Gordon Ramsay’s bacon jam is smoky, sweet, and sticky, made by simmering crispy bacon with caramelised onions, brown sugar, maple syrup, and a shot of freshly brewed coffee. It takes about 2 hours of low heat but most of that is hands-off.
This recipe comes from Ramsay’s official website and his YouTube Shorts, where he says to “upgrade your toast this week with my delicious bacon jam.” He serves it on sourdough with his signature soft scrambled eggs, crème fraîche, and a scatter of chives. The video has millions of views across TikTok and YouTube.
The ingredient nobody expects is the coffee. It sounds wrong in a bacon recipe, but the bitterness cuts through the sweetness of the maple syrup and brown sugar so the jam doesn’t taste like candy. Without it, you just get sweet bacon. With it, you get something complex that works on toast, burgers, or alongside eggs.
Gordon Ramsay Bacon Jam Recipe
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium6
servings15
minutes2
hours380
kcal135
minutesSmoky, sweet bacon jam from gordonramsay.com. Crispy bacon, caramelised onions, brown sugar, maple syrup, and a shot of coffee simmered low for two hours. Served on sourdough toast with soft scrambled eggs.
Ingredients
- For the bacon jam:
450g (1 lb) thick-cut bacon, sliced into 1cm pieces
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 shallots, halved and sliced into thin half moons
100g (3.5 oz) brown sugar
155ml (5 fl oz) maple syrup
125ml (4 fl oz) freshly brewed coffee
115ml (4 fl oz) apple cider vinegar
¼ to ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- For the soft scrambled eggs (optional):
6 large eggs, cold
14g (½ oz) unsalted butter, cold
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp crème fraîche (optional)
Small handful of chives, thinly sliced
- To serve:
Thick slices of sourdough bread, toasted
Directions
- Cook the bacon: Add the bacon pieces to a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders out and the bacon starts to crisp. Use a slotted spoon to lift the bacon out and set it aside.
- Caramelise the onions: Pour out the bacon fat but leave about a tablespoon in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the chopped onion and shallots. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply caramelised. Add a splash of water if the pan gets too dry.
- Build the jam: Return the bacon to the pan. Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, coffee, apple cider vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil for about 1 minute.
- Simmer low and slow: Reduce to a bare simmer. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick, sticky, and jammy with most of the liquid cooked out. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Toast the bread: Toast thick slices of sourdough in a pan with a little butter until golden on both sides.
- Make the scrambled eggs: Crack the cold eggs into a deep saucepan and add the cold butter. Place over high heat and stir continuously with a spatula, scraping the bottom. After 30 seconds, take the pan off the heat and keep stirring for 10 seconds. Put it back on. Repeat for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper in the last minute. Stir in crème fraîche for extra creaminess.
- Assemble: Spread the bacon jam generously over the toast. Spoon the soft scrambled eggs on top. Finish with sliced chives and flaky salt.
Notes
- Bacon jam keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can blitz it lightly with an immersion blender for a smoother consistency if you prefer. For a smaller batch of scramble, use a 2-to-1 eggs-to-butter ratio.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay add coffee to bacon jam?
It sounds strange but it’s the ingredient that stops the jam tasting one-dimensional. Without it, you’ve got bacon, sugar, and syrup, which is just sweet pork.
The coffee adds bitterness that balances the brown sugar and maple syrup. It also deepens the colour and gives the jam a roasted, smoky edge that you can’t get from the bacon alone.
You don’t taste coffee in the finished jam. It disappears into the background the same way it does in chocolate cake or chilli. But take it out and you’d notice something missing.
Why caramelise the onions for 25 minutes?
Raw onion would give you sharp, pungent bites in the finished jam. Ramsay cooks his onions and shallots for 20 to 25 minutes until they’re deeply golden and sweet.
That slow caramelisation converts the natural sugars in the onions into something rich and toffee-like. It’s the same technique behind French onion soup, just applied to a jam.
If the pan gets too dry during this step, add a splash of water rather than more fat. You want the onions to soften and colour, not fry.
How do you know when the jam is done?
Ramsay says to cook until “thick and jammy and most of the liquid has cooked out.” That takes 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours at a bare simmer.
The texture test is simple. Drag a spoon through the mixture. If the trail holds for a second before closing, it’s done. If it’s still runny, give it another 20 minutes.
It thickens further as it cools, so pull it off the heat when it’s slightly looser than you want the final result. Overcooking makes it stiff and hard to spread.
What makes Ramsay’s scrambled eggs different?
Cold eggs, cold butter, high heat, and constant movement. Most people whisk their eggs in a bowl first, melt butter in a warm pan, then scramble on medium. Ramsay does the opposite.
He cracks cold eggs straight into the pan with cold butter and puts it on high heat. Then he stirs continuously with a spatula, pulling the pan on and off the heat every 30 seconds so the eggs cook in bursts.
The result is small, soft curds rather than rubbery sheets. The crème fraîche at the end stops the cooking and adds richness. It takes about 3 minutes total.
Can you use bacon jam on things other than toast?
Ramsay serves it on sourdough toast with scrambled eggs, but it works anywhere you’d use a chutney or relish.
Spread it inside a burger instead of ketchup. Dollop it on a cheese board next to cheddar or brie. Stir a spoonful into mac and cheese for a smoky hit.
The jam is more versatile than the name suggests because it’s savoury first, sweet second.
How long does bacon jam keep?
Ramsay says up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container, and that’s accurate. The vinegar and sugar act as preservatives so it lasts longer than plain cooked bacon.
It thickens in the fridge as it cools. Let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving, or warm it gently in a pan with a splash of water to loosen.
You can freeze it too. Portion into ice cube trays, freeze solid, then transfer to a bag. Each cube is roughly one serving. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
