I am not really sure who the first person was that decided bacon should become a jam. I have seen an old Martha Stewart slow cooker recipe for Bacon Jam, so perhaps it was the American Queen of the kitchen herself! I discovered this delicious condiment care of our own queen of the kitchen, Lorraine from NQN.  She created a bacon jam recipe on her website, and whilst it seemed interesting, I didn’t rush out to buy bacon.  I was still struggling to get my head around the concept.

So what changed for me?? I became addicted to my “Sweet Caramelised Onion Jam.” I was making it up by the bucket loading and eating it just as quickly.  Then I had an epiphany, the only thing which would make this eating experience better was bacon!  Finally I understood the flavour profile of bacon jam.  It was not to be served as a sweet jam, it was a jammy relish, just like my onion jam.

I couldn’t get into the kitchen quick enough. I combined what I knew about bacon jam, and my recipe for onion jam and voila! It may be an ugly duckling, but it is the current condiment “love of my life”.

I am not sure how long my heart will last given this full saturated fat love affair, but for the moment I can see no end in sight. Bacon Jam is my new love, I add it to my Panini with Jarlseberg, to burgers and pizza’s and anything else I consume.

Ingredients:

1kg of double smoked bacon diced

8 cloves garlic sliced

2 onions diced

5 sm chillies sliced

½ cup brown sugar

2 tsp of grounded cumin

2 tsp of tabasco sauce

½  cup vinegar

¼  cup of maple syrup

1 cup expresso coffee

¼ cup bourbon

Pepper to season

2 cups water

Method:

In a large heavy saucepan cook the bacon over a medium to high heat until the bacon is lightly browned.

Remove the bacon and drain.

Leaving 1 tablespoon of fat in the saucepan fry onions, garlic and chilli until the onions are translucent.

Add vinegar, sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, Tabasco, cumin and coffee, and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping up the bacon bits from the bottom of the pan.

Once the mixture has deglazed the saucepan add the bacon and stir.

Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks. Add water ¼ cup at a time as necessary, from the 2 cup allowance.

Use a stick blender to roughly chop the bacon into smaller pieces. Keep the look rustic and do not over blend.

Continue to simmer the mixture stirring and adding water as necessary for another hour.

When the liquid is syrupy, (1 ½ hours approx) remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the contents into three sterilised glass jars. Seal and refrigerate. Or serve immediately.

I hope I have convinced you to try this delicious condiment.

I am curious readers, what food have you had to change your opinion about? What did you think wouldn’t be that great, but upon tasting you loved?