So this month marks the 1-year anniversary of http://foodgrogblog.com and what a year it’s been. I am truly grateful that people out there read this and I am humbled at the feedback I get and that people are enjoying the content. I am also humbled from the support I have received from everyone I come in contact with, whether that’s the bbq or beer community or venue owners. Originally I started this as a way of sharing recipes and a few adventures on the way. Having a look back it’s been a while since I’ve put up a recipe as the blog sort of organically turned into more about venues and beer. So I thought it was time for a recipe and what better to share than tequila bacon jam.

This is a nice simple recipe that will pimp that dirty snag in bread, give a burger that extra kick or add it to cheese and crackers to impress. Think of this more of an intense relish than a jam. Now you can swap out the tequila for any thing you want, bourbon and whisky work really well. You can pump up the alcohol too if you want a stronger flavour, it’s only there for flavour as the actual alcohol burns out during the cooking process.

Ingredients

750g bacon, cut into pieces

1 red onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp smoked paprika

¼ cup tequila

¼ cup molasses

¼ cup fresh coffee

½ apple cider vinegar

3 Tbs brown sugar

What to do

1. Heat a non-stick fry pan and cook bacon until done. You may need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your pan. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate with a paper towel.
2. Leave the bacon oil in the pan and add the onion and garlic, cook until soft and translucent.
3. Add chilli and paprika and stir through for 1 minute.
4. Add tequila or whichever alcohol you’re using and stir for 1 minute. Be careful that the alcohol doesn’t catch if your using a gas flame.
5. Add the remaining ingredients, except bacon, and stir to combine, bring to a simmer.
6. Add the bacon and continue to simmer until the liquid reduces to a jam consistency around 10 minutes.
7. Now you can either leave this to cool before storing or you can put it in the food processor and blitz it to make it smooth.

This will last for 4 weeks in the fridge. I find this is best served warm so I just take out as much as I need and give it 30 seconds in the microwave.

Thanks to everyone for the last year of foodgrogblog and here’s to many more.