Slow-Cooker Bacon Jam with a Rant

Dear bacon jam ~ I knew I loved you before I even made you! 

It’s sticky, porky, sweet, garlicky, savory and spicy.  Frying the bacon till crisp, and combining with onions, garlic and other ingredients, cooking long and slow for the onions to caramelize, allowing it to turn into a thick syrup; and finally, pulverizing it all in a food processor for one of the best chunky gustatory sensations you can imagine.

This recipe, from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine, has been floating around for at least a year, and I can’t imagine why it took me so long to finally make it.  The only change I will be making the next time is to double the recipe so as to share.  It is equally delicious served cold, room temperature, or warmed.  And it keeps well refrigerated for a month, if it lasts that long.

This is definitely one of the best things I have done with bacon.  I slathered this ‘jam’ on my toast this morning, but there are so many ways to enjoy it:  On a slice of tomato, on a burger, or a warm biscuit, grilled cheese, bagel chips, fried eggs, flambéed cheese, shrimp, scallops, whitefish, pork tenderloin, chicken, on crostini.  In quesadillas, on peanut butter or fried egg sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, burritos, pigs in a blanket, pizza, deviled eggs or potato salad.  Spread the bacon jam on a crescent roll before rolling and baking and serve either warm or room temperature.  Or just “straight-up,” right out of the jar!

Before

After 3.5 hours slow cooking

Slow-Cooker Bacon Jam

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced small
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed strong coffee

Method:

Line a platter with paper towels, and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is lightly browned, approximately 20 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to the platter to drain.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat (discard or reserve for another use).

Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent, 5-6 minutes.

Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup and coffee, and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. 

Add the bacon, and stir to combine.

Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, 3½ to 4 hours.

If it starts to dry out after 2 or 3 hours, add ¼ cup of water at a time and stir well.

Transfer to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers, up to 4 weeks.

Oh, my gosh, if you haven’t made bacon jam yet, you have to do it soon!  You might just love it and become addicted too!

Rant time:  I’m like many of you ~ fed up with the two word CAPTCHA that Blogger installed on Blogspot posts recently.  It is just plain frustrating when trying to make a comment, for so many reasons.  After reading a post on Diane’s blog, I changed the settings on my blog.  I was using the new Blogger interface and had to revert to the old interface to change the comment setting.

Here are the simple steps to turn off the word verification:

Go the dashboard for your blog.  (If using the new interface:  go to your dashboard, and click on the gear in the upper right hand corner.  In the drop down box, select “old blogger interface.”)

Click on settings on the old interface.

Select the “comments” tab.

Scroll down the page to “Show word verification for comments?”

Click, “No.”

Hit “Save Settings” at the bottom of the page!

Be happy, as you should be CAPTCHA free now!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and recipes.   She’s having an awesome giveaway now!