The original recipe calls for red pepper jelly (“unsweet,” they say…where do you find a jelly that isn’t sweet? I have no idea.), however, it’s not easy to find and those that I found had an overt liquid smoke flavor that I found off putting. I’ve used a number of different jellies, some good, some not, but all of them are sweet which actually makes a nice juxtaposition to the bacon.
So, anyway, here’s my most recent jelly basting concoction. It was the best so far, but not perfect. I plan to tweak it again going forward.
2 oz brandy
1/2 cup Bonne Maman Cherry Jelly
At least one teaspoon-ish fresh cracked black pepper (I wanted the pepper to “pop” from the jelly, and it did)
A pinch or so of salt, just enough to give the jelly a “buttery” flavor)
Add the brandy to a small saucepan and begin heating over a low flame. Ignite the brandy and continue to cook until reduced by half. Add the jelly, stir to combine, and heat through. Add salt and pepper. Set aside until needed for basting, presumably toward the end of the cooking time of whatever you’re basting so it doesn’t burn. You may need to add a little water to loosen the jelly before basting.
I liked the cherry jelly better than others I’ve tried because I liked the tartness the cherries added to the flavor profile. However, basting with large chunks of cherries was awkward and clumsy so next time I’m going to try using red currant jelly or maybe even plum jelly.
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