Bacon Confit with Chiles and Pickles

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.