Bacon jam
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, 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.
History
Josh Henderson of Skillet Street Foods in Seattle created bacon jam for his food trucks and has been selling it since at least 2007. 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"; 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. Henderson also sold bacon jam in jars, and in 2008, it was sold through Martha Stewart's and Real Simple's holiday gift guides. Others have started producing it since.Preparation
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. Garlic, maple syrup, and other vinegars are also common ingredients. Less frequently used ingredients include bourbon whiskey, brewed coffee, thyme, and salt. Despite the name, bacon jam is not jam-like, but has chunks of bacon and other ingredients in a sticky glaze; some cooks make it smoother in a food processor. Commercial bacon jam tends to be smoother than home-made.The original Skillet Street version contains 36% protein and fat from bacon and 11% sugar. Other commercially packaged products may contain trace-17% protein and fat from the bacon and 35-66% sugar. Recipes on the web have 4–6 times as much raw bacon by weight as sugar; since cooked bacon is about 30% the weight of raw, bacon jam has about 1.2-1.8 times as much bacon as sugar.