Smoked Tofu for Bacon Slices

[cobaltegg]

Smoked some just this weekend.  Use Hickory or Oak bisquettes (4-6) 220 to 260 deg. F.

Method:  Freeze firm tofu at least 24 hours and then thaw by placing in container and pour boiling water over tofu. Let sit for about 20 minutes.  Repeat if not thawed for 10 more minutes.  Gently squeeze out water until fairly dry.  Cut into 3 or four pieces and marinade 1 hour in a vegetable broth (ginger soy is good) and add an additional 2 Tbs. soy sauce, 1 Tbs. Dry Sherry, few shakes cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. each dry onion and garlic powder.  Gently squeeze (not too dry) and brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper or other dried herbs of choice.  Place on oiled rack and smoke 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Slice into bacon like strips and saute in light oil, brushing with more soy (optional) and sprinkling with nutritional yeast after first turn.  Makes a great BLT.

Cube or slice for salads, stir fry or just for snacking...

[Habanero Smoker]

I hate to say this with all these meat eaters around, but this sounds pretty good.

Can you tell me what the freezing, and thawing does?

[iceman]

Curious recipe. Sounds like something Ann and I would try. I made a meatless sub sandwhich the other day with sautee'd portobelo mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, olives and misc. cheeses served toasty hot. Not to bad for a meatless dish.

[manxman]

Welcome to the forum cobaltegg, as HS says, this sounds pretty good. And this from an avid bacon fan! ;)

Have you done any other tofu based recipes in your BS, this and others may well be worth considering for Olds recipe site?  The more variation the better to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible. :)

[Chez Bubba]

Awww hell Cobalt, now you've screwed up my weekend plans. I just figured out the menu to give the new digital a try with and now I'm going to have to work this in. I am very intrigued.

and sprinkling with nutritional yeast after first turn.  Makes a great BLT.

And I bet some pretty good SBD's too! ;) ;D ;D

Kirk

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Awww hell Cobalt, now you've screwed up my weekend plans. I just figured out the menu to give the new digital a try with and now I'm going to have to work this in. I am very intrigued.

and sprinkling with nutritional yeast after first turn.  Makes a great BLT.

And I bet some pretty good SBD's too! ;) ;D ;D

Kirk

Great! Haven't seen the SBD reference in awhile, but agree with Chez on the outcome. Pun intended :D

Arcs_n_Sparks

[Habanero Smoker]

I was curious as to why one needed to freeze the tofu first. So I asked a friend of mine, who is a vegetarian, and she immediately knew why. She does this all the time. Tofu is around 85% water. When you freeze it the water expands and turns into ice crystals; compacting the solids and proteins and making the tofu much firmer. When thawed, the result is a "meatier" chewy texture. The tofu will look more like cheese, and have the consistency of cooked chicken breast. It will also absorb a lot more flavors. You can only do this with firm or extra firm tofu, softer tofu will crumble. She mentioned that before freezing, it is important to remove the tofu from its original package, pat dry with a paper towel, and place it in a Ziploc freezer bag. For best results; freeze for about a week; two weeks is better.

[iceman]

Hab you just answered my question. Thanks for digging into this further. I'm going to try some next week if time permits.

[Habanero Smoker]

One thing I forgot to mention. The tofu will turn yellow. It's still good, so don't throw it out. I also have to make some now, my friend want to try it. I may as well smoke some cheese at the same time.

[Chez Bubba]

Well, I only froze mine for about 18 hours and in the original package. I sliced it & put in the marinade & wound up with half smokeable product & half mush.

I would suggest heeding the above advice and marinating it whole (12oz pkg). Then slice, smoke & fry.

With what little was left, it was very tasty & I will be doing this again soon. It had a very meaty texture & bite, great flavor, and yes, made excellent BLTs. It didn't have the salty taste that bacon has, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Kirk

[iceman]

Well Chez, don't feel bad. I totally messed my batch up. I made a batch of TOFU POO POO! I didn't freeze it long enough and marinated it way to long. It never made it to the smoker. Back to the store this week and try it again. ::)

[cobaltegg]

Thanks all for the great responses....especially SBD  :). 

I have more tofu packs in the freezer but read the helpful freezing tips too late to unpackage and pat dry - but it has worked just fine in the past, so next time....  You guys are all over it, but a word about tofu poo poo...make sure it is firm or extra firm to start with and use the packed in water type 1 lb size, not the antiseptic un-refrigeraged boxes.  Slice into thinner slices after smoking and to increase the salty taste, brush with additional soy just before sauteing (low-sodium works best to keep it from being too salty).  If you have access to it, the sprinkling of nutritional yeast (not baking yeast) is the real bacon flavor finish. 

[iceman]

Thanks colbaltegg. I was doomed from the start on this one after reading this. Back to the store. :D

[Habanero Smoker]

I finally got around to making the Tofu Bacon. I made 4 blocks, but only one block is mine, so I'm limited on how much experimentation I can do on how to use it. I took them out of the original package and froze them for one week, and there was no problem with it being mushy. As colbaltegg states, you can freeze them for 24, and it should be alright. I did it for one week, because the person I was making it for, instructed me that is the way she wanted it done. The whole blocks were uniformly firm. I prepared them for the smoker, and smoked as colbaltegg instructed.

I slice a few pieces 1/8" thick, applied soy sauce, and nutritional yeast. This stuff is like a sponge, so be careful applying the soy sauce. The next time I will use a spritzer. The taste was great, but I didn't like the texture. To qualify this, I was not sure of the cooking times; how long to cook on each side. Plus I had it as a side dish for breakfast. Next I going to try it in a BLT. I definitely can use this as stir fry, salads, soups etc.