This recipe calls for a lot of schmaltz. If you don't have access to large quantities of schmaltz and don't feel like shelling out for a batch of duck fat (which also works well), feel free to use olive oil, which is a great fat for confit.

Makes: 8 chicken thighs

INGREDIENTS

120ml gin

60ml sweet vermouth

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp black peppercorns, lightly toasted and roughly cracked

2 tbsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and roughly cracked

4 or 5 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a chef's knife

Zest from 1 orange, grated

8 chicken thighs or 4 leg-thigh pieces (about 750g total)

480 to 960g schmaltz (see note above)

NOTE

● It's important to cook the alcohol out of the gin and vermouth so it doesn't denature the skin and meat of the chicken during its cure. The heat also helps to enhance the impact of the aromatics. When the chicken thighs have been cooked and chilled in their fat, they can be reheated immediately, but the longer they're left to ripen in the fridge, the better they will taste. There will be an intensely flavoured, salty stock at the bottom of the fat that becomes thick and gelatinous when chilled. Serve the crispy confit in a salad tossed with a sharp vinaigrette seasoned with this confit gelatin and shallots.

METHOD

● Combine the gin and vermouth in a small pan over high heat. When it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium, add the salt, pepper, coriander, and garlic and cook until the alcohol has cooked off, a couple of minutes (hold a match or lighter to it - when the flame goes out, it's done). l Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.

● Place the chicken thighs in a plastic bag, a bowl, or a small baking dish. Add the orange zest to the cooled marinade and pour it all over the thighs.

● Rub it all around so that the chicken is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, rolling the chicken around in the marinade occasionally to redistribute the seasonings.

● Preheat the oven as low as it will go - 82°C is ideal, but 95°C is fine.

● Rinse the chicken under cold running water to remove the marinade ingredients (if some of the spices are embedded in the skin, that's fine).

● Pat the thighs dry and place them in an appropriately sized baking dish; they should be well packed in so that you need as little precious schmaltz as possible. Cover them completely with schmaltz or oil.

● Put the dish over medium heat on the stovetop until the fat reaches 82°C on an instant-read thermometer.

● Transfer the dish to the oven and cook for 8 to 10 hours. The confit has cooked long enough when the meat sinks to the bottom and the fat is clear; it's better to overcook than undercook.

● Allow it to cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, and up to 3 months. If keeping the confit thighs for longer than a few days, be sure they are submerged in the fat, press a layer of cling film on the surface of the fat, then wrap the entire dish with foil - light is fat's enemy.

● To reheat, grill the thighs until the skin is crisp and they're heated through. Or, better, deep-fry them (preferably in strained schmaltz).