Bacon Jam
Bacon Jam
by cook Connie Sherretts
Connie shares, “Bacon Jam will win you legions of fans. Use the power wisely. I know of one marriage proposal after this jam was served with breakfast.” Don’t limit this jam to breakfast, try it as a sandwich spread or mixed with cream cheese as a party dip. Get creative.
Ingredients
3 lbs. bacon (Connie uses a mixture of maple, thick-cut, regular and smoked lean bacon)
4 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2-4 cloves garlic
1 Cup apple cider vinegar
1 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 Cups very strong brewed black coffee (Connie uses espresso)
1/2 Cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp. PENZEYS PEPPER
Directions
Cut the bacon slices into 1-inch pieces. Place the bacon in a Dutch oven/heavy large pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is browned. It is important none of the bacon or bits on the bottom of the pan burn during the entire cooking process, so ease back a bit on the heat and let it cook longer if you are unsure. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but 2 TB. of the drippings from the pan, (Connie stores them in the fridge for other recipes—we did end up with 1.5 cups extra drippings!). Place the Dutch oven back over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic. Stir well and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking for about 8 minutes, or until the onions are mostly translucent. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the bacon) and stir well. Reduce the heat to low. Stir well, then raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and boil hard for 2 minutes. Add the bacon, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to make sure things aren’t sticking. Add 1/4 Cup of water if the mixture seems to be drying out. When the onions are meltingly soft and the liquid is thick and syrupy (our batch took about 1 1/2 hours at low heat and we did not need any extra water) remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse several times or until the jam is almost the consistency of chunky peanut butter. Scrape into a jar or a container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. This can be served cold, room temperature or warmed.
Prep. time:15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 24
Cooks Notes
Nutritional Information
Servings 32-34; Serving Size 2 TB. (92g); Calories 240; Calories from fat 170; Total fat 19g; Cholesterol 30mg; Sodium 360mg; Carbohydrate 12g; Dietary Fiber 0g; Sugars 10g; Protein 5g.
