BACON JAM

Thistle Meats in Petaluma California has embraced the 'nose to hoof' locally sourced concept. If that is your calling this is the place. This is our second visit, returning to sample bacon which was not available our last trip. Our last visit had mixed results. The best pickles ever, decent hamburger and shoe leather tough marinated flank steak was our trophies. This Meat Adventure an old salt mine cohort, 'The Great White Hunter' drove and provided comic relief. I am not sure if parking karma would apply because The Great White Hunter was behind the wheel but we did park very close to our destination.

Bacon was available today. It looked decent enough. We had to cringe at the 16 dollars a pound price tag. I guess we were paying the hipster nose to tail locally sourced surcharge. This bacon was good but not worthy of singing praises of bacon hallelujah. That is because we found another bacon product at Thistle that was unique and very worthy of joyful celebration. Bacon Jam would save the day on this Meat Adventure. This jam was sold in small plastic tubs. I also bought some more of the best pickles ever.

We do not have a lot of information on the bacon jam.. It was a sweet/savory bacony treat. Of course finely chopped bacon was the main ingredient. We also tasted the most wonderful caramelized onions. These two ingredients melded together to form a thick paste that when warmed was a heavenly decadent treat. The bacon jam had more smoke flavor than the slab bacon that we had purchased. A healthy spoonful was placed on a cooking  burger to slightly warm The combination of sweet caramelized onions, spices and smoky bacon just worked to compliment and elevate our burger. This jam was not only decadent but rich with bacon love. (fat). If and when we ever return to Thistle Meats bacon jam and house made pickles will be in our shopping cart.

BACON JAM

A previous tasting of 'Skillets' Bacon Jam brought out some not so positive reviews from the Mad Meat Genius 'Bacon Revue' board. I just so happen to be surfing by the The Bacon Show , when lo and behold, a recipe for Bacon Jam jumped into the Que of things to do. All the ingredients were on hand in the pantry. Why not? Let's give it a shot. Bacon, maple syrup and onions are slowly cooked to form a sweet savory accompaniment. Below, the recipe reprinted from The Bacon Show.

Bacon Jam

1. 2 pounds bacon, preferably smoked and cured
2. 4 small to medium yellow onions, julienned
3. smoked paprika, or sweet Hungarian
4. freshly ground celery seed
5. freshly ground cumin
6. freshly ground black pepper
7. 1-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
8. 1/3 cup maple syrup

Cut bacon into quarter length strips. Place in dutch oven or heavy deep skillet, and render on the lowest heat possible until bacon is browned but not too crisp. Stir occasionally. About 1 hour.Remove bacon with slotted spoon, reserve in bowl.Place onions in bacon grease on lowest flame. Stirring every 15 minutes, keep going low and slow until onions are caramelized most of the way through and very sweet. About 3 to 5 hours.When you are getting close to removing the onions, add paprika, ground celery seed and ground cumin to pot, to taste. About a healthy pinch or three of each. Freshly crack some black pepper to taste, then remove onions with slotted spoon (taking some bacon grease with you), and place into a blender.Place reserved bacon into blender along with a tablespoon or three of apple cider vinegar, and about a 1/3 cup of real maple syrup. Blitz in blender until a rough puree forms. Keep it rustic unless you want a fine smooth texture.Taste, adjust syrup, salt, and other seasonings to taste.

The first taste was served on some hme made cheddar cheese crackers. Well they actually turned out to be a cross between a cracker and a biscuit. Never the less the crackers were rich and cheesy on their own. The bacon jam was sweet and savory with little bites of bacon. The maple syrup just took the caramelized onion and made them scream with sweet sugary delight. The texture was rustic. Little crunches of bacon were a treat that was neat. Lets try it on a hamburger. To be more precise a bacon/burger. This bacon/ burger will have a dollop of bacon jam, home grown tomato and lettuce served on a dutch crunch roll. This burger was so good, it should be illegal. Did I just say that? Making home made bacon jam is a time commitment. The ingredients are few, but melt together for a sweet, savory treat.