If they aren’t maple syrup, bacon, and bourbon I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait for another post. If for some odd reason that was your answer, you might be wondering how you can combine those three wonderful treats into one super food, and the answer is jam.
The entire process start to finish is extremely simple for anyone that has ever cooked bacon, and that’s where we’ll start, by roughly chopping and then cooking one full pound of bacon.
Use a large, heavy bottom pan, on medium heat, and give the bacon lots of time to melt. This is a labour of love and your patience will be rewarded. Keep a small cup of water on hand, and if you see the bacon start to crisp too soon just add a touch of water to bring the temperature down. We want to fully render out the fat before we let the bacon caramelize.
When it looks close to perfect remove it from the pan along with most of the fat, then add one large, diced onion.
Again, give this time to slowly melt and caramelize before adding chopped garlic, a pinch of chili flakes, some black pepper, a little cumin, and smoked paprika.
After the garlic has softened, but before it browns, add ¼ cup of brown sugar and ¼ cup of maple syrup. Turn up the heat and let the sugar bubble, stirring constantly. Next add the bourbon and reduce slightly before adding the cider vinegar.
Add the bacon back in along with 1 cup of water and simmer until the mixture thickens. You can leave it chunky like this, or wait for it to cool and pulse a few times in a food processor.
Besides eating this with a spoon there are two key applications of maple bacon bourbon jam: The first is on a really good burger, possibly with some crumbled blue cheese. The other is on a grilled cheese sandwich that uses thick cut sourdough and homemade melty cheese.
Transfer this beautiful concoction into clean jars and store in the fridge until you’re ready to devour it.
Maple Bacon Bourbon Jam:
- 1 pound bacon, cut into pieces
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup bourbon/whiskey/rye (or add more cider vinegar if you want to leave this out)
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 cup water
Cook bacon and onion until caramelized. Remove excess fat, then add seasoning and sugar. Bring to a boil then deglaze with bourbon and vinegar. Add water and reduce until thick. Puree until smooth. Put this on a grilled cheese sandwich.