Bacon is all the rage these days, and for good reason. For one, it’s freaking delicious. It’s also quite healthy and… No, wait. Not healthy. I meant delicious. So it’s delicious, delicious, and… Ok fine, you get the idea. One of the more unique ways I’ve found to enjoy this piggy delicacy is by means of bacon jam.
The bacon, it calls to you.
Yeah, bacon jam. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Well get over it, because this stuff rules.
” Greatness is upon us “
If you want to be the talk of the next office potluck and/or the envy of your friends and neighbors, whip up a batch of bacon jam, stand back, and watch the magic happen. It’s very slightly sweet, intensely bacon-y, and marvelously satisfying. Bacon jam is good on crackers, toast, salads, eggs, pizza… The list is endless. It might even be good on ice cream, but I haven’t quite worked up the nerve to try that yet. This particular recipe is a slight variant of Chef John’s creation as posted on allrecipes.com.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs raw bacon
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 or 3 large yellow onions
- a pinch or two of salt
- 1/4 cup sherry or wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp black pepper
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp olive oil
Other stuff you’ll need
- a large pot or Dutch oven
- paper towels
- sufficient willpower not to eat all the bacon before making it into jam
Directions
Fry up the bacon in whatever way you are most comfortable with, being careful not to overcook it. Crispy bacon good, blackened bacon bad. Blot the cooked bacon with paper towels and set aside; reserve a couple teaspoons of bacon grease for later use.
Hmmm, what to do with a spare 1.5 lbs of home-cured bacon? Oh I know.
Preheat your pot or Dutch oven on medium heat while you finely dice the onions. The “standard” recipe calls for 3 onions, but if you want your bacon jam to be extra super bacon-tastic use only 2 onions. Add the reserved bacon grease to the bottom of your pot along with the butter and saute the onions until translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes.
This is about what we’re going for.
While the onions cook, finely dice the bacon. You can use a food processor if you want, but I don’t like the bacon “paste” it creates in the process – I prefer to chop by hand.
Must… not… eat… bacon…. *convulses uncontrollably*
When the onions are done, add the brown sugar, sherry/wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of thyme (save 1/2 teaspoon for later), cayenne, black pepper, and mix well. Add the bacon and water and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until a jam-like consistency is achieved, stirring often.
Greatness is upon us.
Remove from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and remaining half teaspoon of thyme. And that’s all there is to it. Serve the jam warm with whatever you have handy to eat it with, be it bread or crackers or just a spoon. You’re welcome.
Why bacon jam? Why in the heck not?
tl;dr
Bacon jam
Ingredients- 1.5 lbs raw bacon
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 or 3 large yellow onions
- a pinch or two of salt
- 1/4 cup sherry or wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp black pepper
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp olive oil
Other stuff you’ll need
- a large pot or Dutch oven
- paper towels
Directions
Cook bacon, drain, and set aside. Saute finely diced onion in butter and 2 tsp bacon grease for 8-10 minutes or until translucent. Add brown sugar, sherry/wine vinegar, 1 tsp thyme (saving .5 tsp for later), cayenne, black pepper, finely diced bacon, and water, stir well. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes or until a jam-like consistency is achieved. Remove from heat, add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and remaining thyme, stir until mixed through. Serve warm.
See also
Standard Recipe Disclaimer
I don’t come up with a lot of my own recipes (unless you count my own personal milk-to-Grape-Nuts ratio), and chances are the recipe posted above belongs to or was inspired by a person other than me. So if you’re wondering whether or not I ripped somebody off, I probably did. Don’t get out the pitchforks and torches just yet though! I want to make absolutely sure I give credit where it’s due, so if you think someone deserves recognition for something that I haven’t already called out FOR CRYING OUT LOUD LET ME KNOW. Thanks, I appreciate it. Here’s a cookie.
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