Turkey Thigh Confit With Orange Marmalade Sauce

 

This recipe isn't complicated, but you'll need to exercise some patience and plan at least 4 days ahead for it because of the curing time. What you'll end up with are turkey thighs that are tender, moist, and flavorful and a sauce that you'll want to eat with everything you can find. The instructions are also pretty forgiving because I forgot (read: my wife forget to tell me) to put the garlic and bay leaves in the Dutch oven to confit 4 hours with the thighs and I only added them in the last half hour. Still delicious. Probably would've been better if she told me, though. Just sayin'.

4 turkey thighs, skin-on and bone-in

6 cups duck/chicken fat or vegetable oil, enough to submerge the thighs fully in your cooking pot

1 head of garlic, halved

2 bay leaves

3 large onions, chopped

12 sprigs fresh thyme

2 1/2 TB salt (for curing)

1 1/2 TB sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup orange marmalade

2 TB whole grain mustard

1/2 tsp lime zest

2 TB lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

CURING

Process the onions, thyme, salt for curing, sugar, and pepper in a food processor until it becomes a thick paste. Spread 1/3 of the paste in the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold the turkey thighs in one layer. Arrange the thighs in the baking dish, skin side up. Spread the remaining onion mixture on top of the thighs, making sure everything is well covered. Wrap in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 4 days.

CONFITING 

Heat oven to 200 degrees F. Remove thighs from onion mixture, rinse well, and pat dry. In a large Dutch oven, heat fat or oil over medium heat to 165 degrees. Add the thighs to the pot, skin side down, along with the halved garlic and the bay leaves. Make sure everything is submerged. Place in oven, uncovered, and cook for 4-5 hours until thickest part of the thigh reaches 140 degrees and a knife easily pierces the meat.

ahem...note the obvious exclusion of the garlic and bay leaves

STORING (optional)

If you need to store the thighs for a longer period before finishing the dish, you can cool the thighs in the fat/oil on the countertop for a couple of hours before putting in the refrigerator. This will keep for up to 6 days. When you're ready to continue the recipe, uncover the pot and heat it on the stove over medium low heat until the fat melts (about 30 minutes), then increase the temperature to medium for about 30 minutes longer. Make sure the fat/oil is barely simmering.

FINISHING

Heat oven to 500 degrees F. Place the turkey thighs, skin side up, on a wire rack over a baking tray and set aside. Strain fat/oil over a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and then transfer it to a fat separator. Your goal is to get about 5 tsp of the turkey stock that will sink to the bottom of the separator. Discard the rest of the liquid (not down the drain). Put the thighs in the oven and roast them for about 15 minutes until well browned. Rest the thighs for about 15 minutes, remove the bone, and slice.

SAUCING

While the thighs brown, mix the 5 tsp of turkey stock with the orange marmalade in a medium bowl and microwave it for about a minute until everything liquifies. Mix in the mustard, lime zest and juice, and salt. Serve with the thighs.