Bourbon Bacon Marmalade

We work really hard not to repeat recipes or do too much that is really similar to what we've done before but sometimes you have to break the rules. Earlier we did a whole meal using bacon in some form in each course. And some of the highlights may have got a bit lost in the overwhelmingly large bacon friendly meal, specifically the bourbon bacon marmalade. We had a whole bunch of this leftover and served it on burgers for Eric's birthday party the next day and you've never seen a pack of hungry wolves devour something so quickly. The whole bowl vanished in less than an hour, walking out on hot dogs, bread slices and BBQ bacon cheeseburgers because hey, what goes with bacon better than bacon? Anyway we decided that for Christmas we would recreate this marmalade and can it, making a fun gift to give out to all our friends and family, and what an adventure it was. Have you ever heard of a pressure canner? We hadn't until we had already made a whole batch and realized we needed one. Charisse was very excited with her new toy and started listing off all the things she could can, which is basically everything. Apparently Eric isn't the only one who likes new gadgets. The real treat though was seeing the virtual mountain of bacon we cooked up to produce enough marmalade for everyone, it was almost enough to build your own pig! One thing we were not sure of is what you can put this on. Eric seems to thing you can put this on just about everything but that might not work out the best if your having cherry ice cream. Some of the things we came up with are crackers and melted brie, burgers, hot dogs, most sandwiches, you could use it in an omelet or on sliced apples. And that train of thought got us thinking, who wants a jar of their own?

We're officially doing our first give-away! Whoever comes up with the best use for bacon marmalade as judged by Charisse and Eric wins one! Follow us, leave your suggestion in a comment and make sure it includes an email address or some other way to get a hold of you, and we'll announce the winner next week! Cut off time for entries is 5PM PST on Friday! 

Bourbon Bacon Marmalade
What You Will Need

2 lbs bacon
2 yellow onions (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup bourbon
6 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 cups freshly brewed coffee
pepper and tabasco to taste
pressure canner
mason jars with new lids

Working in batches, fry up the bacon until crispy. Let bacon drain on paper towel but make sure to reserve the rendered fat which you will add the onion and garlic to and cook until soft. Chop the bacon coarsely and add back into the pot. Mix in all of the ingredients except for the tabasco and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes until almost all of the liquid has reduced.  If it dries out too much add 1/2 cup of water. Remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes. Using an inversion blender, blend until desired consistency. Do not over blend or you will loose your texture. Serve warm  


To save some for later, try canning it! Simply fill your mason jars leaving between 3/4 -1 inch from the top. Using a pressure canner, keep it around 11 psi for 75 minutes (adjusting for altitude as your pressure cooker manual suggests). These should keep unopened for about 1 year.