It seems only fitting that my first recipe post on this blog would be Bacon Jam. I’ve won cooking competitions with it, it taste great on just about everything and more importantly, there are memories, stories and nostalgia associated with it. One of my first cooking competitions, years ago, I made Bacon Jam Blts on a Spoon. Judging by the grins and empty spoons, it did not suck and we won Popular Vote and Critics Choice that year. The smiles, “oh faces” and shock of hearing the words bacon and jam in the same sentence are priceless. Oddly enough, that was also my last post before my old blog went silent for almost three years. So as the blog is being resurrected, so shall one of my favorite recipes. Get out that cast iron skillet and a box of kleenex, because you’ll be heart broken that you’ve missed out on Bacon Jam all these years.
Bacon Jam
The Goods
- 2 cups bacon, cut into 2” X 1” X 1/2” pieces
- 1/2 cup yellow onions, julienned
- 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- Splash of bourbon (some for you, some for the jam if desired)
The Steps
1. Render bacon in a heavy sauté pan in hot 500-degree F oven until bacon is crispy.
2. Pull from oven and remove bacon. Cook julienned onions in the remaining bacon fat, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan until onions are dark golden.
3. Add brown sugar and stir to coat.
4. Add a third of the chicken stock and place pan back in the oven to simmer. Reduce mixture until thick, (approx 5-15 minutes). Watch carefully that it doesn’t burn.
5. Add half of the remaining stock and reduce again until thick.
6. Add all of the remaining stock, reduce and remove pan from the oven. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Pour contents into a blender, add bacon back in and puree until fairly smooth (leave some bacon chunks though)
8. Pour contents back into sauté pan and stir in honey to combine.
9. Put pan back into oven and cook stirring frequently until deep brick red color is reached.
10. Re-season and mount with butter. Allow to cool to warm temperature. Reserve.
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