From Juke Fried Chicken chef and co-owner Bryan Satterford comes this sweet and salty recipe for a versatile bacon jam that promises to brighten your holiday side dishes and bring a little cheer year round.
“We use this on our Brussels sprouts as part of Holiday Turducken Feast, but it can also spice up any root vegetable dish, or throw it on a burger or grilled cheese to make it extra messy and delicious,” says Satterford, who experimented with different versions of the jam for years before landing on this recipe that’s now become a staple at Juke.
Asked for tips on how best to prepare it at home, he offers: “Make sure to go low and slow with the heat—don’t try to rush by turning up the heat. You want the bacon crispy and the onions caramelized but not burnt.”
Juke’s Holiday Bacon Jam
Yields 2 cups
Ingredients
1 pound of bacon, sliced into ¼-inch lardons
2 large onions, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 sprigs of thyme (thyme picked from each sprig, stems discarded)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 pinch chili flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup maple syrup
Juke Fried Chicken’s turducken dinner, with bacon jam Brussel sprouts.
Method
Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and add the bacon lardons.
Slowly render the bacon until it is almost crispy and bacon fat begins to foam.
Strain the bacon and reserve the fat. Return half of the fat back into the pan and add the onions, garlic, and thyme.
Again, over medium heat, slowly sweat the onions until they become a deep golden colour. This will take a good 20–30 minutes.
Once the onions are caramelized, add the bacon back in with the tomato paste, spices, and sugar. Cook until the sugar is bubbling and tomato paste is fully incorporated.
Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and maple syrup, and reduce the whole mixture to a syrupy consistency. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.
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