 | |
| Course | Condiment |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Bacon |
Bacon jam is a bacon-based relish made from cooked, drained chopped bacon, which is slow cooked with onions, vinegar, and brown sugar. Part of bacon mania, [1] it was invented as condiment for hamburgers in 2007, and is now served on many other foods, including as a spread for bread or toast.
Josh Henderson of Skillet Street Foods in Seattle created bacon jam for his food trucks [2] and has been selling it since at least 2007. [3] [4] [5] [6] His recipe was inspired by the garnish for the hamburgers at Sang Yoon's gastropub Father's Office, which includes caramelized onions and "bacon compote"; [7] Henderson says he spent four years refining his bacon jam recipe, emphasizing the pork flavors over the onion. He serves it as a "special sauce" on the hamburgers on his food trucks. [2] Henderson also sold bacon jam in jars, and in 2008, it was sold through Martha Stewart's and Real Simple's holiday gift guides. [6] Others have started producing it since. [8] [9]
Bacon jam is made by cooking chopped bacon, draining most of the grease, then slow cooking it with diced onions, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and black pepper. [6] Garlic, maple syrup, and other vinegars are also common ingredients. Less frequently used ingredients include bourbon whiskey, brewed coffee, thyme, and salt. [10] Despite the name, bacon jam is not jam-like, but has chunks of bacon and other ingredients in a sticky glaze; [11] some cooks make it smoother in a food processor. [12] Commercial bacon jam tends to be smoother than home-made.[ citation needed ]
The original Skillet Street version contains 36% protein and fat from bacon and 11% sugar. [13] Other commercially packaged products may contain trace-17% protein and fat from the bacon and 35-66% sugar. [14] Recipes on the web have 4–6 as much raw bacon by weight as sugar; [10] since cooked bacon is about 30% the weight of raw, bacon jam has about 1.2-1.8 times as much bacon as sugar. [15]
Unlike fruit jams, bacon jam cannot be stored at room temperature, or made shelf-stable by home canning, even if vinegar or sugar are added. It can be held in a refrigerator for 2-4 weeks, or frozen. [16] Foodborne illness from bacon jam has been traced to inadequate refrigeration. [17]
There are many spreadable pork products vaguely similar to bacon jam: Italian (Calabria) 'nduja, Austrian (Styria) verhackert, German mettwurst and teewurst. These are cured or raw products, not cooked like bacon jam. French (Touraine) rillettes are a shredded confit which can be made of pork and salt, but are not otherwise seasoned; Balzac once called them "brune confiture" 'brown jam'. [18] None of these products use crisped meat, none are sweetened, and none are used as condiments -- rather, they are eaten as charcuterie with bread.
