This bacon jam recipe is in partnership with Rhodes Bread, a childhood favorite of mine, and all content and opinions is mine. See our full disclosure policy HERE.
An easy and delicious bacon recipe, homemade bacon jam makes a delicious appetizer. Great on burgers!
If you have never heard of bacon jam you are in for the treat of all treats today! Bacon jam is little bits of bacon and onion simmered up with brown sugar, sherry wine, and fresh thyme.
It might be better than chocolate.
And that’s saying something.
First, let’s talk about one of my favorite company’s to work with…Rhodes Bread. I have good memories of childhood that involve their frozen bread, butter, and honey.
I still love baking up a loaf of Rhodes Bread for my family. There isn’t anything better then warm bread, in my opinion. When my family sees a loaf of their frozen bread dough thawing they get mighty excited!
Nothing better than warm bread…except warm bread with bacon jam on it–of course!
But wait! Rhodes Bread went and did a thing. A modern thing. An easy thing. A…you want delicious bread without making it yourself thing.
They added Warm & Serve™ rolls to their products. And let me tell you, they are delicious! Just take them out of your freezer and put them in the oven to warm. No thawing (don’t worry, fam…I’ll still make the traditional Thaw, Rise, & Bake version!)
And then, of course, put some bacon jam on them.
If you are new to bacon jam you might be surprised at how easy it is to make. It is really simple and doesn’t require any crazy canning or pectin. Just good ol’ simmering.
Bacon jam is all about the bacon, obviously. Be careful not to choose bacon that is overly salty or. your jam will be hard to eat. IF you do find that it is far too salty add an extra onion and bit of vinegar to the recipe to help cut that salt.
Recently I did a FB live walking through how to make this recipe. So many viewers hadn’t heard of bacon jam (what!?) and wondered what to use it for.
The question should be what you CAN’T use it on. Nothing. Bacon jam can be used on anything. Even chocolate.
Imagine…chocolate cake topped with bacon jam. Nothing wrong with that scenario, at all.
Using coffee for the liquid in this recipe helps deepen the flavor of the jam. Try it!
Ways to use bacon jam:
- BLT Sandwiches
- Grilled Cheese
- Toast
- Pancakes
- Burgers
- Crackers and cheese
- Stuffed tomatoes
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Stuffed anything
- over a wheel of brie (instead of cranberries)
The very BEST Bacon Jam
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bacon
- 3 large yellow onions
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sherry wine
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup coffee
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or a handful of thyme stalks (optional. I love it but not everyone likes thyme)
- 1 teaspoon salt check the saltiness of the bacon before adding salt
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a heavy, large pot (like a dutch oven) over medium-high heat. You want the heat high enough that the bacon is frying and not just boiling. But watch that it doesn't burn or smoke.
- Meanwhile, finely dice your onions and set aside.
- When the bacon is crisp and the fat is foaming, turn off the heat and drain the fat from the bacon. I use a colander with a cheesecloth inside of it (check my FB live to see that). You could strain the bacon and then just skim the top with a spoon, as well.
- Cool the bacon and then chop the bacon into pieces smaller than 1/2 inch. You want your bacon pieces to be similar in size to your onion pieces.
- Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat back into the dutch oven and return it to medium heat.
- As the oil heats, scrape the sides of the pan. When the oil is fairly hot add the onions.
- Continue stirring and scraping the sides of the pan while cooking the onions.
- When the onions are translucent add the sherry wine, brown sugar, pepper, red pepper, full thyme stalks, and bacon.
- Stir the coffee into the bacon mixture and simmer until the mixture is "jammy" in texture and a nice deep color. Usually about 8-10 minutes.
- Take it off the heat and remove the thyme stems. Add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt (if needed), and a bit more fresh thyme.
- Stir and add to jars. Cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Save this recipe to your Pinterest board for later…
Because I know there are others out there that love Rhodes bread as much as I do, here are some of our favorite recipes we partnered with them on…
3 Ingredient Quick Cinnamon Rolls
Baked Brie and Cranberries (in bread bowls)
Easy Hawaiian Cinnamon Rolls with Pineapple Icing
I wanted to let you know that when I gift this I use 2 recipes and get about 3 of the small Ball jars (4oz). If that helps.
This makes about 1.5 cups. Because this is meat I would only pressure can it and not use a hot bath method. I haven’t personally done it so I can’t give you specific tips. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
How many pints does this make? Would this recipe can well?
So good. Easy to make and delicious on everything.