Bacon jam is one of those things I’ve been hearing about but haven’t yet tried. It was sitting quietly on my “try someday” list. Until I noticed I had 8 packages of bacon in my chest freezer for some reason.
Looked like a sign to me! When life hands you bacon, you make bacon jam.
Man are the themes for bacon jam ever broad. A quick search will produce about 7.25 million results for bacon jam, which just goes to show: you can make bacon jam out of anything that tastes good with bacon. (Uh, everything, yeah?) It’s like baking muffins… the possibilities are endless.
And it’s pretty simple, too: cook bacon, sauté onion, throw everything in, cook it, love smelling it, eventually hit it with a blender.
As it’s very tomato-ey, I wasn’t enthused with this one as a put-it-on-everything sort of bacon jam, BUT it turned out great as a substitute for ketchup (hello cheeseburger with onion ring material!). So, anything that you’d use ketchup? Use this instead for hash browns, eggs, burgers, what have you.
Spicy. AND bacony.
I will be back to play evil mad scientist creating a more perfect bacon jam someday. I’ve already got a pencilled draft heavy on caramelized onions and dijon.
Have I ever mentioned that sometimes the trial-and-error quest to test recipes is great?
This tomato-heavy version of bacon jam is a great substitute wherever you would use tomato ketchup. It's perfect on burgers or with eggs and hash browns. Bacon jam doesn't store for very long; it's not cannable and, like mayo, should be kept in the fridge or freezer at all times. Just spoon out what you need, and give it a brief reheat. Store it in 125ml jars for quick and convenient access. The recipe was originally made with low sodium bacon, so additional salt may be unnecessary if you are using regular bacon.Tomato Bacon Jam
Serves
~750ml
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
1 hour, 30 minutes
Total time
1 hour, 40 minutes
Dietary
Gluten Free
Meal type
Breakfast, Condiment
Misc
Serve Hot
Occasion
Barbecue
Ingredients
Optional
Note
Directions
Step 1.
In a heavy bottomed pot or deep skillet, begin browning the bacon. Pour off the grease periodically as it cooks.
Step 2.
When the bacon is mostly browned but not yet overdone, add the onion and garlic, and sauté them over a lower heat until the onions begin to turn translucent.
Step 3.
Add the coffee, maple syrup, sugar, vinegar, pepper, red pepper flakes, liquid smoke and drained diced tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Step 4.
With an immersion blender or in a regular blender, purée the bacon tomato mixture into a sauce. Return to pan and simmer to further reduce, until it can be "spooned up" with a wide-pronged fork. While reducing, add further salt and Tabasco sauce to taste.
Step 5.
"Jar" in sterile containers and freeze immediately, or store in fridge for up to a week. Reheat to serve as a condiment.
Kyla @ Mommy's Weird says
That looks awesome. But nothing replaces Ketchup!!!!
Jessica @ Just a Mum? says
I need to try this. I have a feeling that it wouldn’t come out the same if I tried to make it though. Have any extra? 😉
Food Retro says
Actually, yes! I’ve got a few extra jars in the freezer. Want one? 😉
Sondra says
Yummy! I am going on one year (end of May) of going Meatless..so I do not eat bacon anymore, but you sure make it hard with your “on everything” sauce.
Food Retro says
Haha! Congrats on your meatless-ness! I don’t think I could swing it (I don’t like beans and tofu enough), but I am a fan of less-meat. Bacon at my place is typically an infrequent treat at best… a handful of times a year, maybe. The bacon packs in the freezer are kept for the rare overnight guest at our place 😉