here you go. . . don't say i didn't warn ya!
Salty, Sweet, Chewey, Savoury, Smoky, bacony goodness.
bacon is crisped and made into the ultimate breakfast spread with maple syrup
onions, coffee, brown sugar and pepper.
ingredients
3 pounds bacon
4 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cp cider vinegar
1 cp packed brown sugar
1/2 cp pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cps very strong brewed black coffee
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 serrano chili chopped (for the really adventurous)
instructions
1. cut the bacon slices into 1" strips. add the bacon to a dutch oven over medium
high heat, stir frequently until the bacon is browned. use a slotted spoon to transfer
the bacon to a paper towel to drain.
2. pour off all but 2 to 3 tbsp of the bacon fat. pour the excess into a heat-
proof jar with a tight fitting lid.
3. save the bacon drippings in the refrigerator. that's too much flavor to trash!
4. place the dutch oven back over medium high heat and add the onions and garlic
stir well until coated with bacon fat. continue to cook for about 8 minutes, or
until the onions are mostly translucent. add the remaining ingredients, stir well
and allow to come to a boil.
5. boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring continually. after 2 minutes, stir the
bacon back in. then drop the heat, this time to low.
6. simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally to make sure things aren't sticking,
adding 1/4 cp of water at a time if things start drying out. When the onions are
meltingly soft and the liquid is thick and syrupy, remove the dutch oven from
the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes or so. (this can take a couple of hours)
7. next, blend the whole mixture. you can do this in a couple of ways. you can
transfer the contents to the work bowl of a food processor and give it a few
pulses. or you can use an immersion blender right in the dutch oven and give it
a few whizzes. either way, you don't want it too smooth. you want some of those
oowey, goowey bacon bits. and chunks of onion.
8. now comes the hardest part - waiting! as the jam cools it will thicken. this
is due to the pectin in the onions. if you can wait, then ladle it into small jars
and close the lids and put into the refrigerator.
this can be served cold, room temp or warmed up. one of my favorite ways of dealing
with this is to toast a piece of sourdough bread, spread a dollop of bacon jam
on the toast and top that with a fried sunny-side up egg. ooohhh, yeah!
you do NOT want to share this with the neighbors. . .they will never let
you forget it!
