Bacon Jam Recipe
Sweet, Savory and a PERFECT Bacon Jam Recipe to have on hand for guests! Who doesn’t love the great smoky taste of bacon with sweet onions, a dash of bourbon and a splash of cola?
Servings: 18 servings
Calories: 206kcal
Cost: $12
Equipment
- Heavy bottom stock pot
- knife
- cutting board
- large spoon
- measuring cups and spoons
- bowl
- Stove
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 teaspoon butter
- 4 Large Sweet Onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar packed
- ¼ Cup Sherry Vinegar
- ¼ Cup Cola
- 2 Tbs bourbon
- 1 ½ teaspoon fresh thyme divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot over medium heat on the stove top until warm. Add the bacon all at once and stir frequently. Cook until the bacon is crispy and until all of the liquid in the pan is foamy and bubbling (see video if you aren’t sure what this means).
- Remove the bacon from the pan to a paper towel covered plate and set aside.
- Pour the bacon grease into a metal container or shatter proof glass container and set aside.
- Add two tablespoons of the bacon grease and the 2 teaspoon of butter to the stock pot and set it back on the stove. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the onions all at once and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Cook on medium low until the onions begin to look translucent (this will take about 10 minutes).
- While the onions are cooking, chop bacon up into small bits and set aside.
- When the onions appear translucent, stir in brown sugar, sherry vinegar, the cola, the bourgon, 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves, black pepper and cayenne pepper into the onions. Add the chopped bacon bits into the onion mix and continue to cook over medium low heat until a dark brown color results and the mixture is as thick as jam. This takes at least another 10 minutes but depending on the water content of the onions and other products, could take up to another 25 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining thyme and add the balsamic and olive oil, stir well. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- When cooking the bacon, it can be difficult to know when the bacon is done. Watch the video in the recipe card. When the bacon becomes frothy and bubbly, that is how you know it is done.
- Start with 1” pieces of bacon. This makes chopping the final bacon pieces a much easier job.
- Use a sweet onion like a Texas Sweet or Vidalia for this recipe. If you can’t find one of those, use a typical yellow onion and you may need to add a small amount of extra sugar at the end.
- Cut the onions into a small chop. They will basically be dissolving to make the “gel” of your jam and larger pieces don’t cook down as well.
- If you don’t want to add the bourbon, just leave it out and don’t substitute anything in it’s place. If you notice that your jam seems a little too firm, add water by tablespoon full and stir well after each addition. Bacon jam should be about as thick as a good strawberry jam.
- The cola that you add gives the jam a lovely dark color and some sweetness, so please do add that (regular cola, not diet).
- If you are concerned about the cayenne, don’t be. It doesn’t add much heat, just enough for you to say “hmmmm, that’s interesting”, it isn’t hot at all.
- For this recipe you’ll want to familiarize yourself with: What Does Divided In a Recipe Mean and How to Save Bacon Grease.
- Keep Bacon jam in the fridge and heat it slightly before serving. Don't serve it cold.
- This bacon jam is BEST if you allow the flavors to meld in the fridge for at least 5 days, but does taste just fine immediately after making.
Nutrition
Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 387mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 41IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg