BAM BAM

BACON JAM!!

This year for Christmas, Stud and I gifted friends and family presents of the homemade variety and everyone received a jar of BBQ Sauce and BACON JAM.  Which might be my new favorite thing.  And amazingly, Stud made everything himself.  All I did was add the tissue paper to the gift bags.  He even canned the BBQ sauce so it doesn't need to be refrigerated until it's opened.  I would give you the BBQ sauce recipe, but Stud has yet to reach the phase where he begins to write down what he adds to the sauce.  So maybe one day.  The bam bam bacon jam on the other hand came from Everyday Food Magazine so that one I can share with you here.  It's basically the best slice of breakfast bacon covered in syrup in a spread.  And we ended up making a second batch so we could keep plenty for ourselves.

Bacon Jam
1 1/2 lb. sliced bacon, cut into 1" pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
3/4 c. brewed coffee

In a large skillet, add the bacon and cook until bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  Remove the bacon and let drain on a paper towel.  Remove all but 1 T. of the bacon fat and add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes.  Add the vinegar, brown sugar, syrup and coffee and bring to a boil while scraping all the good brown bits off the bottom of the skillet (did you know those little brown bits are called the fond?  I bet that will be useful in Jeopardy at some point).  They are like little flavor bits, so make sure you get them.  After about two minutes of boiling, add back the bacon and stir to combine.  Add the entire mixture to a crock pot and cook uncovered on high for 3.5-4 hrs until it's syrupy.  When it's finished, transfer it to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Let it cool and keep refrigerated.

Sometimes, when I think about what to do with my bam bam bacon jam, I become overwhelmed with possibilities.  I have already experienced it's success on toast with a fried egg.  And by the spoonful....Had to make sure it tasted good.  And on crackers.  Oh it's also really good cooked in a skillet with brussel sprouts. But that is not all it can do.  What about on a grilled cheese...or a BLT....or a turkey sandwich...or a burger???  Basically any sandwich-esque food.  Or with french fries, hash browns, or on a baked potato.  With any egg product.  Imagine a bacon jam omelet.  Or mixed into some scrambled eggs?  Or on a BBQ chicken pizza!  A BBQ sandwich!  Overwhelmed I tell you.  And so amazing.