Bacon Jam

Bacon Jam

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Recipe Type: Condiment, Breakfast

Author: Rebecca Lindamood

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 60 mins

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 32

Salty, meaty, chewy, sweet, 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 with the flat side of a knife or a pan and peeled
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups very strong brewed black coffee
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Cut the bacon slices into one inch strips. Add the bacon to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until the bacon is browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings into a heat-proof jar with a tight-fitting lid.*
2. *Save the bacon drippings in the refrigerator. That’s too much flavor to trash!
3. Place the Dutch oven back over the medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic. Stir well and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook for about 8 minutes, or until the onions are mostly translucent. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and drop heat again, this time to low.
4. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and boil hard for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, stir the browned bacon into the onions and liquid.
5. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally to make sure things aren’t sticking, adding 1/4 cup of water if it seems to be drying out. When the onions are meltingly soft and the liquid is thick and syrupy, remove the dutch oven from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
6. Transfer the contents of the Dutch oven to the work bowl of a food processor that has been fitted with a blade. Fit the lid in place and pulse several times or until the Bacon Jam is a spreadable consistency. Scrape into a jar (or jars) or a container with a tight fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month.
7. Can be served cold, room temperature or warmed.

Notes

The bacon jam could take up to 3 hours to reduce to a syrupy consistency. Just stick with it!

Tartine Bakery's Savory Bread Pudding

Tartine Bakery's savory bread pudding is much like a soufflé, but it's nearly impossible to mess up. You can assemble the dish up to a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator, letting it come to room temperature before baking. Bake the pudding an hour before you want to serve it. For the mushrooms, pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt and her husband, baker Chad Robertson, use a mixture of chanterelles and porcini.

Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 leeks, white parts only, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

Olive oil

2 pounds assorted mushrooms, stems trimmed and caps halved

1 head Treviso or other radicchio, leaves separated

5 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup grated Gruyère or cheddar cheese

3 ounces smoked ham, chopped

2 slices day-old Basic Country Bread, torn into large chunks

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of wine evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is smoking, arrange the mushrooms cut-side down in the pan and cook without stirring until seared and caramelized, about 1 minute more. Stir the mushrooms, add the radicchio, and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4. To make the custard, in a bowl, whisk the eggs and salt until well-blended. Add the cream, milk, pepper, nutmeg, thyme, 2/3 cup cheese, and ham and whisk to combine.

5. Place the bread chunks in an 8-inch soufflé dish and add the leeks, mushrooms, and radicchio. Pour in the custard so that it comes all the way to the rim. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Let stand for 8 to 10 minutes until the custard saturates the bread.

6. Bake until the custard is no longer runny in the center, about 50 minutes. Let the pudding rest for 15 minutes before serving.