3464. BACON CONFIT with CHILES and PICKLES

yields 4-6 servings 


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.


bacon recipe source: Ty Kotz, Topping Rose House, One Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton, NY 11932; James Beard Foundation, 167 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10011