Bacon jam on a kamado
- Prep10 min
- Cook1 hr 50 min
- Serves15
- DifficultyEasy
- Temperature180°C (355°F) indirect, deflector in, lid down
I made this bacon jam in a cast iron pot on my Big Green Egg, set up indirect at about 180°C (355°F) with the lid down, so it’s basically like cooking it in the oven. There was still oak on the fire from the chuck I’d cooked earlier, and it came out smoky. It’s about half a kilo of thick smoked streaky, one onion and some of my confit garlic butter, cooked down for an hour and a half before the dark muscovado, black treacle, red wine vinegar and a good amount of black pepper go in for the last 20 minutes. I use less sugar than most American recipes, and I leave it chunky. It keeps a good couple of weeks in the fridge.
Ingredients
- About 500 g thick smoked streaky bacon. Mine was from HG Walter.
- 1 onion, chopped
- A couple of spoonfuls of confit garlic butter
- About 3 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
- Lyle's Black Treacle, to taste
- About 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, to taste
- Plenty of black pepper
- A little salt
- A couple of oak chunks
Equipment
- A barbecue that holds about 180°C indirect with the lid down. I use my Big Green Egg Large with the ConvEGGtor (ceramic deflector).
- A cast iron casserole. Mine's a Le Creuset.
- Kitchen scissors
- A jar or tub for the fridge
Method
- Set up the barbecue
- Butter and onion in
- Snip in the bacon
- Cook it down
- Season it
- Finish it
- Cool and keep
Key takeaways
- Go easy on the salt. Bacon is salty already, so I only added a little, and a lot of black pepper.
- How much vinegar you need depends on how salty your bacon is. Add some, taste it, add more.
- Keep the lid down. Mine was only up for the photos.
The cook, in full
This was 18 August. I’d cooked beef chuck burnt ends that afternoon and had a lot of smoked streaky from HG Walter, so I split it between this and some candied bacon while the fire was still going. There was still oak on it from the chuck.
The pot went on at 18:29 with the garlic butter, the onion and about half a kilo of bacon I’d snipped in with scissors. The Egg was set up indirect at about 180°C (355°F). The candied bacon was on the grate around the pot.
By 19:44 the fat was rendering out. At 19:58 I put in the dark muscovado, the treacle, the red wine vinegar, a load of black pepper and a little salt, and mixed it through. It came off at 20:19.
I left it chunky, straight out of the pot.
The garlic butter
The garlic butter is garlic I confit in foil on the barbecue, mixed with butter and herbs. I’d made it earlier on the same Egg. It’s the base of this jam.
What to serve it with
On the day it went on the table with the burnt ends, the candied bacon, a salad, baked potatoes and mayo. Since then I’ve had it on hot dogs and used it as part of the base for an over-the-top chilli. I think it would be brilliant on a pizza.
What I learned
The treacle doesn’t make it sweet. It’s more of a molasses flavour, so it still wasn’t sweet enough and I ended up with about three tablespoons of dark muscovado.
I’d definitely make it again.
Variations
You don’t need a kamado. Any barbecue that holds about 180°C indirect with the lid down will do this bacon jam recipe.
Related
- Candied bacon on a kamado — cooked on the grate around the same pot.
- Over-the-top chilli on a kamado — the chilli I used it in.
- The best UK online butcher for BBQ — where the bacon came from (HG Walter).
FAQ
How long does bacon jam take?
Just under two hours. About an hour and a half to cook it down, then about 20 minutes after the sugar and vinegar go in.
What bacon do you use for bacon jam?
Thick smoked streaky. Mine was from HG Walter.
Does bacon jam taste smoky if you make it on a barbecue?
Mine did. It was cooked with the lid down and oak on the fire.
How long does bacon jam keep?
Mine kept a good couple of weeks in the fridge.
What can you use bacon jam for?
I’ve had it on hot dogs and used it as the base for a chilli. I think it would be brilliant on a pizza.
Should bacon jam be smooth or chunky?
I leave mine chunky, straight out of the pot.
Disclosure and provenance
I cooked this on my own Big Green Egg Large. Smoke and Lump has no commercial relationship with Big Green Egg or HG Walter and earns nothing from this recipe.
Sourced from the 18 August 2026 cook log — beef chuck burnt ends, with bacon jam and candied bacon on the same fire.