In Toash Hash Roast Mash, bacon jam shares a page and title with runny eggs… suggesting that they both accompany some American pancakes. This is almost a disservice as bacon jam deserves to go with anything and everything. Treacly, spicy, sweet, spicy. salty.
Before we proceed, this isn’t a jelly-like jam, more of a sticky relish. The recipe also states that it makes 900g of bacon jam, from 500g of bacon and 2 onions. It does not. I wanted to manage expectations, as the first time I made the jam, I was very confused. In reality, the recipe filled a 460g jar (formerly Heinz mayo – for reference).
Considering the wonderful outcome, the bacon jam recipe is also remarkably simple and there are no difficult to source ingredients that any reasonably sized supermarket won’t stock. Chef Dan says to use streaky bacon but I tend to just use a pack of frugal cooking bacon, those ugly vacuum packed bags on the bottom shelf.
If I don’t have any chipotle paste in – which I often don’t – I just substitute it with tomato paste and double the smoked paprika and add a teaspoon of chilli flakes. You can add more chilli if you like, you know your own tastebuds better than I do.
It takes about 90 minutes of inactive sweating and simmering. For up to two weeks* of unbridled bacon joy (*willpower dependent). If you need any bacon-spiration, look no further!
Make a lovely sandwich, toasted or otherwise, with any combination of cheese.
Make a breakfast quesadilla with some scrambled eggs, some slivers of roasted red pepper and some bacon jam.
Dollop bacon jam on cream cheese smothered bagels – my preference is cinnamon and raisin.
Make a very puckeringly saline-sweet snack by popping a spoon of bacon jam on a slice of grilled halloumi.
Open the jar as part of a cheeseboard.
My personal fave: eat it by the spoon straight from the jar, like one might with Nutella.
If you too want to eat some bacon jam and don’t have Toast Hash Roast Mash, Sainsburys have kindly posted the bacon jam recipe (as a filling for a giant sharing potato rosti – I mean COME ON. OMFG). If you don’t have the book, it can be found fairly cheap on amazon marketplace at the mo.
