Bacon Confit with Chiles and Pickles

Method

Ty Kotz cures and smokes his own bacon for this recipe, but you can substitute some premium slab bacon. The pickles can be made a day or two in advance.

Bread-and-Butter Pickles:

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sliced white onions
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sliced jalapeño
• 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 whole clove
• 2 Kirby cucumbers, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

Pickled Chilies:

• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pickling spice, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with string
• 2 Fresno chiles, seeded and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices

Bacon Confit:

• 2 cups duck fat
• 1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 shallot, peeled
• 1 small sprig rosemary
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 whole clove

1 bunch Thai basil or regular basil

Make the bread-and-butter pickles: combine the apple cider vinegar, sugar, water, onions, salt, jalapeño, turmeric, mustard seeds, and clove in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Pour over the sliced cucumbers in a heatproof bowl. Let cool and refrigerate for at least 1 day.

Make the pickled chiles: combine the water, wine, white wine vinegar, salt, sugar, and pickling spice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour over the chiles in a heatproof bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Make the bacon confit: preheat the oven to 210ºF. Put the duck fat in a small, ovenproof pot and melt over low heat. Add the bacon. (It should be submerged in the fat). Add the shallot, rosemary, garlic, bay leaf, and clove. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and place in the oven. Cook until the bacon is tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour.

When the bacon is done, remove it from the fat and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

While the bacon is still warm, place each piece on a skewer. Finish each skewer with a slice of bread-and-butter pickle, a pickled chile, and a basil leaf.

Yield

4 to 6 servings