By Chef March Suszczynski / Harvest Cafe
Ingredients
- 1 pound slab bacon
- 1 pound red seedless grapes
Method
- Peel the skin from the slab bacon and cut it into thick lardoons by cutting the bacon once lengthwise, then in 1/4-inch slices.
- In a cold, flat-bottomed, heavy-duty saucepan, start the bacon on low heat in a dry pan. Stir the bacon every few minutes so you render the fat and crisp it while slowly drawing out the excess fat. Render the bacon until it is crispy and dark–when you think it’s done, it’s probably not, so let it go another minute or two (you want the bacon strips extremely crispy and dark so the moisture from the grapes doesn’t make them soggy).
- Add the grapes and continue to cook on low heat about 25 minutes–the grapes break down and “stew” along with the bacon.
- Allow the confit to chill so the excess fat will rise to the top. “For health reasons only,” Chef Gabrynowicz says, “I skim the chilled fat off the top before reheating and serving.”