The spread that disappears first from every board — smoky bacon and deeply caramelized onions cooked down slow with brown sugar, coffee, and cider vinegar until it turns dark, sticky, and jammy. A pinch of Smokehouse doubles down on the smoke.
Pair with Smokehouse · Makes ~2 cups · Prep 15 min · Cook 1 hr
Ingredients
- 1 lb thick-cut smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 large yellow onions, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup strong brewed coffee
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp Smokehouse blend
- ½ tsp black pepper
Directions
- 1
Render the bacon. Cook chopped bacon in a heavy pot over medium until crisp, 10–12 minutes. Lift out the bacon; pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat.
- 2
Caramelize the onions. Add onions to the bacon fat with a pinch of salt; cook low and slow 15–20 minutes until deeply golden. Add garlic and Smokehouse; cook 1 minute.
- 3
Build the jam. Pour in coffee and vinegar, scraping up the browned bits. Return the bacon; add brown sugar, maple syrup, and black pepper.
- 4
Simmer to jam. Lowest heat, uncovered, 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dark, thick, and sticky — it should mound on a spoon.
- 5
Pulse and jar. Cool slightly, pulse 3–4 times in a food processor — spreadable but still chunky. Jar and refrigerate.
Greer's Bar Notes
- Serve it just barely warm — ten seconds in the microwave loosens it to its glossy best.
- The coffee is the secret: it deepens the smoke and keeps the sweetness honest.
- On the board with whipped goat cheese, on a biscuit, on a burger — keeps 2–3 weeks in the fridge and never lasts that long.
Made with Smokehouse — the jar that empties first, every single time.