Collectible Bacon

I know, how crazy is that, right?  I mean, who collects bacon?  (Besides crazy people, that is.)

A long, long time ago (a little over a year, actually) (which, come on, in internet time, is simply ages!) I opened my Google Reader to find the Homesick Texan’s recipe for Bacon Jam.

Okay, so here’s the thing.

At one point, I went a little nuts with the online recipe thing.

I mean, if you wait long enough (and subscribe to enough cooking blogs!), you’re going to end up with, essentially, recipes for anything you could possibly ever want.

And then some.

Add to that virtually unlimited printing and photocopying privileges at work.

And honestly?

Therein lies the problem.

I would see a recipe that looked Absolutely Fantastic! and I’d print it.

Another that looked interesting.  Printed.

It got to the point where we felt like we were living to cook New! and Exciting! things – because some stranger was a gifted photographer or a great descriptive writer.

There were not enough meals in the week.

So when I came home one day and started to tell Peeps that I’d found the Most Incredible-Sounding Recipe for. . .

He put the brakes on.

He suggested that I maybe I should just take a step back.

It was getting out of hand.  I was printing recipes that I knew he’d never enjoy, recipes that called for such obscure ingredients that I’d probably never find them, let alone try them.  Recipes that would require so much “tweaking” that it wasn’t worth the effort.

And he was right.

We both tend to collect things that interest us, and, unfortunately, food interests both of us, and we’ve both been collecting recipes for years.

YEARS and years.

And that was when I realized that, well, maybe I need to be a little more selective about what I collect.  I mean, sure, I’m sure that veal stock is divine with all the blanching and clarifying and using two stockpots.  But really?  Is it worth the effort?

So I came home that day with this Most Amazing recipe for bacon jam, and Peeps, well he didn’t want to hear about it (not that I blame him).

And I made it the next weekend while he was at work.

And let me tell you – it was Mighty Darned Good!

I followed the original recipe as written, and we were happy with it.

We enjoyed egg-and-bacon-jam sandwiches, and we enjoyed grilled cheese and bacon jam, and I’m going to admit this – I even enjoyed some PB & BJ – I do love me some peanut butter and bacon (jam).

And the great thing is that this jar of jam kept getting shoved to the back of the fridge, and even though we’d forget about it for weeks (months) at a time, whenever I’d dig it out, it would still be just as good as new.

The bacon, which, let’s face it, is chock full of nitrates and other preservatives, is cooked and stored under refrigeration with plenty of vinegar.  And it keeps very well – so much so that I decided to double the amount of bacon and try some of my own tweaks – a little more onion, some additional spices, just more stylistic changes than anything else.

And again, this bacon jam was a hit!  We enjoyed sneaking tastes of it while it was cooking (and cooling), and it made a fantastic breakfast the next day – spread on fresh, hot biscuits, both with a fried egg and without.  We’re looking forward to a dollop on a burger, and maybe a smear on grilled cheese.

And yes, I’ll eat it on a peanut butter sandwich – and so would you, if you gave it a chance.

Print it.