Pump Up the (Bacon) Jam

A few weeks ago Chris and I enjoyed a meal at one of our favorite Alpharetta restaurants: Hop Alley.

Chris got his “usual” cheese steak.

I scanned the menu, as I always do, and my eyes stopped on the rib eye. Now, having worked the line in a restaurant I typically don’t order steak in restaurants because I can make it as well, if not better, at home. Not bragging: once you’ve cooked a bazillion steaks for other people you kind of have an idea how to do it well. But I do love a good rib eye, so I looked at the description. It’s served with asparagus (check), goat cheese (oh ya…check), mashed potatoes (mmhmmm…check) and bacon jam (wait, what? bacon...jam? What in the world?)

So I ordered it.

You can never go wrong
with bacon!

I was smitten at first bite. The bacon jam was a somewhat tangy/sweet/smoky/bacon-y spread and combined with the goat cheese and steak: it was delicious.

I knew then that I needed to figure out how to make this. I immediately did some online research and found some potential recipes on Pinterest.

All of the recipes included bacon, garlic, onions, some sort of vinegar, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Some included bourbon, one included coffee, one included ale and some included grainy mustard.

So I narrowed it down to worked with a recipe from blogger “Not Quite Nigella” and then I tweaked it a little bit.

I also made a half recipe just in case it was too sweet or wasn’t quite what I was looking for. So here goes. The recipe below is the full recipe (super easy to half it but I doubt I’ll ever halve it again given how tasty it is!)

Bacon Jam

Yields 1 pint

1 pound smoked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Texas Pete's - this is a southern recipe after all)
1 cup Guinness or Murphy's or another dry Irish stout
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
Black pepper to taste
extra water

And in addition to extra water I had a bottle of Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad on hand (This special release ale that was aged in bourbon barrels had a wonderful, sweet, bourbony flavor that I knew would only add to the recipe.) I have also made this with just water with great results.

Mise En Place (minus the bacon and extra water/beer)

The best recommendation I can make is for you to prepare all of the ingredients ahead of time – I’ve mentioned “mise en place” before and it truly helps prevent errors/burning etc. Cut, measure, pour, whatever it is: have it all ready before you start to cook. The rest is easy peasy!

1. In a Dutch oven, fry the bacon in batches until lightly browned and beginning to crisp – it will feel weird to pull it before it’s crispy but trust me on this. Remove to paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease out of the pan.

2. Saute the onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat on medium heat until translucent.

3. Add the bacon to the onions and garlic, and add the rest of the ingredients except for the water.

4. Simmer for 2 hours adding 1/4 of a cup of water every 25-30 minutes or so, and stir regularly.

Bacony goodness.

5. Jam is done when you can’t tell the onions from the bacon. Cool for about 15-20 minutes or more and then place in a food processor. Pulse for 2-3 seconds so that you leave some texture to the “jam.” Refrigerate up to two weeks.

Now the fun begins. I had it on corn chips to taste it: oh my. I tried it with goat cheese scrambled eggs the next morning: yes please. And this evening I went for the full monty. I had some rib eyes and served them with the bacon jam spread on top with a dollop of goat cheese with a side of fresh corn (cut off the cob and sautéed in butter with salt/pepper) and potato crisps* It's great on burgers, meatloaf, crackers or crostini with goat cheese...you get the picture.

Oh. My. Goodness.

* Potato Crisps: Sliced potato tossed in oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary (or whatever herb you'd like: chives, oregano, thyme...etc.) Microwave for 2 minutes to cook then spread on a cookie sheet covered in foil (for easier cleaning) and baked for 7 or so minutes at 400. Finish on broil for a few minutes until potatoes are browned and crispy (do NOT walk away when the oven is on broil – watch it carefully.)

And for Fenway's fans: here is the princess snuggled with her woobie while we were on vacation last week. This was after two days of driving from Atlanta to Chicago. Passed. Out. (With the remote control!)


Just so you know, this bacon jam is kind of ridiculous. And addictive. You’ve been warned.