Bacon jam
Bacon-based relish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bacon jam is a bacon-based relish made from cooked, drained chopped bacon which is slow cooked with onions, vinegar, and brown sugar. Part of bacon mania,[1] it was invented as condiment for hamburgers in 2007, and is now served on many other foods, including as a spread for bread or toast.
Many spiced and flavored variations are now available.[2]
History
Josh Henderson of Skillet Street Foods in Seattle created bacon jam for his food trucks[3] and has been selling it since at least 2007.[4][5][6][7] His recipe was inspired by the garnish for the hamburgers at Sang Yoon's gastropub Father's Office, which includes caramelized onions and "bacon compote";[8] Henderson says he spent four years refining his bacon jam recipe, emphasizing the pork flavors over the onion. He serves it as a "special sauce" on the hamburgers on his food trucks.[3] Henderson also sold bacon jam in jars, and in 2008, it was sold through Martha Stewart's and Real Simple's holiday gift guides.[7] Others have started producing it since.[9][10]
In 2013, Bruce Kramer introduced the chef Michael Oraschewsky to bacon jam, and Oraschewsky started serving it at his restaurant.[11] They launched a campaign on Kickstarter to raise money for a business, The Bacon Jams, which produced and sold the product. In 2014, they were approached by QVC to sell it online. This required that they produce a shelf-stable version in quantity and have it approved by the USDA. They sold 60,000 jars of bacon jam in 6 minutes on QVC.[12] The company rebranded itself as TBJ Gourmet in 2016.[13] By 2017, their product was sold in 1500 retail locations and nearly 1000 restaurants,[14] and by 2022, it achieved mass distribution to the food industry through Sysco.[15] By 2026, it was also distributed by US Foods and KeHE.[16]
National restaurant chains started offering bacon jam in the 2020s, often as limited-time promotions: Sonic and Red Robin in 2021;[17][18] Denny's in 2023 and 2024;[19][20] Dairy Queen and Burger King in 2024;[21][22] Applebee's in 2025;[23] and Dunkin' Donuts in 2025.[24] By 2024, it was also sold in thousands of supermarkets.[25]
Besides TBJ, many other brands now offer bacon jam, including Stonewall Kitchen.[26]
Preparation
Bacon jam is made by cooking chopped bacon, draining most of the grease, then slow cooking it with diced onions, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and black pepper.[7] Garlic, maple syrup, and other vinegars are also common ingredients. Less frequently used ingredients include bourbon whiskey, brewed coffee, thyme, and salt.[27] Bacon jam is not a smooth jam, but has chunks of bacon and other ingredients in a sticky glaze;[28] some cooks make it smoother in a food processor.[29] Commercial bacon jam tends to be smoother than home-made.[citation needed]
The original Skillet Street version contains 36% protein and fat from bacon and 11% sugar.[30] Other commercially packaged products may contain trace-17% protein and fat from the bacon and 35–66% sugar.[31] Recipes on the web have 4–6 times as much raw bacon by weight as sugar;[27] since cooked bacon is about 30% the weight of raw, bacon jam has about 1.2–1.8 times as much bacon as sugar.[32]
Shelf life
Unlike fruit jams, the original bacon jam could not be stored at room temperature, or made shelf-stable by home canning, even if vinegar or sugar were added. It can be held in a refrigerator for 2–4 weeks, or frozen.[33] Foodborne illness from bacon jam has been traced to inadequate refrigeration.[34]
Commercial bacon jam is formulated and processed to be shelf-stable until it is opened.[35]
Similar products
There are many spreadable pork products vaguely similar to bacon jam: Italian (Calabria) 'nduja, Austrian (Styria) verhackert, German mettwurst and teewurst. These are cured or raw products, not cooked like bacon jam. French (Touraine) rillettes are a shredded confit which can be made of pork and salt, but are not otherwise seasoned; Balzac once called them "brune confiture" 'brown jam'.[36] None of these products use crisped meat, none are sweetened, and none are used as condiments – rather, they are eaten as charcuterie with bread.