There are lots of things you can add to Bacon Jam — bourbon! maple syrup! hot pepper! — but I am staying on the path of least resistance to get as quickly and easily to this final glorious thing that tastes like sticky sweet bacon.
What You Need for Bacon Jam
Bacon Jam requires pretty standard ingredients that you probably already have:
- bacon
- onions and garlic for aromatics
- apple cider vinegar to help break it down
- brown sugar or maple syrup
- brewed coffee for a little earthy depth
You can add optional flavors like Bourbon, heat in the form of cayenne or other chili pepper, or other kinds of spices. If you would like to add the Bourbon, maple syrup, or heat, those instructions are noted after the recipe.
Bacon Jam Ingredients Notes and Grocery Resources
Bacon. Use any kind of pork bacon, cured or uncured. Thickness doesn't matter as you will be chopping the cooked bacon into very fine mince. This recipe assumes you are starting with uncooked bacon, so it includes an instruction for cooking, but if you are starting with leftover cooked bacon... jk. No one ever has leftover cooked bacon.
Onions. I use the milder yellow onions so there is sweetness from the onions, but not too much "bite." Because the flavors of the other ingredients are fairly strong, you can use any kind of onion you already have.
Apple Cider Vinegar. This is the organic Apple Cider Vinegar brand I always use.
Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup. Whatever you have is fine, and the measurements are equivalent. Maple syrup will add a subtle maple flavor to the final Bacon Jam.
You should absolutely make Bacon Jam. On the stove top or in a slow cooker.
Bacon Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic chopped
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar substitute up to ¼ cup with maple syrup
- ½ cup brewed coffee substitute up to ¼ cup with Bourbon
- optional: up to 1 teaspoon cayenne/chili powder or half a fresh jalapeno pepper without seeds
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook bacon until just starting to brown and crisp at edges. Remove cooked bacon to paper towel-lined plate to cool and drain off grease. Pat with additional paper towels. When cool, cut bacon into 1-inch pieces.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from pot. Turn heat down to medium low. Add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add vinegar, brown sugar, and coffee (and optional maple syrup, Bourbon, and/or chili if using). Bring to a boil. Add cooked chopped bacon.
Bacon Jam on Stovetop:
- Turn down heat to the lowest setting and allow to simmer for about 1½ hours, stirring every few minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and what is left is syrupy. Do not leave the pot unattended because 1) that's just not safe no matter what and 2) there is a lot of sugar from the onions and well, there's sugar, so it can burn easily.
Bacon Jam in Crockpot/Slow Cooker:
- Pour the contents of the pot into the crockpot. Cook on high for about 3 hours.
After Cooking:
- Transfer the cooked bacon jam to a food processor. Pulse until you get the consistency of chunky jam. Bacon jam is sticky, sweet, slightly smoky, and a little bit "crunchy" from crisped parts of cooked bacon.
- Store covered in the refrigerator. I have no idea how long it keeps, but based on my recipe research, it seems like a few weeks. I doubt you will have any left after 3 days.
nzflavour says
I made a batch of bacon jam on the 6th April. Not much left but perfectly fine. Very delicious.
http://nzflavour.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/bacon-jam.html.
Sarah J. Gim says
@nzflavour: THANK YOU for the note! that makes it at least three weeks, which is good to know! and though this wouldn't last that long, maybe it means i can make double the recipe and keep it :)
Laura says
It keep forevs. On a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, Heaven!
Greg Henry says
This intrigues me. GREG
Thyme (Sarah) says
and brewed coffee!! I just had to pop in to check this out. Put it on really good bread and I'll probably enjoy it. I love when food gets this interesting...
[email protected] says
This looks ridiculoulsy delicious!!
Howeird says
"
½ packed brown sugar"
1/2 a what?
Sarah J. Gim says
@howeird ½ CUP of brown sugar! sorry about leaving that VERY important detail out - ha! made the edit. THANK YOU for pointing it out!
Nathan Clark says
Can I ask what the purpose of the coffee is? is it for taste/enjoyment or does it have a functional role in the recipe? I'd like to make this without the coffee in it, and was wondering what may be best to substitute it with.
wisekaren says
I'd like to know that too! I want to leave it out, but do I need to sub in another liquid, even water?
OncNrsSpursSoccer says
I think the coffee might be there to balance out the sweet a wee bit. I use quite a cup of quite strong coffee. There's absolutely NOOOOOOOOOO, NOT EVEN A HINT of coffee flavour coming thru though. OMG....THIS IS FAAAAAAAAAAAABTASTICALLY ULTRA-LISCIOUS!!!!
Myesha says
This looks really awesome. I was just wondering if I could chop up the bacon before cooking it?
wisekaren says
I don't see why not -- probably would make it easier to get all those extra crispy edges, too.
Mjskit says
I am SO IN LOVE with this jam!!!!
Ca4ole says
Hi there, this is a really nice post. It would be great if you linked to it in my
Food on Friday series.
Food on Friday – Bacon
meg jones wall says
yum, yum, yummy. can't wait to make this - you may get a love letter from my husband after i make the recipe. just saying :)
Christine says
I made this tonight and served it on a simple grilled burger on a toasted roll w/garlic aioli. So much flavor!
Sarah J. Gim says
hey christine! so happy to hear that your bacon jam turned out with so much flavor (at least, assuming that's a good thing ;D)
O'Bryan says
If cooking down in the Crockpot, should the lid be off? I can't wait to make this!
D'Boss says
Just made it!!!!! it was perfectly awesome! Now we are going to make grilled cheese for dinner to accompany the bacon jam. Thanks for the post...
Kimmie Nguyen says
Thank you for sharing this! I've been looking for this recipe for a long time as one my favorite delis used to stock bacon marmalade (and then I moved)! I like the jam on sandwiches, but also for this deviled egg recipe: http://easterndistrictny.com/blog/archives/340. You will gobble six eggs easily. Also a cooking note: I used thick-cut maple bacon instead of substituting maple syrup for sugar, which was not too sweet but you get some of that interesting maple flavor.
Lisa says
Would like to contact you about an article for Better Homes and Gardens. How can I reach you?
Sarah J. Gim says
Hi Lisa! email me at [email protected]
Oliver St.John-Mollusc says
I made so much at home after reading this.