Bacon is bacon is bacon, but what if bacon is made from Duck? Over the last year or so, I’ve heard more mention of Duck Bacon. Duck, much like pork belly, is quite fatty. Once brined and cured, it can be smoked just like pork. It has a similar taste to pork, salty and savory, but has the wonderful game fowl taste of duck.

Duck bacon can be prepared in the same way that you would cook pork bacon. You can fry it, bake it, broil it, microwave it (please don’t!), and smoke it. Duck bacon can even be cooked less than pork, so if you’ve ever been wanted to try your bacon medium-rare, try it with duck! Use it as a flavorful accent for salads, a mix-in with lightly sauced pastas, or as a wrap around a quality shrimp or scallop.

Duck bacon isn’t cheap. Duck is one of the more expensive meats to start with. Add to it low demand and complexities of processing and you can expect to spend a pretty penny on a taste of swimming, flying bacon. Companies like D’artagnan offer small packages of Uncured Smoked Duck Bacon for around $15.00. Your local butcher may be able to supply you with duck breasts worthy of being cured and smoked if you’d like to try your hand at making your own.

Duck! The other…bacon!