Boozy.Bacon.Jam. Yep, that’s right….Boozy.Bacon.Jam. Don’t those words together just get you all excited?! My first experience (or non-experience) with it was last fall when I was visiting my best friend in Seattle. I had heard of this food truck that sold this magical spread called *Bacon Jam* and I knew that while on my visit it was going to be totally necessary to hunt this truck down and buy boxes upon boxes of this stuff. I was curious, excited and intrigued and couldn’t wait to get my hands on some. Sadly, when I got there we found out that the truck was indisposed for the weekend at multiple private events. Boo. Luckily there was a specialty market downtown that carried it, so we made our way to the market. When we got there we asked an employee to direct us to the bacon jam. We went to the refrigerator and started loading up…… until I noticed the expiration date on all of the jars. The jams had been expired for 3 months. Gross. Really gross. We told the store, they threw away their stock and we left super bummed. Now almost a year later, I still hadn’t tried bacon jam and I finally decided to just make my own. You can serve this warm or chilled, both are really good! Plus, this recipe might look intimidating because of the number of ingredients, but it’s really super simple! I promise. You can use it as sandwich spread, in quesadillas, stirred into soups, or my personal favorite……holding an open jar, in front on an open fridge, eating it by the spoonful (no judgments, please). Enjoy!xx Jenny
Check out our post with downloadable print yourself labels to turn this delicious bacon jam recipe into a gift that is perfect for the holidays! Here is our post for Boozy Bacon Jam Gifts!
Here are some other recipes you might enjoy:
Boozy Bacon Jam
Servings:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound applewood smoked bacon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoons ancho chile powder
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup sweet bourbon or brandy
- ⅔ cup strong brewed coffee
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons Sriracha
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Render bacon on medium-high for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
- Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from the pot, add butter and melt.
- Add onion, brown sugar and a pinch of salt and cook for 10 to15 minutes.
- Add shallot, garlic and spices and sauté for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Season with pepper.
- Return the bacon to the pot and stir until well combined.
- Pour the bourbon/brandy into the bacon mixture and cook the liquid down for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Skim off any fat/grease that has formed at the top and discard.
- Pour the mixture into a food processor and process until desired consistency is achieved.
- Serve warm or store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use.
NOTES
- *Makes 2 cups
- *1 serving = 1 tablespoon
Calories: 89kcal Carbohydrates: 3g Protein: 2g Fat: 6g Saturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 10mg Sodium: 112mg Potassium: 50mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 3g Vitamin A: 96IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 5mg Iron: 1mg
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Hi Jenny!
I love this idea–and I just found a Chirstmas present for mys sis and her boyfriend who love bacon. Thanks!
One question: I have never heard of tarragon oil, what is it and where can I find it?
Tarragon vinegar is just tarragon infused vinegar…you can sub white wine vinegar!
What does render the bacon mean?
I made this the other day and it is really BOOZY even though I probably cooked the bourbon out a little longer than the recipe calls for. I am not a fan unfortunately. I’d give it another try with no booze, perhaps.
Jenny,
Thank you SO MUCH for this great recipe – I just found it and must make it but I have a question:
By “render the bacon on med-high for 5-6 minutes” – what is the bacon supposed to look like?
That doesn’t seem long enough to even begin to brown – do you want it semi-crisp or limp?
Sorry for the crazy question but my house of bacon lovers are very particular about their bacon! I am hoping to make before Xmas eve for my family Xmas eve dinner and to give to friends…
Thanks again!
Hi Sheri! I usually render my bacon in two batches, so my bacon tends to come out more crisp with a fatty edge. You can really go either way with the bacon and have great results, but I do prefer my bacon on the more crisp side for this. Good luck!
Can I ask what the herb/leaf is that is under the cherry tomatoes on the above picture??
(I’m new at this, but aspiring.)
Baby arugula!
hallo from germany!
i love this recipe! i`ve made this and i can say: really delicious!!!!!
I don’t drink, so is the bourbon or brandy necessary? Or can I substitute it for something else?
Is southern comfort sweet bourbon? Will make this soon!
Oh SoCo….I’m much too familiar from my college days :) it’s actually a “whiskey-like” liquor that’s not actually whiskey…it’ll def work for this recipe, but you’ll get an ever so slightly different flavor. Hope this was helpful!
