It happens to be the Easter season, and many folks are enjoying their smoked hams. After all, that is a classic entrée for all the Christian holidays. I got curious as to why that was and was let down by the answer Google gave me. Supposedly, it’s because hogs are typically harvested and processed in the fall and the meat tends to last throughout the holiday season and into the spring. 

Simple, logical, but perhaps not the whole story. If you happen to have a better idea or an entertaining guess, I’d welcome a letter to the editor to hear your thoughts.

In any case, we decided to get into the culinary spirit of the season with some smoked ham of our own. I should say “pork,” because ours was the American quintessential: Bacon. 

We had been working all day and hadn’t really gotten to eat a real meal until late in the afternoon. By then our stomachs were as hungry as our eyes and Mrs. Hill decided to make burgers. We had a handful of cheese and leftover bacon, so she decided to make a bit of an embellishment for the burgers. Did we have to wait a few more minutes to be able to enjoy our burgers? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. 

If you are one of those who are not restricted by religion or diet from eating pork, then I invite you to bask in the sweet and savory revel that is bacon jam. If you’ve ever had a good burger with some sautéed onions on top, then you can begin to understand where this is going. Likewise if you enjoy bacon on your burgers.

Now imagine if your bacon was freshly cooked before the onions and melded together with a thick emulsion of tangy mustard, sweet maple syrup and hearty BBQ sauce. Cue heavy breathing. 

Needless to say, this is not a food for when you are on a diet, but it is perfect for when you want to quit a diet. After having a bite, I began to imagine all the other decadent ways to enjoy the same scrumptious sauce. My first and second thoughts were to pour it over French fries and or nachos. Add some cheese or maybe some sour cream and you’ve got all kinds of artery-clogging opportunities.

The way out here we celebrate with smoked pork when the season calls for it, and the season for bacon just happens to be every day of the year. So grill up a juicy burger with some of this warm spring weather and top it in style. Enjoy your Easter ham, but don’t forget your bacon jam.