Pop5 - The 5 Most Popular Recipes Right Now..
28 July 2011
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Before I get started on the post I'd just like to mention that this will be my last update for about 2 weeks, as I'm going on a bit of a holiday.
In the comments of my recent Bacon Bagel Burger post, one of my readers - Jacqueline, a fellow food fanatic who also has a tasty wee food blog - mentioned something that sounded simply too good to be true: Bacon Jam! While I have tonnes of other bacon ideas and recipes to try, and most of the time when I think or hear of something new I simply add it to the list, I couldn't stop myself making a batch of bacon jam straight away.
Unfortunately Jacqueline didn't have a recipe of her own to share, but a quick bit of googling brought back a fairly long list of contenders which I narrowed down to a handful, before finally choosing the one over at Not Quite Nigella. Why did I choose that particular recipe? Well, most of the recipes I found were quite similar, varying mainly in quantity (and even then only slightly) of the ingredients used, though quite a few of them also had a "quirk" of some form, which I did not want. Seeing as I've never tried, never mind made, bacon jam before, I wanted a nice basic recipe and the one at Not Quite Nigella ticked all my boxes.
The result, let me tell you, was absolutely, mouth-wateringly, delicious! I've only tried it on its own so far, but it would go amazingly well in a cheese sandwich, with pate, in a burger, with a dark, rich, chocolate cake.. The possibilities are endless! I will come back with an update once I've tried some of them. Oh, nearly forgot to mention that while it is called jam I do think it's more towards the chutney side of things.
Let's take a look at what you need - the ingredients over at Not Quite Nigella used (silly) American measurements, so I translated them to proper ones using the magic of Google:
Ingredients
- 500 grams of Smoked Bacon
- 4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 1 Medium Onion, chopped
- 3tbsp Brown Sugar (I used Molasses)
- 240ml Coffee
- 60ml Apple Cider Vinegar
- 60ml Maple Syrup
- Tabasco to taste (I used about 1-2tsp)
- Freshly cracked Black Pepper to taste (I used about 3tsp)
- 240ml of water
It's all pretty straight forward, to be honest with you, and here's how it's done:
1) Fry your bacon in a non-stick frying pan (no need for extra fat) - unless you have a massive pan, you'll want to do this in batches.
2) Once you're all done your pan should have a nice bit of bacon fat in it, chuck in your onion and garlic over a medium heat and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cut your bacon into 1-2cm wide strips.
3) Transfer your onion, garlic and bacon into a slow cooking pot like a Le Creuset, and add all of the remaining ingredients except for the water. Simmer for 2 hours, adding 60ml of water every 25-30 minutes (keep an eye on it, though, I had to add water after 20 minutes towards the end).
4) Set aside to cool for half an hour or so, before blitzing for a couple of seconds in the food processor - until it has the consistency you like.
Update: One day later, I've just had my very first bacon jam sandwich! I decided to keep it simple, so the sandwich consists of nothing but bacon jam and seriously strong cheddar, served on a pain rustica roll from Waitrose. While I really liked the taste of the jam just on its own, used in a cheese sandwich it caused an absolute mouthgasm. You really, really have to try it, trust me.
Comments
Looks absolutely fab!
Thanks for the mention and have a super holiday. Here's hoping you get more bacon inspired dishes
Yep! Couldn't have stopped myself if I wanted to, as soon as I read about it it simply had to be done.
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com
Quoting Janice:
I love bacon but do try to balance my diet so I don't eat it constantly, but this recipe just may ruin my resolve.
Quoting Charlie:
I'm afraid I couldn't tell you exactly - what I can tell you is that I made this about 3 weeks ago now and there is still (you'll be impressed by my self-control here) a little bit left in the jar, which looks, smells and tastes absolutely fine. Between the vinegar, sugar, and bacon itself I don't see any reason why it shouldn't keep for 4-5 weeks if kept refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar - but obviously I can't make any guarantees. Oh, and don't forget to sterilise your jar before using it! That's really important if you want the jam to keep fresh, just boil it for 10-20 minutes. :)
Hi: I love my cups and pints etc.
Never did twig to to grams thing when it came to small amounts
I got this totally cool scale from amazon that weighs things in both weights.
Best buy I ever made.
Awesome! Thanks for coming back to share your opinion as well, always appreciated. :) Really glad you liked it too! Your sandwich sounds delicious, though I'm surprised the tomato didn't go - with it it was like a BLT with added cheese, which is normally a winner, but then I don't blame you in the slightest for wanting to maximise the bacony goodess.;)
Quoting Michelle:
Will definitely make some more!
Awesome! Really glad you enjoyed it. :) I'm trying to think of fun ways of using it at the moment, and my favourite so far is as a pizza topping or inside a scotch egg. Would love to hear of any interesting uses you think of, too, should you care to share. :)
Good question! I'm sure there are plenty of other things that you could use instead. One that came immediately to mind is a rich, full flavoured stout. That should still provide that dark roasted flavour you'd get from coffee. Perhaps Sierra Nevada stout?
I'd steer clear of your run of the bill watery stouts (such as Guiness), though, as they generally don't have much flavour, so probably wouldn't add much. Other than that I don't think you'd have to worry too much about which one to get.
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