Recipe for Bacon Jam! (2024)

FAQs

How long will homemade bacon jam keep? ›

For safety, we strongly recommend that bacon jam be refrigerated for times suggested by the recipe (2-4 weeks) or that it be frozen for longer storage.

Turn the heat to low and cook the onion in the bacon fat for 15-20 mins until soft and starting to brown. Stir in the garlic, sugar, cider vinegar, bourbon, maple syrup, coffee and the bacon. Cook slowly for 25-30 mins, stirring occasionally until thick and syrupy.

Tips from our Bakers

Our list of things we want to use this jam in is ever-growing. Here are just a few to get you started: warm potato salad, grilled asparagus, fresh tomatoes, panzanella, grilled cheese, crackers and goat cheese, spinach salad, a spoon, fresh garden peas, scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese...

Why is my bacon jam not thickening? This recipe is all about patience. To achieve a thick texture, all of the liquids need time to reduce. Make sure you're cooking your bacon jam without a lid over your Dutch oven, so your bacon jam can evaporate.

Once your jam is done, you can simply store it in the refrigerator for a long time and not worry about it spoiling. I pour it into small jars, cover them with lids and let them cool to room temperature. Once the jam cools, you'll be able to see its final texture.

According to the USDA, an unopened jar of jam or jelly can be stored in the pantry for up to 12 months. This long shelf life is due to the sugar content in the product, which acts like a preservative, says Lee.

Commercial pectin helps thicken jam made with low-pectin fruits, like blackberry jam, or vegetable jelly recipes, like pepper jelly. It comes in powder or liquid form, but the former is the most common. Add powdered pectin to the fruit juice, chopped fruit, or strained purée before heating the jam mixture.

Sodium nitrite produces the pink color (nitrosohemoglobin) in cured bacon.

The jam must then be cooked over high heat in order to evaporate the water as quickly as possible and harness the power of the natural pectin. (Cooking time can vary, depending on a fruit's water content, but once it's at a rolling boil, expect to cook it for at least 40 to 50 minutes.

Even though it doesn't necessarily come with a mild flavor, bacon is a total blank canvas. With the help of some extra ingredients and spices for your bacon, you can take its original savory, salty, and smoky flavor and enhance it with things like chili powder and coffee, Sriracha, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey.

Does bacon jam have carbs? ›

For The Love Of Bacon Original Bacon Jam (1 serving) contains 2.7g total carbs, 2.7g net carbs, 0.3g fat, 1.1g protein, and 18 calories.

Imagine really good pulled pork. That's approximately how this jar o' jam tastes. Except..it's bacony bits instead of porky strands. The bacon chunks don't terribly stand out and instead get a little lost in the sauce, which is my only minor complaint.

I do occasionally add a satchel of lemon wedges to a jam when I know there is likely to be lower amounts of pectin, like with strawberries. This helps add extra pectin that the berries don't have, but in lower amounts than if I were adding commercial pectin.

The secret ingredient to making jam without pectin is time. The fruit and sugar need plenty of time to cook and thicken. A long, slow boil drives the moisture out of the fruit, helping to preserve and thicken it at the same time.

After you have added the pectin to your boiling fruit mixture, you can continue to cook for up to 10 minutes without harming the pectin. After 10 minutes you risk breaking down the pectin. An extended boiling water-bath of the filled jars also risks breaking down the pectin.

Q: How long can I keep my homemade jams and jellies once I open them? A: Opened home-canned jams and jellies should be kept in the refrigerator at 40°F or lower. “Regular” – or pectin-added, full-sugar – cooked jams and jellies are best stored for 1 month in the refrigerator after opening.

Although many of us grew up with relatives who stored their bacon grease in a jar or can set on the counter or on the back of the stovetop, food safety experts don't recommend storing it that way now. Instead, store bacon grease in the refrigerator (up to 3 months) or freezer (indefinitely).

Bacon jam is safe to refrigerate for two to four weeks after it has been opened. The refrigeration process will keep those nasty bacteria at bay for this period.