Tofu Bacon

I have made my weight in tempeh bacon ten times over, I'm sure, thanks to Vegan With A Vengeance's fool-proof recipe. I have made twice that with soy curls thanks to the amazing Smoky Soy Curls recipe in Vegan Diner. I have yet to try coconut or eggplant bacon, but they're on the list, to be sure.

Bacon flavor is one I am happy to replicate. It lends itself to BLT's, brunch sides, and soup and salad toppings perfectly with it's salty, crunchy, slightly sweet, smoky flavor. What's not to love about that?

Fueled by Clean Out The Fridge Night Dinner, I figured I'd take the fail-safe method utilizes the fewest ingredients from Vegan Diner and apply it to some tofu that had been wrapped in a tea towel in the 'fridge for a couple days.

well-pressed, extra firm sprouted tofu, sliced thin, ready for marinade

It turned out just as delicious as I'd hoped but not crispy in anyway. Still great for slapping on sandwiches or chopping and adding to a creamy soup, I'm happy I chose this way to use up some of the tofu I had in the 'fridge.

Basically I had very well-pressed tofu that I sliced very thin, then marinated the slices for a couple hours in a mix of tamari and liquid smoke.

tofu marinading in tamari & liquid smoke

Brushed and ready for baking

Blotted dry again, I brushed it with a mix of tamari, liquid smoke, and maple syrup in a 1:1:1 ratio then into a 450 degree oven it went (on a nonstick baking sheet) for about 10 minutes. I flipped it, brushed that side with tarmari/liquid smoke/syrup, and baked for another fifteen minutes.

Hot, out of the oven, allowed to firm a bit on the pan.

It did firm up a bit after baking, but never really crisped. I think if I'd cooked it any longer it would have crisped up but also would have burned quite a bit as both the tamari and the syrup char very easily. I don't know that I'll fool with this method again, but I did really enjoy it as is, chopped up in some dreamy, creamy potato soup.

The final product, chewy tofu bacon