I came across Bayou Bakery located in Washington, DC while searching for new recipes and places I want to visit, and I think a stop here on my yearly drive to New York this summer is going to be a must!! Not only that, I think I need to own this cookbook DamGoodSweet – Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth New Orleans Style by chef and owner David Guas. I love the website for the bakery and especially this recipe for Bacon and Vidalia Onion Marmalade. Sounds amazing!! If anyone has been here- would love to hear your thoughts, and I can’t wait to go myself this summer!
Smoked Bacon & Vidalia Onion Marmalade
Yields: approximately 6 cups
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds – Vidalia onions, medium diced or pulsed in food processor (approximately 5 onions)
1/2 cup – Apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon – Mustard seed
1/2 cup – Light brown sugar
1/4 cup – Steen’s cane syrup
2 to 3 strips each – Bacon (preferably Allan Benton’s Bacon)
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay the strips of bacon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place inside the preheated oven. Cook the bacon for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, until each strip is evenly crispy. Remove the baking sheet with the bacon from the oven and drain off the rendered fat into a heat proof container (a coffee can works great for this). Chop the bacon into small pieces and reserve.
Toast the mustard seeds in a dry pot on medium heat just until the seeds begin to dance and get slightly browned. Add the vinegar and remaining ingredients into the pot with the seeds, including the chopped bacon. Cover the pot and raise the temperature to medium high. Allow the onions to sweat on the heat for approximately 20 minutes, stirring the pot a few times throughout. After 20 minutes, remove the cover and continue to cook the ingredients on medium heat until most of the liquid is reduced and the onions are dark in color—approximately 45 minutes to one hour.
Marmalade lasts for 2 weeks in the refrigerator and for 3 months in the freezer (air tight container).
