This holiday season we will be attending a wine and cheese event given by Bill’s cousin. He is kind of a foodie so I decided to make a batch of Bacon Jam to bring along with a bottle of wine. I can’t imagine this not going well with cheese – or a cheeseburger or an english muffin or toast or your morning waffle or pancake. This stuff is gold.
It all begins with a trip to Pekarski Sausage in South Deerfield. They don’t have a website so I added a link to the reviews on Yelp. This is a wonderful family owned business that makes artisan smoked meats and sausages. We always have a stock in the freezer and somehow something makes it’s way into one of our meals on a weekly basis.
This is what I picked up – bacon, beautiful, lean bacon. One and a half pounds. I picked up a smoked Cornish Game Hen as well for dinner with sister Sue.
The bacon was cut into one inch pieces.
And cooked in a large skillet until the fat was rendered and it started to brown.
Meanwhile I diced two medium large yellow onions and smashed and peeled 4 cloves of garlic. The recipe called for three but they were small and who ever heard anyone say “Wow, too much garlic”. Never happens in this family.
When the bacon was done I took it out of the pan with a slotted spoon and let it drain on paper towels. Can you just smell this? Awesome, as bacon always is.
The fat was drained (to be used for other cooking) and the onions and garlic cooked in about a tablespoon of fat left in the pan. This smells pretty heavenly too.
The rest of the ingredients were assembled as the onions cooked to a translucent golden color. Maple syrup, brown sugar, cider vinegar and coffee all go into the mix.
The pan is deglazed with the liquids and once it comes to a boil the bacon is returned to the pan.
And then it simmers slowly.
And simmers.
And simmers, filling the air with the complexity of all these ingredients.
It simmered through dinner and 6 rounds of Yahtzee with my sister.
It cooked for almost two hours until the liquid was reduced to a thick syrup consistency.
It then cools until lukewarm and is put into a food processor until chopped very fine. All those ingredients melded together into a spread just waiting for your imagination.
This made a little less than three cups. I filled two canning jars and one will be staying in the refrigerator for our holiday enjoyment and the other will travel as a gift to the host. The recipe can be found at Leite’s Culinaria – my go to for great recipes of all kinds.
Now onto the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies – don’t turn up your nose, they are spectacular!
We are having a beautiful, light snowfall taking away the ugliness of mud that we had for Christmas eve and day. The trees are dusted and the air is still. The birds are taking advantage of the feeders today in large flocks. I watched them make their way to the ash tree that is next to the feeders 10 and 20 at a time then fight for position on the perches.
Amazing. I could do this all day. Sit by the fire, drink a nice hot beverage and watch the birds and the snow.
Fort Pelham Farm 