Ellington

It's no secret that I love bacon. Granted, I hardly ever eat or even buy pork bacon anymore. Instead, I stock the refrigerator with turkey bacon. I know it's not the same, and hardcore bacon lovers dole out the appropriate "tsk, tsk" when I profess my love for bacon impersonators. However, I have never denied bacon's deliciousness nor its endless uses. And nearly every "reformed" vegetarian has related the story of falling off the wagon. It always comes down to the delectably salty, smoky siren call of bacon.

As I've preached before from the pulpit of bacon, it is not just a side item for breakfast or merely a companion for your lettuce and tomato sandwiches. In April, I wrote about bacon chocolate bars from Vosges and how you can stretch them into cookies. Why should we stop there? Companies have been capitalizing on America's love for bacon by producing bacon-infused vodkas and even bacon-flavored ice cream.

Recently on Bravo's "Top Chef," Kevin Gillespie of Atlanta's Woodfire Grill alerted couch chefs to use bacon jam even though this condiment has existed for years. He paired it with escargot and won the challenge, beating the other chefs who didn't think to pair something so odd with snails.

The reality is that most of us aren't going to even begin thinking about cooking snails. However, the bacon jam Kevin made is easy to make at home.

Homemade jams and preserves used to scare the mess out of me. I couldn't get over all the steps to take just to have blueberry goodness in the winter, or make good use of the figs that squirrels and birds don't manage to steal or ruin. I finally bit the bullet and made apple butter while living in Oregon, where sweet apples of every variety were readily available.

After getting a tutorial from my Mamaw via a long-distance phone call, I plunged in, figuring out how to combine flavors and cook the ingredients down just enough to make a fine spread, but not so much that the flavors disappeared. At the end of the day, I had a dozen jars of apple butter ranging in flavors from cinnamon spiced apples to caramel apple. Since then I daydream about all the things I want to make into spreads. Bacon jam gives me a new challenge.

When you make this recipe, consider how you'll use it. Will you spread it on toast or a bagel for breakfast, use it for your beloved BLT or dollop the jam on your next cheeseburger? Think about what flavors you want to evoke and buy your bacon accordingly. There are a couple of places around Jackson to get fresh bacon, but if you want the best for this endeavor, make the drive to Crystal Springs and visit Wilson's Meathouse (23086 U.S. Highway 51, 601-892-2951) for a slab. Wilson's bacon carries a delicate balance of smoke and salt. The right onions are important, too. My advice is to go sweeter and get Vidalia. Also, do your taste buds a favor and use dark brown sugar for a heavier cast on the jam. Maybe after your first batch, you'll want to throw in some dark chocolate and a little fire of chipotle peppers or go in another direction with ancho-chile peppers for a completely different dance on your taste buds.

Stock up on small jars or save your old jam jars for small batches. I don't recommend trying to make bacon jam in large batches. Bacon jam is to be savored.

Chocolate Bourbon Bacon Jam

2 pounds smoked pork bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped Vidalia onions
1/2 cup red peppers, sliced
3 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup molasses
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sriracha
1/4 cup bourbon
2 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. While bacon is cooking, lightly oil peppers and roast in open foil pouch in oven for five minutes; remove from oven. Add bacon to Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot. After all bacon is cooked, cook onions and garlic in bacon fat. When onions have started to brown, add skillet contents to pot and break up bacon. Add syrup, molasses, roasted peppers, salt, heavy pepper, nutmeg, sriracha, chocolate and bourbon to pot; stir and cover. Place in oven for 10 minutes and then uncover and stir, making sure mixture does not burn on the bottom. Repeat three more times until the mixture takes on a dark brown-red color for a total cook time of 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from pot and place into blender or food processor. Puree and pour into bowl or jar to reserve.