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Bacon & Caramelized Onion Jam

Prep Time:  25 minutes

     Cook Time:  45-50 minutes

What’s a tailgate without bacon in some form? This sweet-savory jam is excellent on crackers or veggies. Heck, you could even put it on brats.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. thick-sliced bacon
  • 2 heaping cups thinly sliced onions
  • 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme
  • 2 Tbsp. brown mustard
  • 1/2 cup bourbon
  • 3 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the bacon strips close together on 1 or 2 baking sheets. Roast until brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Drain strips on paper towels; press excess fat from the surface with additional paper towels. Reserve 4 tablespoons of bacon fat (save the rest for another use or discard it). When bacon is cool, crumble it into small pieces.
  2. Heat reserved bacon fat in a skillet over medium flame. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onions are very limp, golden brown, and much reduced in volume, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in thyme and mustard, then bourbon, maple syrup, vinegar and bacon bits. Raise heat, bring to strong simmer and cook, stirring often, until liquid reduces to a glaze, about 10 minutes. Adjust the flavor as it simmers, adding more sweetness (maple syrup) or tartness (vinegar) to suit you.
  3. Scrape mixture into a food processor and pulse until it has a jam-like consistency. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. Bring jam to room temperature or warm it up a bit before serving.

Notes

Suggestions Spread this on crackers or pair it with fall-focused crudités like slightly cooked carrots, broccoli florets and halved Brussels sprouts. Slather it on toasted English muffins or use it to accent fried green tomatoes. It also makes a fine dressing for potato salad or green beans. Heck, you could even put it on brats.