There are plenty of food arguments to be had on the Internet. Should you use soap on your cast-iron skillet? (Yes.) Does sugar belong in cornbread? (Sometimes.) Can you really only eat oysters in “r” months? (No.) But there’s one statement that any meat-eating foodie can’t argue with: Bacon makes most things better. And we’ve never met a finer way to put that philosophy in practice than with our Bacon Jam Recipe.
Senior Producer Ivy Odom created this recipe as an homage to one of her past jobs as a cook at an Atlanta restaurant. “We had an extremely popular menu item that featured a platter of buttery toast points for dipping into jars of savory goodies: egg salad topped with caviar, smoked fish dip with pickles, and—the hands-down crowd favorite—pimiento cheese with bacon jam,” she says. “Night after night, it felt like I never stopped preparing that dish. At the end of each shift, despite being nearly cross-eyed from making it for hours, I couldn’t stop myself from scooping up a bite of the leftover jam with anything I could find, from potato chips to carrot sticks.”
It will come as a surprise to no one that the reviews on this Bacon Jam Recipe are all positive. “This is amazingly easy and good!” wrote one reader. “Everyone loves it, and we even caught the vegans and vegetarians sneaking dabs and spoonfuls of it.
What You’ll Need
Credit:
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
The good news is that for a dish with so much flavor complexity (sweet, savory, smoky, umami), the ingredient list for Bacon Jam is short and affordable. Obviously, you’ll need bacon. Aside from that, grab one sweet onion, light brown sugar, smoked paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. The last three ingredients are probably in your pantry right now. The recipe also suggests sprinkling some fresh thyme leaves on top of your Bacon Jam before serving for a hint of herby freshness—and to look pretty—but that’s optional.
How To Make It
Credit:
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Chop your bacon, cook it in a skillet, and transfer it to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Reserve some drippings in the skillet to cook your chopped onion, then add the bacon back and cook along with sugar, water, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Let everything cool, and voila: You have your new kitchen secret to upgrading just about any dish.
What To Use It On
Credit:
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
You don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to make this Bacon Jam sing, but there are countless ways to use it in your kitchen. You can serve it with crackers or crostini as-is, or spoon it over a block of cream cheese à la pepper jelly preparation as well.
One of our most popular ways to use Bacon Jam is Ivy’s Whipped Goat Cheese With Smoky Bacon Jam appetizer. “I made this for a party, and I have never seen a dish go so fast in my life. Absolute frenzy,” wrote one recipe reviewer. “This one disappeared in under 10 minutes, and everyone was talking about it.”
You can also use it as a condiment on your favorite burger, slider, or sandwich recipes. Put some in a cute bowl and add it to your next charcuterie board. Our Test Kitchen even recommends tossing in a scoop to your go-to potato salad recipe or grilled cheese—genius.
The five-star reviews on this recipe also come with some great ideas. “It has so many uses,” wrote one reviewer. “My husband’s secret to his grilled New York strip steaks and famous BBQ sauce is this bacon jam. Sometimes he adds jalapeños to the recipe, and oh my stars!”
“Oh my stars” is right, y’all.
Dining and Cooking