Raw Eggplant Bacon

[fungi601]

I’m certainly not a vegan but I also can’t stand to use stabilized bacon or bacon bits. Ive found this to be a good alternative and keeps great.
Raw Eggplant Bacon

Makes about 20 thin slices, or sized according to your eggplant
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into thin (1/4 inch thick or less) slices
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
3-5 drops liquid smoke
1/4 tsp smoked paprika (or 1 tsp regular)
Black pepper to taste
Optional add-ins: garlic, tomato sauce, cumin, cayenne pepper, mesquite powder
1) Mix all marinade ingredients (tamari through pepper) together. Submerge eggplant slices well, and let marinade for at least an hour.
2) Place slices in a dehydrator and dehydrate at 115 degrees till totally dry: this should take about 12 hours. For crispier bacon, dehydrate longer.
Garlic and cayenne will add a nice kick to these; so will spices of your choosing. Cumin is a common addition to eggplant bacon, though it’s a very distinctive taste, and I like these on the simpler side. No matter what, they are sweet and salty slices of raw, vegan heaven

[Energizer Bunny]

Does it taste like bacon?

[fungi601]

Does it taste like bacon?

I think its pretty close. but hay, fresh cooked bacon is hard to match.

[fungi601]

Im thinking about shredding up some eggplant it before I make it and then use it with some dehydrated sourcream to make a pasta carbonara. I was amazed at how good the sour cream actually dehydrated and mdee a great powder after using my coffee mill to grind it up. Im also using that in some beef strogenoff. hamburger, if cooked in a strainer in a pressure cooker dehydrates amazingly and rehydrates really good and tender.

[Odd Man Out]

Eggplant is one of those foods I try once every decade to remind myself why I hate it.
Now I have another recipe to try for the current decade.
So far, I hate every version of eggplant I have tried.
But at least I keep trying.

[Farr Away]

Eggplant is one of those foods I try once every decade to remind myself why I hate it.
Now I have another recipe to try for the current decade.
So far, I hate every version of eggplant I have tried.
But at least I keep trying.

I've eaten eggplant in restaurants and enjoyed it. I've never been able to cook it myself and come up with something I liked. I do try again every once in a while.

[tiptoe]

I'd like to try this recipe, and if I do, I'll post about it here. Looks simple, tasty, and different.

[RodentWhisperer]

One of my friends, a stalwart vegan, served this up with a tofu scramble for brunch one day when I was visiting her. Tasty, yes. Bacon, no. But much tastier than some of the "meat analogues" out on the market that are sold as bacon substitutes.

[atmilkman]

Eggplant is one of those foods I try once every decade to remind myself why I hate it.
Now I have another recipe to try for the current decade.
So far, I hate every version of eggplant I have tried.
But at least I keep trying.

That's the spirit. You gotta keep on trying. When I was little my momma told us it was perch. We ate it like it was goin' outta style. Been eating it ever since. We just got a farm grown one yesterday from down the road for 50 cents. Pan frying it tonite in an egg wash and corn meal in olive oil. Half is for supper tonight the other is for parmesan another day. Gonna do fried green tomatoes too. I guess it might just be a southern thing. (LOL)

[Odd Man Out]

That's the spirit. You gotta keep on trying. When I was little my momma told us it was perch. We ate it like it was goin' outta style. Been eating it ever since. We just got a farm grown one yesterday from down the road for 50 cents. Pan frying it tonite in an egg wash and corn meal in olive oil. Half is for supper tonight the other is for parmesan another day. Gonna do fried green tomatoes too. I guess it might just be a southern thing. (LOL)

They also eat a lot of it in Romania. When I was there a couple of years ago I made sure to learn the Romanian "vanata" so I didn't get it by accident in the restaurants.

BTW, I agree with RodentWhisperer (what's up with that name?). Vegetarian food that is trying to be meat is usually much worse than vegetarian food that is trying to taste like vegetables.

[tiptoe]

I tried the recipe, and the result is chewy and tasty. You would never confuse it with REAL bacon, though.