In my recent post about making homemade bacon, I mentioned that there are some things you can do with that left over chunk of bacon you couldn’t slice. Bacon Onion jam is a great way to use up your leftover bacon.

This recipe is something I’ve made quite often. I discovered it on the NYT cooking app. I’ve made a few modifications, including removing the mustard seed.

A lot of folks have asked me “How do you use bacon onion jam?” The answer is, on anything and everything! It’s yummy on toast, makes a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and is a good add-on to any sandwich. I’ve also used it on goat cheese pizza as a topping!.

This is one of those recipes that requires just a few simple ingredients and very little actual work. It will keep for about a week in the fridge…but I doubt it lasts that long!

Bacon Onion Jam

Adapted from NYT Cooking

• 3 Medium Onions
• 1/2 lbs Bacon
• 1/4 cup of Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 tbsp of Brown Sugar
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Dice the bacon and onions.
2. Heat a cast iron dutch oven over medium heat.
3. Add bacon to the pan and cook until most of the fat is rendered and the bits are brown and crunchy.
4. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the bacon grease (save the rest!). Add onions, vinegar, sugar, and a couple tbsp of water. Give it a good stir.
5. Lower the heat slightly, cover and let cook for about 20 minutes undisturbed.
6. After 20 minutes, give it a good stir. If it seems dry, add a little more water.
7. Partially cover and let cook for another 60 minutes, checking every 15 minutes or so.  If it gets too dried out, just add a little water, 1 tbsp at a time.
8. You want most of the liquid to cook out, creating a nice jammy texture.
9. Once it’s at the level of “jamminess” you want, let it cool then spoon it into a jar.
10. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Note: Save the bacon grease!  It’s yummy to use when cooking breakfast things like eggs and potatoes. You can also use it to make doggie treats. Let the grease cool, then strain it through a fine mesh into a glass jar. Store in fridge. You’ll probably end up with about 1/4 cup of grease.