The Best Damn Bacon Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long will homemade bacon jam keep? ›

Bacon jam can be safely refrigerated for two to four weeks. Any amount that you keep in the fridge will need to be used within that length of time. You can store bacon jam in any refrigerator-safe container. Many bacon jam enthusiasts choose to use mason jars for aesthetic reasons.

To achieve a thick texture, all of the liquids need time to reduce. Make sure you're cooking your bacon jam without a lid over your Dutch oven, so your bacon jam can evaporate. If it's still not thick enough, it just needs more time.

They cook it the best way possible, on a sheet pan in the oven. The bonus is while it takes longer to make this way, you can make more at once, the pieces are more or less flat and they come out crispy. Or they throw it in the deep fryer once it's done.

Bake the bacon in a 400°F oven until well-browned and crisp, this should take between 15 and 18 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. To follow Martha's method to a T, you'll need to rotate the sheet pan halfway through.

For safety, we strongly recommend that bacon jam be refrigerated for times suggested by the recipe (2-4 weeks) or that it be frozen for longer storage.

Our list of things we want to use this jam in is ever-growing. Here are just a few to get you started: warm potato salad, grilled asparagus, fresh tomatoes, panzanella, grilled cheese, crackers and goat cheese, spinach salad, a spoon, fresh garden peas, scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese...

Shelf Life of Homemade Jam

Typically, homemade jam will last around 6 to 12 months when unopened and stored properly. Once opened, it should be consumed within 1 to 3 months to ensure the best taste and quality.

With a simple lemon juice trick, your homemade jam will achieve your desired thick texture. Preparing jam is about capturing the sweet essence of the fruit while simultaneously cooking it down to the perfect syrupy consistency.

What can I use instead of pectin? ›

Cornstarch - Another plant-based thickening agent, cornstarch is a great substitute for pectin. Gelatin - For non-vegan menu items, you can substitute gelatin for pectin, but it will yield a different consistency.

Use fresh, dry, slightly under-ripe fruit. Strawberries and raspberries are best layered with the sugar and left for a couple of hours before cooking. Plums, currants, gooseberries, cherries etc need to be lightly poached before sugar is added. Pectin, naturally found in fruit is vital to make your jam set.

Add the sugar and stand back as it starts to foam up the sides of the pan. A sentimentality-inducing childhood smell of sweet fruit fills the air. Allow the sugar to dissolve over a low heat then bring rapidly to the boil. Avoid stirring at this point as you may break up the fruit or cause crystallisation.

Affect on Gel Formation: Both lemon juice and vinegar can help with the gel formation in strawberry jam. The acidity in these ingredients helps activate pectin, a natural thickening agent present in strawberries, leading to the desired texture and consistency in the jam.

Bacon jam is a spreadable condiment made from bacon, onions, brown sugar, vinegar, and maple syrup. The bacon is fried until crispy then mixed with the other ingredients and cooked down until the mixture becomes thick and spreadable.

I preheat my oven to 400 degrees. Lay a cooling rack (or any wire rack) over the top of a sheet pan, and lay the bacon across the wire rack (this allows the fat/grease to drain off as it cooks). I bake it for anywhere from 15 or 20 min-ish, depending on how crispy and well done I want it.

Don't bother with racks, crimped foil, or stacked baking sheets; just lay out your bacon strips on a rimmed baking sheet and bake them in a 425°F (220°C) oven until they're as crisp as you like (about 20 minutes was right for me). Drain on paper towels, and you've got a big pile of perfectly cooked bacon on your hands.