Bacon Jam Recipe

When Serious Eater Spencer sent along a call for burger toppers, onion jam, and bacon jam, being a meat-centric individual, I opted to tackle the latter first.

Having never made bacon jam before, I did some searching around and found a Martha Stewart recipe that serves as a popular starting point.

I only made some minor adjustments—adding red pepper flakes and adapting it for a stove top instead of slow cooker—but pretty much stuck to the recipe that starts with crisping a pound of bacon, then sautéing onion and garlic in the flavorful rendered fat. The onion, garlic, and bacon are then simmered in a mixture of vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and coffee until thick and syrupy. Finally, the entire thing gets a whirl in a food processor until it's a fine, but textured "jam."

I was blown away by the results. This was one complex condiment, with the salty and smoky bacon having a candied flavor from the sugar and syrup, as well as a very earthy quality thanks to the coffee and nice pockets of heat whenever I hit a red pepper flake. I happily spread this on all of my burger, but it also found uses as a pizza topping and a spread for biscuits, all of which were made even more delicious by this bacon jam.