As many of you know, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.
On the bright side, this means the hordes of Christmas baking and overloaded gift baskets that cross my path this time of year don’t tempt me much. Of course, this isn’t to say I stroll through the holiday season piously looking down at cookie-hoarders from my ivory tower…
No, it just means I find other things to indulge in (I mean, this IS the season of festive indulgence, is it not?)
Wine. Cheese. Bacon jam. These are my snacking standards.
Not only does this bacon jam make an excellent- and essential- addition to your holiday cheese platters (place it next to the goat cheese and watch your guests eyes glaze over with pure bliss), it also makes an excellent gift.
Yes, crackers + goat cheese + bacon jam is pretty much the greatest, but wait’ll you try this jam on your hamburgers… or spread over toast with an oozy egg on top… or eaten straight with a spoon in the light of the refrigerator in the dead of night while no one is the wiser…
Wait. No. Not that last bit. I swear that doesn’t happen. 🙂
| Beer n' Bacon Jam | | Print |
- 750g thick cut Applewood smoked bacon, cut into 1" pieces
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ⅓ cup Demerara sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1⅓ cup Porter or Stout beer*
- Add bacon to a large, dry skillet and cook over medium-high heat until most of the fat has been rendered and the bacon is lightly browned- approximately 15 minutes. Turn off heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towel. Pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat (save this in the fridge for other cooking!) and then add onions, stirring to coat with the remaining tablespoon of fat.
- Cook onions over medium heat until translucent, roughly 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add sugar, cider vinegar, maple syrup, beer and drained bacon. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has reduced and what remains is quite thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Chop on low until the jam reaches desired consistency- usually more or less uniform chunks.
- Transfer to a clean container and refrigerate until ready to consume. Makes an excellent addition to cheese platters- place it next to plain goat cheese for a heavenly treat! Also amazing on burgers, spread over toast and topped with eggs... sky's the limit!
This Beer ‘n’ Bacon “jam” is likely the next best “jam” I’ll ever meet, but only because I’ve finally found Jennifer McLagan’s receipt for Seville Orange marmalade–I’d gotten so tired of sweet marmalade, and the “millions” of receipts that try to ruin the Sevilles by too much sugar! My only problem is that I’ll never be able to repeat the receipt as I’ve done it, since it is my very last bottle of my 26 year old Irish/Milk stout. I’ll have to make up some more–and hope I’ve another 26 years to use it!
Seriously, the B ‘n’ B J IS one of the all-time great ones!
There are so many good things on your page, and it will take a long time to get through all of them–though there are obviously a few I won’t try. (There are so few things I don’t like that I no longer feel compelled to apologize when something comes along I don’t like!) Have a great one!
Oooh, I’ll have to check out that marmalade recipe! Thanks, Barry! We’ve got our own here, which is DEFINITELY not on the sweeter side, so I definitely appreciate your trouble with overly sugary marm.
As for the Beer n’ Bacon, hoooooo boy, I have to limit myself to making it only 2/3 times a year otherwise… well, I’d put it on pretty much everything and go through 1 kg of bacon a week. Haha!
How much will this make? Can you can it as a preserve?
Hi Sheralee, the recipe makes around 6 cups. It’s possible you can can it, but I have never attempted it myself. The salt content would suggest it would keep (I often give mine as gifts which stay at room temperature for a while), but I usually keep mine in the fridge just in case. As it is, it usually doesn’t stick around long enough to store!
Hey! I love your blog so much, and all of the recipes that come with it. I look forward to making so many of the recipes I’ve found here!
I just happened to be wondering, is this blog no longer being updated? This recipe for bacon jam seems to be the first result when I search for new recipes, and it says that it was published in 2017.
Thanks, and have a wonderful weekend! <3
Hi Misty! Funny you should ask… between new jobs and new babies, Chelsea and I have sadly let the blog go a bit dormant BUT- just last week (what timing!) we met up and decided we wanted to really put in the effort again soooo… expect a new recipe this week! 🙂