BAM! Bacon Jam Recipe

I love bacon, and I'm constantly looking for new ways to incorporate it into my diet.  Enter: BAM! - short for B(acon) (J)am!  Part bacon, no parts jam, and extra dashes of awesome make bacon jam the new must-have condiment.  Having seen versions of bacon jams cropping up in stores everywhere, I went about contrasting and comparing home recipes to bring you the best bacon jam there can be.  The only problem - everyone sampling the tests had a different favorite!  So I'll just have to share all three winning recipes and let you decide on your own.

BAM!

Step 1: The bacons and friends

I had no idea how many different kinds of bacon there are available.  After a trip to my local Whole Foods deli counter, I decided to try everything they had - smoked, uncured, and Black Forest (my new favorite!)

All three of the following recipes started with the same base recipe:

• 1 lb bacon, cooked* and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup strongly brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

*my favorite method for cooking bacon is baking it in the oven at 400F(200C) for ~20 minutes.  The bacon cooks evenly, there are no lingering smells, and cleanup is a snap!

Comments

[Wartim]

Have you considered using a very strong and bitter dark beer instead of the coffee?!

[lmnopeas]

I have wanted to try bacon jam for a long time. It looks heavenly. Does it need to be refrigerated? What do you think the shelf life is like? These would make awesome holiday gifts!

[scoochmaroo]

It has no preservatives and wasn't properly canned in a heat bath, so it needs to be refrigerated. I don't know how long this would last if you did properly process it, but it's worth finding out!

[Ratatosk]

I think this would need to be pressure canned. The rule of thumb I've always heard is that anything with meat requires pressure canning; it also doesn't look like it has enough acid to be safely stored using a water bath - it needs the extra heat from the pressure canning.

Still, I imagine it will last in the refrigerator for a lot longer than it takes to eat it all.

[vnickel]

You are absolutely right about pressure canning. A water bath is meant only for very acidic items like fruits and fruit jams. Pressure canning is the only way to can meats, as it sterilizes and creates the vacuum seal needed to keep meats preserved.


(an interesting point these days is that modern tomatoes no longer have enough acid for water bath processing.)

[kshelton1]

I was totally wondering how you could can this. I secretly wish I could can using water bath but knew it would need a pressure cooker, which is a lot more expensive! Thanks for the info!

[dawn61817]

I can't wait to try this! Everyone knows that everything is better with bacon!

[kpetet]

Pardon me for seeming oblivious, but I've never heard of bacon jam before... however, my entire family are bacon-lovers so my interest is certainly peaked.
What do you eat it on?
Crackers? Bagles? Eggs?? lol
Any recommendations?

[deathnotx101]

You Sir are a genius, it will win the academy award!!

[Nneekers]

i really want to try the first variation (with brown sugar and maple syrup) and i have a TON of maple syrup i need to use up. Do u think its necessary to use PURE maple syrup? or do u think just the plain ole stuff will do?
any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated! :)

[scoochmaroo]

I think you should give it a go with whatever you have!

[Nneekers]

thank you! i will!
i know my husband is gonna love this!
can't wait to try it out!

[fire_drakon117]

Less than 3 scoomaroo. Less than 3. Cant wait to try it

[scoochmaroo]

Ha! Favorite comment so far.

[XxZombiexX]

This might be my new favorite thing in the world!
I had no idea bacon jam even existed, let alone be fairly easy to make at home! Being a fan of bacon myself, I never considered bacon to be just for breakfast, but now it's worked its way into a whole new class of food...what can't bacon do?

Do you have a favorite use for bacon jam that regular bacon doesn't work for? When I make some I'll probably put it on everything...just curious.

[fire_drakon117]

Not so much bacon, but for jam… eggs

[Senior Waffleman]

Epicmealtime did bacon jelly :P

[rocklocker]

You know what would be great with this? BEER, served up by Scooch in her beerkini.

[SHIFT!]

Its's time to kick it up a notch, with BAM!

[bowow0807]

bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON! BACON JAM!!!!

[szulli-randall]

My two favorite things combined into one! AMAZING!