Throw out those other recipes, because there isn’t a Bacon Jam around that can compete with this deliciousness!
That’s right folk, you heard it from me first!
This really is the best damn bacon jam, I promise. No weird ingredients like coffee, or mustard, or whatever else people are using to make bacon jam.
Oh no, we aren’t doing that here. I took my ingredient cues from the original bacon jam, Skillet Bacon Jam.
If you’ve ever checked out the ingredients list on the label, you’ll see there are literally very few ingredients.
And for good reason, too. You just don’t need them. Seriously. Even though this recipe is all about the bacon, it is also all about the onions.
What do you mean, it’s all about the onions?
Onions are just…onions. What is so damn special about the onions?
Well, it’s because they are caramelized, of course! Perfectly caramelized onions are what makes this bacon jam so damn bacon jammy delicious.
Caramelized onions are a labor of love. But not so much labor, because they are really easy to make. It just takes time, and patience, which can be hard when they smell so so good.
In general, onions take about an hour to caramelize, and you check them maybe every ten minutes, to give them a good stir and scrape up the black bits that form on the bottom of the pan. That stuff is flavor gold, so you need it.
I used sweet yellow onions for this recipe, but you can opt for regular yellow onions if you please, they still caramelize great, but won’t be quite as sweet as the sweet yellows.
Look at them, turning all delicious. Even my onion poo-poo’ers love them. I will convert them, I will!
Once the onions are caramelized, you deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar, scraping up the rest of the black bits and anything else in the pan. Then I add some more balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and salt, and stir them up to make a thick, dense mixture.
This mixture will be blended with the bacon that’s just waiting to be made into bacon jam. Try not to eat all the bacon like I did. It is a sad day to be out of bacon whilst making bacon jam.
I put everything in a blender, but I have a feeling my food processor would have gotten the job done faster.
This will be a thick and goopy mixture, so it will take a little time to get blended down. You can stop at any point when you feel you’re satisfied with the texture.
Chunky, or smoother, either way is delish!
Use it in the same manner as regular jam, just with a savory taste instead. And absolutely, positively, promise me you will try it with some grilled cheese. Bacon Jam Grilled Cheese. It’s a life-changer, my friends.
The Best Damn Bacon Jam
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. bacon
- 2 sweet yellow onions sliced into thin ribbons
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay the bacon slices out in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, or until the bacon is nice and crispy. Lay out on paper towels to drain and set aside, reserving 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.
- Add the bacon grease to a large skillet and heat over medium, medium low heat, then add the onions and stir around to coat with the bacon grease. Allow to slowly cook for an hour, checking every ten minutes or so to stir and scrape up any black bits that form on the bottom of the pan.
- Once the onions are a dark golden brown color, deglaze the pan with the 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, scraping the pan as the vinegar dissolves. Add the remaining balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper and stir until a thick glaze forms, around 5 minutes.
- Add the onion mixture and bacon to a food processor and pulse until the desired consistency forms. Scoop the bacon jam into a jar and devour immediately, or refrigerate until future use. Use within one week.
Nutrition
Share your photo and tag @asimplepantry or #asimplepantry!
Originally Posted: August 16, 2015. Updated August 13, 2018.
Nadia Cunningham says
Super easy and delicious!
Donna Moss says
Tried, liked it, will do it often! How long can the jam stay good in refrigerator?
C Nelson says
I just made this. I only had a lb of bacon so I decided to improvise and added a package of real bacon piecess (real bacon but it comes in a bag in the condiment isle) near the end of cooking the bacon.
I used apple cider vinegar since I didn’t have basalmic and super thin sliced two onions, one sweet and one yellow. (Sometimes ya gotta use what you’ve got).
Dark brown sugar, Alpine Touch seasoning, (it’s a Montana thing) and a little Cuisinart Maple Bacon seasoning since I couldn’t find the pepper. Threw it all in my Ninja blender, and oh my oh my,
this turned out A-Freaking-Mazing! Can I just eat it out of the blender? Don’t judge 😊
Sharon Dana says
This is so delightful. I made it to use on Bacon Sourdough Muffins and it is the perfect accompaniment.
