Friday, March 13, 2009

eggplant bacon? get outta here!

so i made some eggplant bacon. it was really good. no-no you don't understand. this was something i never imagined i'd do with an eggplant. eggplant is one of my favorite veggies, but never in a million years could you convince me i could make bacon with it. i took several baby eggplants and peeled them. then i took the best knife i had (because i don't have a mandolin) and sliced them very, very thin. i'm talkin' wah-fer thin. then i took those slices and let them bathe overnight in a mixture of tomato sauce, liquid aminos, liquid smoke, olive oil, granulated garlic, apple cider vinegar, and a T of turbinado. the next day i took the eggplant and baked them on a cookie sheet for 10 mins at 400 degrees flipping them for another 10 mins. until they were nice and semi-crispy.
the results? this was some righteous bacon although i think i would have achieved a better crisp by pan frying the slices in some olive oil. i'm sure the recipe will become more awesome every time it is made. the eggplant absorbed the marinade perfectly and the flavor was very savory and smokey. the texture was chewy and meaty--probably would make a bangin' jerky in the dehydrator. was it bacon? of course not, but i think this is a very good use for eggplant if you're sick of making babaganoush or moussaka. picutured above is an EBLT with a side of roasted veggies topped with the cheez sauce on page 69 of the ultimate uncheese cookbook. i had never tried this sauce before and it was rich in roasted pepper goodness. the recipe called for cashews, and i didn't have any on hand so i used hazelnuts instead. i think it made the sauce richer. perfect for topping veggies or as a dip.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want that sandwich!!! Eggplant bacon sounds phenomenal!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Cool idea!

Bianca said...

No way! Eggplant bacon! That even sounds better than the mushroom bacon thing that's going around. Is this your own recipe? If so, do post! Please! I wanna make some.

Chris said...

Whoa! I've never heard of it but am totally excited to try :) Hmm what an intriguing idea. I've never really craved bacon, so maybe I could experiment with the seasonings: miso? shoyu? horseradish??

Jenn said...

Wow. I;ve got an eggplant begging to become baconized. Yours looks great!

silverpen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
silverpen said...

All the eggplant bacon recipes I've ever seen needed a dehydrator. Thanks for letting me know a plain old oven will do just as well.

The Voracious Vegan said...

I have died and gone to vegan heaven! You are officially my hero! I used to love (like 8 pieces for breakfast love) bacon in my pregan days. Since going vegan a few years ago it is the one thing that I miss. But the fake soy/tempeh/overly processed bacon is just too disgusting to contemplate, not to mention how unhealthy it is.

But this...oh this....if it only tastes half as good as it looks I will be forever in your debt!

Anonymous said...

That is glorious. Before going veg I didn't like eggplant. I don't know what my problem was, because now i love it. Thanks for the idea!

Jenn said...

i totally just made this. you are a genius. http://vegandance.blogspot.com/2009/03/eggplant-bacon.html

Sindy said...

I found you through Jenn. Great idea for eggplant!

Gina said...

Wow, eggplant bacon...what an awesome idea. I will definitely be making this soon!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

I wish i'd seen this before i threw my leftover aubergine in a curry!! it looks great.

Nicole said...

That sounds really yummy!

Maggie said...

This looks delicious! I'd love to try making it as jerky in the dehyrator.

VeganLush said...

Huh, that is really clever. I've been getting into more non-sub recipes lately. I'll be sure to try this!