Bacon Jam

Ingredients
1kg bacon (I prefer half smoked, half unsmoked), sliced into very small pieces
1 bulb garlic / 10 cloves, finely chopped
2 medium/large brown onions
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
500ml strong brewed coffee
150ml apple cider vinegar
150ml maple syrup
black pepper
extra water
Tabasco or Sriracha sauce, to taste

Method

1. Fry the bacon in four batches until lightly browned and beginning to crisp. Take the rendered bacon fat and keep to one side after each batch.
2. Put all the bacon fat back in the pan and fry the onion and garlic gently until translucent.
3. Transfer bacon, onion and garlic to a heavy based pan and add everything else except the water. I tend to add the Tabasco and Sriracha towards the last half hour of cooking
4. Simmer for 2 hours adding 50ml of water every 20 minutes and keep stirring from time to time.
5. Using a hand-held blender, pulse the mixture for a few seconds at a time until you reach a nice texture (personal preference is to eliminate bacon lumps and then stop).
6. Keeps for weeks and weeks in the fridge in air-tight jars.