2018 weekly - Week 31

29/07/2018

Made Bacon Jam today. More like a chutney for me (use of vinegar) but hey pretty tasty nonetheless.

I adapted a recipe from Nadiya Hussain. Being a scientific geek I am, I also compared several recipes in a spreadsheet to see the differences. Two things stood out after the comparison. First is the amount of onions. Some uses 3 onions for 1 pound of bacon, while Nadiya uses just one onion per pound of bacon. I decided to use onions as a "bulking" agent, an ingredient to give the body of the final product. Onions do cook down quite a bit so you decide what you prefer. Second thing is the amount of sweetness. Some uses 1/2 cup of sugar/maple syrup for a pound of bacon and others use 1/4 cup. I think this is where personal preference rules again. Start with 1/4 cup and taste half way through of the cooking. If you are happy, then stop. Or, you can always add more.

Bacon Jam

- 180 g smoked pancetta (Sainsbury's Taste the Difference is great)
- 2 small onions, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 60 ml black coffee
- 45 ml maple syrup
- 30 ml vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce (or 1/2 tsp of chili flakes)
- black and white pepper to taste

Mix coffee, maple syrup and vinegar in a jug. Set aside.

Chop the pancetta/bacon into 1-cm strips. Fry the bacon strips on medium heat in a skillet until all fat has rendered and the surface is covered in "bacon foam". Scoop out the bacon strips on to paper towels.

Pour all the fat out except 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Cook the onions until golden brown. Add in minced garlic cloves and cook for a minute. Pour in coffee, maple syrup and vinegar. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits and let the mixture simmer gently until reduced by half.

Stir in Thai sweet chili sauce and drained bacon bits. Stir to combine and cook the mixture on low heat until a jammy consistency is reached. Bottle the mixture in a sterilized jar.