Bacon Jam without Coffee

posted on: Wednesday, December 15, 2010


Martha Stewart in all her Martha glory came up with (Christian believes she actually doesn't come up with anything, what do you think?) a bacon jam recipe for the December issue of Everyday Food. Her version called for coffee but since drinking coffee would mean eternal damnation (kidding! Mormons don't really believe that we believe this) I decided to make my bacon jam with herbal tea, Sweet & Spicy from Good Earth, a local tea factory, to be exact.

One truth about Mormons is that we tend to have a lot of kids. Christian's mom had 6 and her mom had 10. It makes life so resourceful, let me tell you. Last week my issue of Everyday Food disappeared. I am blaming it on Baby Maria and her urge to stick things, like my debit card, in the heating vent slots. I am in no way attributing it to my poor organizational skills and the fact that it could very well be under the pile of clothes I have yet to put away. Does it matter? No because Christian has 578 people in his family and one of them is bound to come to my rescue.

As soon as I wrote a frantic facebook update...


Christian's cousin's wife typed up the entire recipe in the comments section. Christian's cousin's wife has 5 kids, and she goes to school, and her husband is a lawyer.  AND she still took the time to type up the entire bacon jam recipe for me even though most people would just make some cruel comment about how bacon jam is weird. If that's not family I don't know what is.
Thanks cous'!

For all you skeptics bacon jam is not weird, it's exquisitely full of flavor and crunch. It's delicious and  I served it on top of brie cheese for our recipe exchange party last Saturday and it was a hit. If you want Martha's recipe with coffee you can get the Everyday Food mag for this month or wait till next month when she posts the recipe on her site. If you want my variation made with herbal tea here it is.

Bacon Jam without Coffee
  • 1 lbs bacon, cut crosswise into 1" pieces 
  • 2 medium yellow onions, diced small  
  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar 
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 
  • 3/4 cup Sweet & Spicy tea from Good Earth
  1. Cook bacon over med-high heat until fat is rendered and slightly browned.
  2. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
  3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and add onions, cook until onions are translucent. Add vinegar, brown sugar, syrup, and tea and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet.
  4. Add bacon and stir to combine.
  5. Transfer mixture to 6qt slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered until liquid is syrupy--about 4 hours.
  6. Transfer to food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped.
  7. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers up to 4 weeks.
Just in case you want more extended family stories paired with bacon you can read my article that I wrote for the Santa Cruz Sentinel where I retold the story of Christian's oldest bro and his encounter with bacon for the first time. It's my favorite family story.

Speaking of family we're surrounded by family in Hawaii.
We arrived well.
We're jet laged.
Will post pics of the kids in paradise soon-ish
xoxo

ps. I also did read all the comments from yesterdays posts. I wish I could of packed you in my suitcase. You would of been worth the extra charge for checking in luggage. We were counting on not checking in anything and just doing carry ons. They made us check in two bags. Jerks.

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post-edit:

This post was entered in the Foodbuzz BACONALIA challenge and is an entry for a chance to win

27 comments:

  1. I cant wait to try this bacon jam...I so love this recipe:) Glad you arrived in Hawaii all well and that you are having a lovely time:) Hugs and kisses, sweetie

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  2. Bacon Jam!!!???? What in the world! Part of me says yumm and the other says... huh?
    You make me laugh with your comments. Love you!
    xx

    P.S. I agree with Christian, that's why I always say, look at what Martha's crew came up with... hehe

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  3. @Ana Degenaar something tells me you and Chris would get along super well

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  4. I bet this is to die for and this whole post cracked me up from beginning to end!

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  5. Every time you post something I am more and more convinced we should be friends!! I totally marked this in my Every day Food as a must make ASAP! I hope you have a Merry Christmas with your family!

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  6. I think this is innovative recipe. I'm sure I will try it.
    By the way, you post up everyday? How do you do it? I don't have a job or little children to attend yet still blogging is time consuming hard stuff.

    I will email you with my hot chocolate rcipe later.

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  7. Damaris, this is very creatuive. Bacon jam? Who would have thought?

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  8. It does sound a little weird but I'm a vegetarian so I won't be making it. There was a time when I ate bacon and remembering that, I think it would probably taste good.

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  9. wow this jam rocks and my daughter likes putting things in those slots too

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  10. Sounds interesting and no, I don not believe Martha comes up with all of this herself. Maybe the first 10 ideas were hers but after she "made it" she hired on some creative geniuses. I'm sure she has a good one of her own now and again but still.
    ~ingrid

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  11. Mmmm bacon jam sounds ammmazzing! I love that you took out the coffee and used tea instead, how creative. And I LOVE the first picture. Mmmmm

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  12. @Ingrid Not that I'm a creative genius but I want her to hire me.

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  13. Bacon. Jam. How could this ever be wrong?

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  14. Bacon jam - very different, but sounds intriguing and delicious. I must try out this recipe:)

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  15. looks fantastic! definitely on the list of things i must try!

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  16. Smile. Yes. Martha has quite a few people working in her army, I think. I would be so interested in trying this jam. What a unique twist on what I normally spread on my sandwiches...and I bet it does taste great on top of cheese! Thank you for sharing with me. I hope you have an afternoon of love and joy!

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  17. Do you have to use a 6qt crockpot, or would a 4qt suffice?

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  18. @Todd and Alan Honestly I don't think it matters at all. Just make sure you don't put the lid on.

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  19. I like to believe that Martha is every bit as crafty and clever as she leads us all to think. She had to start out from somewhere, right? I know she has a huge team of assistants now... but I believe in her!

    And how great that you've got a huge family to call upon when you need a recipe in a hurry!

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  20. I think this is the second time I haves seen someone blog about Martha's bacon jam and everyone is in agreement that it is delicious. I am going to need to give it a try myself sometime soon.

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  21. I would eat anything bacon flavored (except that mayo. Yuck.)I will have to bring this to my next holiday party because my love of bacon is well-known and it would be pretty funny. Bonus points that it actually sounds good!

    Jenn

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  22. I believe Kevin Gillespie made a bacon jam on Top Chef S6. Judges were swooning, as was I! I'll definitely try this, but with coffee. The perks of being an atheist. :)

    I don't know how much Martha develops anymore, but for all her ridiculousness, I think she's a legit cook.

    -Ben

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  23. I have never heard of this! It sounds amazing! Certainly worth a try, thanks!

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  24. Bacon jam sounds so decadent and good!

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