Bacon as is, is amazing, always, but you know what else hits? Bacon jam. <\/strong><\/p>\n I love bacon. I\u2019ve loved it for my whole life and I will continue to love it forever and ever. Smoky, crispy, salty, it\u2019s all of the good things. And now, with protein maxxing, I can have a snack of bacon and call it health, right?<\/p>\n Bacon jam, if you\u2019re too young to have heard of it, is a sweet and savory and smoky stovetop jam made from bacon, onions, maple syrup, brown sugar, vinegar, and coffee. It\u2019s dark, smoky, and deceptively delicious as a condiment or spread with just about everything.<\/p>\n I first made bacon jam way back in 2012 during the bacon era of the early internet. Back then there were bacon bowls, bacon waffles, bacon-wrapped everything, and of course, bacon jam. I am a Food Blog was still a baby, in its very first year of being on the internet, and one of our first posts, fittingly, was bacon jam.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a funny name, but it\u2019s pretty bang on: bacon jam is a jam made with bacon. Regular fruit jam is made by cooking down fruit with sugar and just like regular jam, bacon jam is also made by cooking bacon with sugar. The bacon becomes soft and tender, with little crispy caramelized bits. The texture is not so much jam as it is relish, somewhat spreadable and very delicious. It probably would have been more descriptive, though less catchy, to call it bacon relish. Think of it like French rillettes, but with bacon.<\/p>\n Bacon jam is a relatively new condiment, dating from roughly around the late 2000s. Originally a food truck in Seattle (Skillet Street Foods) popularized it as a topping for their burgers. The owner, Josh Henderson, has told the story a couple of different ways: either he was inspired by an iconic burger from LA gastropub Father\u2019s Office or an onion compote from Santa Fe. Either way Henderson\u2019s jars of bacon jam went viral before going viral was even a twinkle in gen alpha\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n Martha Stewart loved it, featured it in her iconic gift guides, and had a recipe on her site and bacon jam was off to the races. Henderson said that the gift guide mention moved 150,000(!) jars in a single month. The very first bacon jam I ever made was based off Skillet and Martha\u2019s recreation of the recipe.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been cooking bacon jam since 2012. My bacon jam is old enough to go to high school. This version is time-tested, tastes brighter with apple cider vinegar, and is done in 1-1.5 hours instead of Martha\u2019s 4 hour version.<\/p>\n My main takeaway from all my years of bacon jamming is: don\u2019t skip out on the coffee. Originally, when we first made this for the blog I didn\u2019t add the coffee and I loved it, but as, gasp<\/em>, my taste has matured, I find that the coffee adds a nice undertone that cuts through the fattiness of the bacon and makes the jam more balanced overall.<\/p>\n We do still often add chili flakes as we did with our first bacon jam. The spicy-sweet hits every time. Feel free to play around with adding in chili flakes, they go in at the same time as the onions and garlic so they toast and release their aroma and oils.<\/p>\n It sounds fancy but bacon jam is incredibly easy to make. If you can make bacon, you can make bacon jam:<\/p>\n Bacon jam being \u201cdone\u201d is more about consistency than it is about how cooked it is. You\u2019re looking for the liquid to reduce almost entirely into a syrupy, thick texture that is basically a glaze on the bacon. When you scoop up some of the bacon, you should see a bit of liquid pooling in the bottom of the pan, but in no way should the bacon be submerged or swimming in liquid. The ideal is just enough liquid so the jam pulses nicely in a food processor. Note that bacon jam firms up as it cools, so you want to stop it before it gets to the consistency you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n Bacon jam will keep in the fridge for up to 4 weeks in an airtight container. You can freeze it for up to 4 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge before using. You\u2019ll want to serve the bacon jam at room temp or warmer, as it\u2019s hard to spread right out of the fridge and the cold fat looks unappealing.<\/p>\n Warm the bacon jam before using by scooping out your desired amount and warming over low heat in a small pan.<\/p>\n Maple bacon is a great idea and if you don\u2019t want to buy maple syrup, it\u2019s okay. There are no maple syrup in your bacon jam police. The maple does add a different flavor and with maple syrup, you\u2019ll get more of that flavor shining through.<\/p>\n Bacon jam is not safe to can at home. If you would like to gift your bacon jam, a la the Martha Stewart gift guide way back in the day, you should gift your bacon jam cold or frozen with a keep refrigerated instruction.<\/p>\n Your jam is probably over-reduced, add a little water and stir it over low heat to loosen it up<\/p>\n If you\u2019re at the final stage after reducing down the liquid and your jam is insanely greasy, the best thing you can do is try to spoon off the excess fat floating on the top of the jam. If you can\u2019t spoon off the fat, place the pan in the fridge until the bacon fat starts to solidify and turn white. Use a spoon to try and scrape off as much grease as possible before gently reheating and following the remaining recipe instructions.<\/p>\n I only put this in because I wanted to say, because bacon.<\/p>\n I hope you give this a try. It\u2019s a sleeper hit: kinda retro, kinda kitsch, and all kinds of yum. If you like sweet and savory together, bacon jam is calling your name.<\/p>\n xoxo steph<\/p>\n PS \u2013 If you love bacon as much as me, please check out these bacon recipes:<\/p>\nWhy You’ll Love This Recipe<\/h3>\n
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At a glance<\/h3>\n
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\n Flavor Profile<\/th>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tBacon-y, sweet, savory, smoky\t\t\t\t\t <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Storage<\/th>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tCover airtight and refrigerate for up to 4 weeks\t\t\t\t\t <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Reheating<\/th>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tWarm in a pan on low heat\t\t\t\t\t <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Difficulty<\/th>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tEasy\t\t\t\t\t <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ![\"spreading](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9318.jpg\"\/)
![\"spreading](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9318.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\n![\"the](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/baconjam-721.jpg\"\/)
![\"the](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/baconjam-721.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat is bacon jam?<\/h2>\n
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9333.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9333.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nWhere did bacon jam come from?<\/h2>\n
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9317.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9317.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nTime tested since 2012<\/h2>\n
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9301.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9301.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nKey ingredients in bacon jam<\/h2>\n
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![\"bacon\"](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9231.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon\"](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9231.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nHow to make bacon jam<\/h2>\n
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![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9270.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9270.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nHow do you know when bacon jam is done cooking?<\/h2>\n
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9276.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9276.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nWhat to serve with bacon jam<\/h2>\n
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How to store<\/h2>\n
Can I use maple bacon instead of bacon + maple syrup?<\/h2>\n
Can I can bacon jam?<\/h2>\n
Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n
My jam is hard as a rock<\/h3>\n
My jam is greasy<\/h3>\n
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9307.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9307.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/p>\nWhy bacon jam?<\/h2>\n
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9309w-150x150.jpg\"\/)
![\"bacon](\"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/bacon-jam-9309w-150x150.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/div>\n