways to move them."
Mr Clarke said the support of local chefs and butchers got them through the COVID restrictions.
"Chefs made dishes for home deliveries and with the help of butchers we managed to survive," he said.
"Now, we're trying to position ourselves to come out of this and be OK.
"We trialled a whole heap of charcuterie produce, but the most feedback we got from our customers [about] was the duck ham.
"We love it, and we're really excited that all the trials and experiments that the business did to survive COVID, that we might actually have found something that will be a long-term option," Mr Clarke said.