from windsor CT up to a little past hadley MA the connecticut river valley is aka 'tobacco valley' because the broadleaf tobacco grown here is sought after by cigar makers all over the world.
it's planted from sets in the spring, & the leaves are harvested by hand when they reach about 24" long.
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generally the harvest starts in mid to late august. the leaves are hung to dry and then cure in long tall gable roof barns called 'tobacco sheds.' there's a lot fewer acres of tobacco now than in former decades for obvious reasons & these days most of the leaf is sold internationally
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this year has been unusually hot - in the 90s for a week at a time with only a couple days break - that the tobacco has been bolting since last week of june & in its mad effort to make flowers it's not making big leaves
few farms here make their sole living on tobacco, but many make a portion of it👇
my daughter has a sams club membership and because the store is a half hour drive away we do stuff like ordering bags of puffcorn and having them fedexed overnight for a $3 charge
wow, seeing that typed out just made me realize how fucked up that is lmfao
then brush the glaze onto the crispy side of the duck & run it into a 350° oven for 5 - 10 minutes.
when it comes out, let em rest a few minutes and serve with some extra glaze on the side.
perfect
when the duck skin is crispy, turn it over for a minute or two to sear the other side.
most people say they like buck breast rare or medium rare but I'm not afraid to say that the mouthfeel of rare poultry makes me wanna hurl, so i cook them a little longer than that.
