🥓 Homemade Bacon Jam

There is something magical about receiving a homemade gift from someone's kitchen.

Homemade Bacon Jam is one of those unforgettable treats that turns an ordinary mason jar into a heartfelt gift filled with love, friendship, and incredible flavor. Made with crispy applewood smoked bacon, sweet caramelized onions, roasted garlic, rich maple syrup, and just a touch of apple cider vinegar, this sweet and smoky spread is the perfect balance of savory comfort and gourmet indulgence.

Inspired by more than twenty-five years of campfire gatherings, glamorous camping adventures, and unforgettable potluck feasts shared with barbecue pitmasters, French chefs, and passionate foodie friends, this recipe became one of the most treasured gifts from the original Bad Girl BBQ collection. Tucked into gift baskets, shared during the holidays, or presented as a hostess gift, each little jar delivers a taste of home, laughter, and the joy of gathering around a table with the people you love most.

Spread it on warm sourdough toast, gourmet burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, baked brie, breakfast sandwiches, crackers, or charcuterie boards for a delicious burst of sweet, smoky flavor. Whether you're making it for yourself or giving it as a gift, Bad Girl Bacon Jam is proof that the best presents don't come from a store—they come from the heart.

For more homemade gifts, gourmet recipes, and delicious Nomad Kitchen favorites, please visit www.tretaylor.com.

Sweet • Smoky • Slightly Dangerous

🎁 Nomad Kitchen Homemade Gifts Collection🎁

There are some recipes that become favorites, and then there are recipes that become legends.

For nearly eighteen years, I wrote a food blog called Bad Girl BBQ. Long before Nomad Kitchen was born, before beachside offices and van life adventures, there were campfires, barbecue pits, Dutch ovens, folding tables, and some of the most talented food lovers I have ever known.

For more than twenty-five years, I spent weekends glamorous camping with an amazing collection of barbecue pitmasters, French chefs, backyard grill masters, and scratch-made foodie artists. Every camping trip included a potluck feast where everyone brought their very best dish to share. It was part cooking competition, part family reunion, and part culinary magic show.

The food was extraordinary.

Smoked ribs, artisan breads, homemade desserts, cast-iron specialties, secret family recipes, and enough laughter to last a lifetime.

But every year I also liked to bring a little surprise.

Behind the scenes, tucked into coolers and picnic baskets, were homemade gifts for my foodie friends. Sometimes it was smoked hickory salt. Sometimes it was handcrafted spice blends. And one year, it was little jars of rich, sweet, smoky bacon jam.

That year may have been my most popular gift ever.

People spread it on burgers. People put it on toast. People served it with cheese boards. One friend confessed to eating it directly from the jar with a spoon.

No judgment here.

This delicious bacon jam is sweet from slowly caramelized onions, smoky from applewood bacon, and perfectly balanced with just a touch of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.

It's easy to make, beautiful to give as a gift, and absolutely unforgettable.

🥓 Homemade Bacon Jam🥓

Yield

🎁 Makes approximately 4 half-pint gift jars

Ingredients

🥓 2 pounds thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, diced

🧅 3 large sweet onions, finely diced

🧄 4 cloves roasted garlic, minced

🍁 ⅓ cup brown sugar

🍁 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

🍎 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

⚫ 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

🌶️ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

🔥 Step 1: Cook the Bacon

In a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until crisp and beautifully browned.

Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

Reserve approximately 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the pan.

🧅 Step 2: Caramelize the Onions

Add onions to the bacon drippings.

Cook slowly over medium-low heat for 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The onions should become deeply golden, soft, and sweet.

Add roasted garlic and cook for one additional minute.

🍁 Step 3: Build the Flavor

Add:

• Brown sugar

• Maple syrup

• Apple cider vinegar

• Black pepper

• Cayenne pepper (if using)

Return the cooked bacon to the pan.

Stir well.

✨ Step 4: Simmer

Reduce heat to low.

Cook for another 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The mixture should become thick, glossy, and wonderfully jam-like.

🥄 Step 5: Create the Perfect Texture

Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Transfer to a food processor.

Pulse several times until spreadable.

Do not puree completely.

The best bacon jam has little bites of bacon and onion throughout.

🎁 Step 6: Jar It Up

Spoon into cute, clean jars.

Allow to cool completely.

Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

🍔 Delicious Ways to Use Bacon Jam

Breakfast Favorites ☀️

🥓 Spread on toasted sourdough

🍳 Spoon over scrambled eggs

🥯 Add to breakfast sandwiches

🧀 Serve with omelets and cheese

Burgers & Sandwiches 🍔

🍔 Gourmet hamburgers

🥪 Grilled cheese sandwiches

🥩 Roast beef sandwiches

🦃 Turkey sandwiches

🥓 BLTs

Cheese Boards 🧀

🧀 Brie

🧀 Goat cheese

🧀 Camembert

🧀 Sharp cheddar

🧀 Gruyère

Appetizers 🍷

🥖 Crostini

🧀 Crackers and cream cheese

🥐 Puff pastry bites

🍄 Stuffed mushrooms

🎁 Homemade Gift Idea

Fill small mason jars with bacon jam and decorate with twine, raffia, or ribbon.

Attach a tag that reads:

Homemade Bacon Jam

Sweet • Smoky • Slightly Dangerous

"Made with love, bacon, and questionable levels of self-control."

🧊 Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

Freeze up to 3 months.

Bleep's Seal of Approval

Bleep the Tattoo has reviewed this recipe and proudly awards it:

⭐⭐⭐

Three Thumbs Up.

From the Nomad Kitchen

Some of the best recipes aren't created in fancy restaurants.

They're born around campfires, shared among friends, passed from picnic table to picnic table, and remembered long after the last ember fades.

This little jar of bacon jam is one of those recipes.

Tré Taylor & Bleep the tattoo • Nomad Kitchen
www.tretaylor.com