The Savory Jam Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Deserves

If you're an expert peanut butter and jelly sandwich eater, then chances are, you've probably experimented with dozens of different types of jellies and jams over the years in search of that perfect PB&J. Jalapeño, triple ginger nectarine, and strawberry red wine — unusual jelly and jam flavors all, but they can't hold a candle to the savory jam that will probably become your favorite jam for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches: bacon jam. Seriously. People, even famous ones like Elvis Presley, have eaten peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. The average bacon jam recipe merely makes the protein spreadable and adds a few seasonings, spices, and aromatics to take the flavor to the next level. 

Bacon jam recipes start with bacon that has been cooked crispy and crumbled up into bits. Most of the fat from the cooked bacon goes into your bacon grease jar — all but one or two tablespoons. This keeps the jam flavorful and spreadable. An assortment of ingredients like maple syrup or brown sugar, chopped onions, flakes of red pepper, and even coffee are pulsed in a food processor with bacon to turn the mix into a thick, porky paste. This is your jam, and while it won't last indefinitely on the shelf like other kinds of preserves, it'll last in the fridge for three to four weeks — long enough to allow you to eat it up. And we're betting it won't take you the whole four weeks to go through it all.

On the most basic level, this savory jam spreads on your bread just like a normal, albeit thick, jam would. What you add to this mix, however, makes an already-interesting sandwich all the more interesting. Choosing the right bread is a good place to start. The classic PB&J sammies of our youth often called for a white bread, like Wonder. If you're feeling nostalgic, that's the way to go. If you'd like to shake it up a bit, swap out that bread for cinnamon raisin bread or bagels. The sweetness of the bread and raisins contrasts with the savoriness of the bacon jam in a way that peanut butter alone doesn't. Multi-grain breads introduce textures and flavors that the sandwich lacks. If your taste buds get bored with plain bread, this is the way to go.

Next, you should consider the other two elements, the bacon and the peanut butter. If you make the jam yourself, try experimenting with different kinds of bacon: applewood smoked, maple, or even honey mustard bacon. If bacon jam is new to you, then you may want to try some store-bought bacon jam to start with. It comes in tasty flavors like bourbon bacon and bacon pepper, just to name a few. As for the peanut butter, go chunky all the way. All the textures of the crushed peanuts and bacon bits will crackle and crunch in your mouth, making this maybe the most fun and tasty sandwich you'll ever eat.