This bacon onion jam recipe is a happy accident. I found a recipe that I wanted to adapt for the sous vide and it called for caramelized onions. I hate caramelizing onions. It is time consuming and though absolutely delicious, I just never remember to do it before I need it. Surely there has to be a better way. And while caramelized onions are good… can I make them even better?
A long time ago I ate at at Tiburon Fine Dining and had their St Andre & Braised Jurobuta Pork. It consisted of a French triple crème Brie, 5 hour ‘Dry’ Braised Kurobuta pork belly & balsamic onion jam. To say it was good would be to undersell it. This appetizer has haunted my memory since. So, when I wanted something better than simple caramelized onions, I knew what I had to do. It was time to recreate the dish that haunted me.
Oh, Oh Sweet Onion of Mine
The first time I caramelized onions, my first thought was to use the sweet onion breed at my local megamart. Walla Walla Sweets, Vidalia, or the many other types are actually not the best onions to caramelize. A regular yellow onion has more natural sugars and will caramelize with better flavor. I don’t get it, you’d think the natural sweetness of a Walla Walla sweet would be better, I mean my stepmom used to eat them like apples growing up in Eastern Washington, but it just isn’t so.
Sous Vide Bacon Makes Everything Better
I am not a fan of pork belly anymore (too fatty) except when it is in the form of bacon. So rather than doing a long braise of pork belly, bacon was an easy replacement from the meal at Tiburon’s so long ago. ChefSteps.com has a brilliant article on making bacon with the sous vide. The low and slow process (I like to cook it for 24 hours at 147 °F / 64 °C) tenderizes the bacon making it melt in your mouth. This however is not how I want my bacon when I’m serving it as a side with whatever breakfast meal I’m making. It is perfect when using bacon as an ingredient in something like Copycat Starbucks Egg Cups or in a Caramelized Onion jam. And even better – the bacon fat that comes with it is a great replacement for butter. Smoky and sweet goes so well together.
Sweet Dreams are Made of This Bacon Onion Jam
I first developed this recipe just hours before I learned my brother had passed away. Life got crazy afterwards and I never got around to making the recipe that started this entire process. I will tomorrow and that recipe will be available soon after, but I already had the bacon onion jam and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
I took a little nibble of it right after it had finished reducing to the ooey-gooey goodness (those are the technical terms to describe it) and nearly dropped to the floor in ecstasy. That might be a bit of an overstatement, but it was unreal how good this recipe is. Since then, I’ve made sausage egg and onion jam sandwiches for my husband for breakfast, spruced up fast food burgers to make them more palatable, and I’ll admit snuck a spoonful or two just for the luxury of the flavor.
This will replace your favorite toppings for almost everything. Call me crazy, but I could see bacon onion jam on ice cream. No, maybe not… or can I?
05/06/17 – Updated water amount to 1/2 cup from 2 cups. This lowers the amount of reduction time at the end.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 3 tablespoons bacon fat (from sous vide bacon) can replace with equal amount butter.
- 2 tablespoon garlic confit oil
- 4 pounds yellow onions cut in half then sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 package sous vide cooked bacon not browned and cut into small strips
- 5 cloves Garlic Confit
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Ingredients
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- Press the saute button, then set temperature to "High" by pressing the adjust button.
- When the digital reading says "High", add butter and allow butter to melt.
- Add onions to the butter.
- Cook stirring until onions slightly soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add the rest of ingredients and seal pressure cooker.
- Press the Manual button, select High pressure by pressing the adjust button. Set timer for 20 minutes.
- When the timer beeps, release pressure by turning valve to vent.
- Remove the lid, and press the saute button.
- With the lid off, reduce liquid until onions are deep brown and sticky, about 5 minutes.
very good made this a few days ago
Thanks Dale! It is sooo yummy. I’m actually using this in a recipe that will be posted tomorrow, be sure to check back. 🙂
I made this before and did it again tonight the First time I did it I was thinking it took a long time to get it reduce and again tonight I am thinking the 2 cups of water is a bit much what you said should take 5 mins took me over a hour to do
i think I’m going to make this again tomorrow and reduce the water. I will report my results later. Thanks for commenting Dale – I can always count on you. 🙂
We love bacon anything. When we found this recipe – we had to try it. It’s delicious! Thanks.
I love using sous vide bacon in so many recipes! And the bacon fat is great too, and it is so much easier to get.
What if you don’t have a sous vide? I have an ultra instant pot and it’s suppose to have some sort of built in sous vide, but true sous viders said it’s not quite up to snuff. How would you suggest I cook the bacon prior to adding it to the remaining items in the instant pot?
Great question. Cook your bacon in the oven (my preferred method for bacon when I want it for BLTs).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lay the bacon on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is really crispy. Dry on paper towels and serve.
Perfect use for my leftover non seared bacon.
This jam is fabulous over brie on a cheese board.
I am a sous vide convert for about a year and half now. I am a man that has 6 different types of grills and smokers. I am a 3rd generation farmer rancher that loves to cook and share great food. We have raised our own natural beef and pork . I really love the sous vide method of cooking ! I just found your blog and am looking forward to reading it. Thanks
Welcome! As it gets warmer here in Utah, (I’m an Arizona-native and a wimp to the cold), I’ll be applying sous vide cooking to the grill and smoker. I love my smoker. One of my goals is to get a Big Green Egg soon. Do you have one?
This looks fantastic! I will be trying it without the bacon due to not tolerating it well, but dang sure wish I could include it! Just wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking the time to put all of these awesome recipes up- I use them frequently!
I’m glad you’ll adjust it without the bacon – the onions will be fantastic without the bacon. 🙂
I cannot wait to try this! It sounds amazing!
I added it to scrambled eggs and brown rice this morning. SO GOOD!
hI rACHEL,
i DON’T HAVE AN INSTANT POT, AND FRANKLY, DON’T WANT ONE. hOW WOULD i MODIFY THIS RECIPE TO COOK IT ON THE STOVE?
Sorry about the caps….I can’t seem to turn them off on your blog?
Hey Georgia!
To modify this you are going to want to brown your bacon after it cooks sous vide. You don’t want it crispy like breakfast, just browned.
Use a wide, thick-bottomed sauté pan for maximum pan contact with the onions. Coat the bottom of the pan with the fat from the bacon, add in the garlic confit oil. Heat the pan on medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the oil. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally.
After 10 minutes, sprinkle seasonings over the onions. Depending on your onions if they start drying out really bad – add a little of the water (you won’t need the amount in the recipe because you aren’t bringing them to pressure). Cook, stirring every few minutes: Let cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, stirring every few minutes. As soon as the onions start sticking to the pan, let them stick a little and brown, but then stir them before they burn.
You have to leave them alone. They have to sit still and not move so they will brown, but if watch them and stir them every so often so they don’t burn. After the first 20-30 minutes I will lower the heat a little to medium. Scrape up any little bits of brown on the bottom of your pan with a metal spatula. At the end, you’ll need to scrap the pan a lot more often.
Continue to cook and scrape, cook and scrape, until the onions are a rich, browned color.
You can also heat your oven to 400F. Place all the onion slices in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven with your fat. Coat the onions with the fat, add the bacon and the seasoning. Set your timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, open the oven, remove the lid, and the stir the onions well. Cover with lid and return to the oven. Repeat this 15 minutes process for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Watch the onions shrink and the color change to a reddish-brown. After you reach the 2-hour point, your onions will have almost no water left and will have darkened and taste sweet.
Thanks Rachel! I make large batches of caramelized onions in my slow cooker, so I’m guessing I could start with those, and caramelize them a bit more (I don’t usually let them get as dark as yours).