Posted on 08/03/2011 5:07:41 PM PDT by Hotmetal
Bacon jam tastes like the love child of pulled pork and pate! said one friend. I am now officially in pig heaven, said another as I shared tastes from the jar of Skillets bacon jam that had just arrived in the mail.
Bacon jam? Yes, indeedit is good stuff. And so good, in fact, that I decided to figure out a way of making my own bacon jam at home so I wouldnt have to rely on someone else for this smoky, pork-rich treat.
Over the past few months, it seems that you cant escape the topic of bacon jam. Skillets rendition has certainly excited people, but at heart bacon jam is simply a potted meat, something that has been gracing battlefields, picnics, high teas and nursery suppers for hundreds of years. For most, the term potted meat conjures up images of mystery meat in a can, but traditionally potted meat was made at home from meat scraps, herbs, spices and maybe an acid or a spirit, such as vinegar or brandy. Making potted meat was a preservation method, meant to extend the meats life just a few more weeks. Nothing mysterious or scary about its contents at all! Matter of fact, when made from quality ingredients, potted meat is as satisfying as pate, though its far easier to make. And like pate, potted meat can be either elegant and smooth or rustic with chunks.
As for my homemade bacon jam, I knew that it should have the smoky fire that comes from chipotles, the warming depth that comes from chocolate and allspice, a hint of sweetness, but also the bitterness that comes from coffee and the tang that comes from apple-cider vinegar.
I chose to use thick slices of center-cut bacon because I wanted to cook my meat for a long time and didnt want it to completely disintegrate. And finally, I also added plenty of black pepper for heat and ancho chile powder both for its color and its fruity, nutty flavor.
Unfortunately, the first batch spent too much time in the food processor and ended up with a consistency that was a bit too creamy on the tongue; you definitely want some texture in your bacon jam to remind you of the spreads source. But subsequent batches were just the right balance between being smooth and rough, much like your favorite homemade fruit jams where chunks of fruit are nestled in a thick syrup suspension. Bacon jam is excellent on slices of tomatoes, plopped on a warm biscuit, stirred into a bowl of beans or spread on top of a cheeseburger. Or you can just grab a spoon and dig into your jar.
But best of all, its superb for sharing. Youll soon seenothing makes a friend's face light up more then when you pass them a jar and say, Here, have a taste. Its bacon jam!
Chipotle bacon jam 1 pound of bacon 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 sliver of onion 1-4 chipotles en adobo (depending on the level of heat you can tolerate) 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from the can) 2 teaspoons ancho chile powder 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground Mexican hot chocolate 1 cup of brewed coffee 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar Black pepper to taste
Method: Cook the bacon until fat is rendered, but not too crisp. Cut cooked bacon into two-inch sized pieces.
On medium heat, cook the onion and garlic in one tablespoon of rendered bacon fat in a medium-sized pot for two minutes. Add the cooked bacon, spices, apple-cider vinegar and coffee. Simmer on low for two hours, stirring occasionally. If jam starts to get dry, add water, 1/4 cup at a time.
After two hours, place bacon jam into a food processor, and puree for two or three seconds, tops. You just want to bring it together but still have some chunks.
*good
Waiting on it to cool so I can run it through the food processer.
I want bacon-scented bath soap.
I don’t care what the naysayer’s have to say!
Bring forth the porcine delight!
Everything Should Taste Like Bacon Company
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Buy bacon salt, bacon popcorn, Baconnaise, bacon lip balm, bacon ranch dressing.......
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BBQ Bacon Bomb most popular recipe on the web.
Contains 5,000 calories and a mind-boggling 500 grams of fat. Uses 2 pounds thick cut bacon, 2 pounds Italian sausage meat, jar of fave BBQ sauce, jar your fave BBQ rub/seasoning.
Construction begins with a "5x5 bacon weave" of interlocking rashers. After coating with a generous helping of barbeque seasoning, the next step is to layer two pounds sausage meat on top of the bacon to create a patty. Next, cover the raw sausage meat with fried bacon - soft or crispy, depending on personal preference - chopped or crumbled into small pieces.
Note - it's okay, and encouraged, to snack on these pieces while you're chopping/crumbling. But keep in mind that once those bacon morsels touch the raw sausage, you'll need to resist all temptations to nibble. This can and will be difficult, but hospital trips are no fun, so stay strong.
Drizzle barbeque sauce over the top of cooked bacon, sprinkle with more barbeque seasoning and the roll into a giant, sausage-shaped monster. One final dusting of seasoning, and the construction is ready to be smoked on the barbeque. Cooking time varies but should take around one hour for each inch of thickness. Once cooked, the Bacon Bomb is basted with more barbeque sauce (sweet sauces are loaded with sugars, so they'll give your fatty a nice glossy finish.) Slice into rounds, sandwich on bun to serve.
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Glazed donut bacon burger.
Your post is full of 19th century wive’s tales and is factually incorrect regarding pigs.
I will make that bacon bomb.
Bacon flavored lip gloss.
Mmmmmm, bacony kisses!
:)
Try popping popcorn with bacon grease. Outstanding!
Have at it.
~Sigh~ I haven’t had bacon in over 3 months.
Nuts, now I have to go out and get a pulled pork sandwich instead of the steak I had intended to have.
We’ve made a little progress in handling swine over the last couple thousand years.
PS, get a LIFE!
Rubbish. Pork is fine meat and as clean as any other unless you feed it garbage - even then the gut takes what it needs and sends pathogenic materials through. I’ve got a piggy coming soon and will finish him with windfall apples and when I butcher it’ll be sausage and applewood smoked bacon - yum-m-m-m! I suppose you observe all the other OT prohibitions on foods, too? No cheeseburgers? No lobster?
The clue is the overuse of the generic word “toxins” while not identifying what these “toxins” are. This is granola cruncher health nut crap.
The parasite information is reasonably correct, particularly trichinosis and temperature to kill any extant cysts. The rest is completely out of date.
I grew up in the Midwest on a farm that raised among other things ,,,,,,,, wait for it,,,,,,,wait,,,,,,,,hogs for pork! You are so full of it I can smell it from here. The fears of trichinosis from years ago have long since been eradicated. I have butchered our own hogs for years and just last year butchered 15 head for family members. Im 62 years old and grew up enjoying pork and still do. Your type of liberal city mentality is sick.
Yeah! Baconnaise Lite...Delicious. 1/2 the fat and 1/3 fewer calories than mayo and much tastier. Find it at Wal-Mart.
I just copied out the recipes for Bacon Jam and BBQ Bacon Bomb. I think we may be launching a whole new lifestyle. Inshallah.
Well, the bizarre claim about the channel down their legs exiting pus from their feet. I’ve 4 children that have raised 4-H market hogs for nearly 15 years now and that’s a bit of pig physiology that flat doesn’t exist.
Also pigs do have sweat glands and they do sweat, just not to the extent that humans do, we are quite a sweaty species.
The calorie/fat information on beef was untrue also, pork is generally lower fat per ounce because it’s denser and less marbled than beef, so that the fat can be easily trimmed off or rendered out during cooking.
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