Oh my word that sounds yummy. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks!
made this on thanksgiving, put it out as an appetizer with the baguettes, cheeses, etc.
it was devoured. Its awesomely yummy.
thank you!!
Sounds very yummy may have to try!
Assuming you are talking about Skillet in Seattle? Haven’t tried their bacon jam, but yours looks dayum good! Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Yes, this can be canned but NOT with boiling water bath (BWB) as you would for fruit jams and other high-acid foods.
This has meat in it which is a low-acid food, so you would need to use a pressure *canner* (NOT a pressure *cooker*!!) with these instructions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/strips_cubes_chunks.html
Also, leave out the butter if you’re canning it – there is plenty of fat from cooking the bacon, and more can cause your jars not to seal properly.
If you’re not up for pressure canning, you can freeze the jam instead.
This past weekend I had a “bacon celebration” party and added the bacon jam as part of the appy rounds.. served with crackers and brie…
people LOVED it… everyone was asking for the recipe and even fb friends wanted to know it after they saw the pics.. thanks for the recipe.. it was bacon nomz!!
I ended up making an “americano” with my espresso machine for the coffee, and used the white vinegar since i didnt find the terragon, i also only used 1 tbsp of siracha.. and it still had a bit of a kick but was a great result! :)
YAY!
This is absolutely amazing! I’m thinking of ordering a pallet of bacon so I can make it for everyone I’ve ever known or even just met. Acute deprivation is never having tasted this manna from heaven!! Thanks for such a great treat. And I’m sure all my friends and relatives will thank you come Christmas!!
wow!!!! I made this last weekend. Unbelievable! I was intimidated by the amount of ingredients, but forged on. I had to make just a few adjustments, due to time and lack of specific ingredients, but I stuck pretty close to the recipe as written. I didn’t have ancho chile powder, so I substituted chipotle. This WAS actually a big change, because it gave the jam a super kick, which is ok, if you can handle it. Not killer, but it’s there. I might not use as much next time. Also, I didn’t have brandy, so I used cognac. Overall, it is really delicious, and eating it right out of the jar seems perfectly natural. Thank you so much.
Oh, what a lucky girl I am to have found your blog in the vast forest of websites! It’ like now I know what life was missing. I cannot tell you anything that hasn’t been repeated over and over again however some things bear repeating. The site and the recipes are sublime. You have a gift. Everything about the blog is truly art. I can only hope with your creativity and asthetic talents that a cook book simply bursting at the seems with your unique and inspired recipes and positivly decedant food styling and photography is pending. I’m waiting. By the way I have never commented anywhere on the internet before.
Everything is better with bacon. I think if you sprinkle bacon bits on a strip of bacon, you go back in time. Hopefully you go back to another time when you were eating bacon!
I had a bacon jam at the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago and have been dreaming about it ever since. I can’t wait to make this!!! I just picked up some applewood bacon yesterday too!!!
Ok, I know I’m super late to the party on this one, but I just had to say:
I made this just as you have it pictured here (with arugula & cherry tomatoes on crostini) for a party last night, and it was DELICIOUS. I somehow had a bit left over, so I smeared it all over and under the skin of some chicken thighs and roasted them on a bed of veggies… OMG. This was some of the best chicken ever!!!
Miracle workers, you two are.
I am making this recipe for the second time tomorrow. It is DELICIOUS!!! My guests rave about it. It’s a keeper!
Just had bacon jam for the first time at a wine bar in San Clemente! They served it with goat cheese, arugula, and crostini. We loved it so much we asked if they would give us the recipe. Turns out the purchase it from Skillet Street Food out of Seattle! Can’t wait to try your recipe, thank you!
This is a great recipe!! Love it!! Will be making a double batch next time. I used southern comfort and white wine vinegar and followed the recipe to an exact and it is perfect!! Thank You!!
This may well be the best thing that ever happened to me.
This recipe is so yummy sounding!
I live in Seattle and the truck/ trailer mentioned about now has a companion brick & mortar location. It might not be “kosher” to add their website here so I won’t but you can google it and find out how o get it ready made. It’s really good too and you will fall over eating it.