Just Putzing Around the Kitchen

Protein-Style Jalapeno Burger with Bacon Jam {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

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Bacon Jams 4 (1 of 1)

A few weeks ago, I was approached by a company called “The Bacon Jams” to see if I’d be interested in reviewing some of their bacon jam products. My immediate gut reaction was, of course, YUM BACON I LOVE BACON GIMME GIMME (yes, I am the dog from that bacon dog treat commercial). Then I slowed my roll and realized that I didn’t actually know what bacon jam was. The company’s email described their product as “a spreadable preserve made with real, quality bacon”, but I needed more info. Was it sweet? Was it salty? Was it actually jam-like in consistency? What’s in it? How do you eat it? There were a lot of unanswered questions. So, I Googled it. And learned that “bacon jamis a bacon-based relish, similar to the Austrian starter Verhackert. It is made through a process of slow cooking the bacon, along with onions, vinegar, brown sugar and spices, before mixing in a food processor.” Slow-cooked bacon? Onions? My favorite spices and flavor profiles? Sign me up!

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So far The Bacon Jams has launched three core flavors (red chile & garlic, all original, and black pepper), along with a few limited edition flavors (pineapple pepper, maple habanero, and chocolate cherry). All are 8oz and come in standard twist-sealed, capped jars. For my review, I was sent a three pack of of the core flavors. And y’all? They weren’t what I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting, to be honest. On an intellectual level, I knew that they would be jam-like in consistency and be both sweet and savory, but that didn’t at all prepare me for the flavor explosion of my first spoonful of bacon jam. I started with the all original flavor – it was thick, sweet, bacon-y (with faint hints of onion, possibly?), and frankly, awesome. You know how some people like to dip their bacon in maple syrup at breakfast? Well, imagine if you threw bacon into a blender with some syrup and pureed it into a thick paste – that’s what this tasted like. So basically…it’s delicious. And in case you’re wondering, the chili & garlic and black pepper flavors were equally tasty. The chili & garlic bacon jam (my favorite) had a little more heat to it, and a wonderful garlic tang – bacon and garlic were meant to be eaten together. The black pepper flavor tasted a lot like the original flavor, but with a huge black pepper kick in the finish (basically, the first mouthful tastes like regular bacon jam, but as soon as you swallow your mouth is smacked with the flavor of black pepper). Mmmm. Guys, if you love salty/sweet foods, you need to try this stuff.

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So I guess the next question is: how do you eat bacon jam? As far as I can tell from The Bacon Jams website and Google, you can eat it on/with anything. You can eat it out of the jar with a spoon, like peanut butter (Nutella, in my case). Or, put it crackers (maybe treat it like pepper jelly and serve it with crackers, melted over cream cheese). Or mix it into your favorite mac n’ cheese recipe. Or infuse it into hummus (drool). Or spoon it on top of your baked potato. Or, top your deviled eggs with it. Or, if you’re feeling extra wild, put it on your s’mores. As you can see, the possibilities are endless and delicious!

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I decided to eat mine on burgers. I whipped up a big batch of Dan’s favorite jalapeno burgers and served it to him protein-style (i.e., lettuce instead of a bread bun) with a big dollop of chili-garlic bacon jam on top, along with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. At first he was all “Wait, did you forget to put this on a bun? What is that brown stuff on top? Why is there no ketchup/mustard on this?” Then he took a bite and changed his tune completely. He loved the bacon jam (which is surprising, since he’s usually not a fan of the savory/sweet thing), and ended up inhaling two more burgers without complaint. I had a few of them myself – the sweet, garlicky bacon jam was the perfect complement to the savory turkey, salty Parmesan, and spicy pepper chunks. Delicious, and you can eat more than one without feeling guilty about your waistline. Sure, a regular bread bun and some melted American cheese would have been good with this too, but you won’t miss it, I promise!

** This is a sponsored post, and I was provided with free samples; however, all opinions are my own.

BACON JAMS GIVEAWAY!

The Bacon Jams company has generously offered to provide one lucky reader with a 3 pack sampler of their bacon jams, as well as a special promo code for a discount on his/her next purchase.

  • To enter the giveaway, leave me a comment telling me what you would eat your bacon jam on.
  • To earn up to EIGHT bonus entries, do one (or all!) of the following and then come back and leave me separate comments below telling me what you did:
    (1) Subscribe to my blog using the RSS feed icon in the sidebar (if you are already subscribed, leave a comment saying that!).
    (2) Like Just Putzing Around the Kitchen on Facebook.
    (3) Follow Just Putzing Around the Kitchen on Twitter.
    (4) Follow Just Putzing Around the Kitchen on Instagram.
    (5) Pin any image from this post onto Pinterest.
    (6) Follow The Bacon Jams on Facebook.
    (7) Follow The Bacon Jams on Twitter.
    (8) Tweet a shout out to this post, using the hashtag “#baconjam”.
  • Giveaway will end at noon next Sunday, August 31.
Print
Protein-Style Jalapeno Burger with Bacon Jam...and a GIVEAWAY
Author: 
Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped into little pieces
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ large red onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • Salt/pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Bibb lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
  • Grated Parmesan
  • Tomatoes, sliced
  • Chili & Garlic bacon jam
Directions
  1. In a pan over medium heat, saute diced onions in olive oil until soft and translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. In a large bowl, combine your ground beef, cooked onions, diced jalapeno, and minced garlic. Using your hands (or a large spoon), mix all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined/uniform.
  3. Salt and pepper the meat mixture to taste.
  4. Scoop out as much meat as you like per burger and shape it into a patty. (Mine were about ¼-1/3 inch thick and 4-5 inches in diameter)
  5. Heat your grill to medium-high heat.
  6. Place burger patties on the grill and cook for a few minutes on each side, until desired doneness is reached.
  7. Serve on a large lettuce leaf with a slice or two of tomato and a big spoonful of bacon jam. Sprinkle with grated Parmesann.
  8. Enjoy immediately!

*Congrats to the giveaway winner, Lynn!

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Comments

  3. I’m currently on a low carb diet, so anything with bacon is a must! I’m thinking this would mix well with chicken salad!

    Reply

  5. Found you off Kirbie’s blog! Anyway, I am totally digging the burgers with fruit jam (fig burger at Eureka is yum) so I’d be curious to try this on a burger too, since it goes together already!

    Reply

  11. I would use the bacon jam in chocolate maple bacon cupcakes. I would use it to fill the cupcakes before frosting. 🙂

    I also follow your blog using wordpress.

    Reply

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