I do love Jowl Bacon – when ordering a pig, I highly recommend you specify some Jowl Bacon for yourself. I think the pairing of the bacon and spinach is about perfect and for this recipe, I added a bit of garlic and onion for the saute and then a bit of chicken broth to give it a little bit of soup to make a nice finish.

What you need on hand:

1. Pan to cook in – I like a stir fry pan and lid but most any medium / large pan will do.
2. Bag of spinach – cooking spinach is the most economical, but you can use most any type.
3. Jowl bacon or your favorite type of bacon. Smoked gives it more depth if you are into that. 🙂
4. Salt – kosher, coarse if you have it.
5. A few cloves of garlic or crushed garlic, whatever you have on hand
6. An onion or so, depending on taste. A large sweet, or a regular cooking onion. Really it is about what you like.
7. Some soup stock (1/4 cup or so) you can substitute bullion, powdered soup base with water, etc…
8. Fire & Water + Patience and a sharp knife and cutting board.

Start with a stir fry pan if you have one, and if not, a large sauce pan that you can cover. Slice up a generous portion of the bacon into small pieces.

Throw the bacon into the preheated pan and fry it up on medium heat while you dice up some onion and fresh garlic to taste.  Once the bacon has reduced and is almost done, drain the grease into a jar for use later. Throw in the garlic and onion and stir it a bit while the onions caramelize a bit – this is also a good time to toss in a few pinches (or to taste) of coarse salt. I like Kosher or sea salt.

Once the onions are caramelized and looking ready to eat, toss in as much spinach as you can fit into the pan. You can see from the photo I pile it high as it wilts down when you cook it. Cover and let it steam for a few on low heat. Toss in about 1/4 or so cup of water or chicken stock when you do this to help steam the spinach. Most of the liquid will cook off but it will also help flavor the spinach. I like to use a spoon or two of the dry chicken soup base here.

As the spinach starts to cook down, start tossing it a bit to keep it cooking evenly. Once it is reduced as you see in the photos, plate (or bowl) it and enjoy!