Cindy says
I made this for smashburgers this week. Ended up using some tonight on our grilled veggies. WOW.
Audrey williams says
Since this only lasts a week in frig, I’m wondering why it couldn’t be canned and using a bigger batch to get several jars worth. Don’t see how much this recipe makes but thought it would be under 1.5 cups?
Melissa Chwojdak says
You would need to use a pressure canner. there is a site that gives canning directions, alton it has not been determined to be safe. Freezing would be ok, don’t know if it would affect texture. Because to leave adequate head space
teresa mcinvaille says
I made this for a friend and her response was ” this is the best I’ve ever had. I would put it up against any other recipe”.
Patricia McDaniels says
This is the best recipe for bacon jam I have ever made. It is easy with simple ingredients. The instructions are minimal and the results are terrific. This is the third time I made this jam and I had about a tablespoon of real maple syrup in the fridge so I emptied the syrup into it and it was even better! Simply heavenly.
Patricia McDaniels says
This is the best recipe for bacon jam I have ever made. It is easy with simple ingredients. The instructions are minimal and the results are terrific. This is the third time I made this jam and I had about a tablespoon of real maple syrup in the fridge so I emptied the syrup into it and it was even better! My favorite way to use bacon jam is to add it to refried beans. Simply heavenly.
David Bender says
This recipe is outstanding it is not just the best damn BACON jam. It is the best damn jam I have ever had period!!!
.
Ray says
This is pretty close to my recipe, except I add some of those “weird” ingredients. Specifically Chili Powder, Paprika, Maple Syrup, and Bourbon.
Dave says
Just made a batch taste great very nice recipe very easy to make I’m using on a tomato & cheddar sandwich toasted or grilled Muti grain bread
Janet says
What size jelly jars 4 or 8oz!
Dotty says
I made this recipe again and shared it with two other people. They loved it. Try it on a grilled cheese. Delicious!
Ray says
Try it on a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich and you’ll see why Elvis got so fat.
Scott says
This tastes just like everyone else’s complaints about other recipes ! May as well have saved the time and made a batch of sloppy Joes …. What a waste of time and bacon blechhh
Josh says
I just made this, it was delicious until I added the bacon. I’m a bacon lover, but it over powered this sweet balsamic onion jam.
Danette Grant says
This has way too much balsamic vinegar. I had to add another half cup of brown sugar to make it edible. Sorry but I will be looking for another recipe. This was my first time ever making bacon jam. I made it exactly the way it’s written and added the brown sugar at the end when I thought it had too much balsamic vinegar.
Bacon Jam Lover says
You’re a loser
Cheryll says
Can this be frozen or canned?
Joe says
I just made this for Christmas 2021 to accompany a Sous Vide Beef Shank and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. I chose to use a large dice pepper bacon instead of putting in a food processor. It was excellent!
5 days later I reheated and served with a seared salmon, flavor was amazing and so smokey and rich. This is now my number one condiment which I am calling a Caramelized onion, Bacon slaw!
Dotty says
I have made this multiple times and shared it with my sister. My niece suggested to try it on a grilled cheese sandwich and it was delicious.
Lana says
I’m sorry, but this recipe isn’t for me. I just made it last night (Christmas Eve). Not only was it far too vinegary, it set up like concrete. I doubled the recipe with plans of canning and giving to family members for Christmas. This morning (Christmas Day) I decided to work with it and see if I can make it worth giving anyone. In order to get even close to the flavor & consistency I wanted, I had to add A LOT (6 cups) of packed brown sugar, 3 cups of water & 3 cups of maple syrup. All of that was just to balance out the extremely heavy vinegar flavor. Since I’m out of pectin, I added a bit of xanthan gum to thicken it back up some to more of a jam consistency rather than concrete.
Donna Irelan says
How much does this make?
Frieda Huntley says
WOW! I added to a turkey, provolone on ciabatta. The whole family loved it!