Quick question 'bout that eggplant "bacon"...

[Rawkinlocs]

Hey all, Erica, if you're reading I'd love to hear from you since I know you make this quite a bit for your food service...

When yall make the eggplant bacon, do you remove the seeds? I never have but sometimes those big 'ole seeds kinda turn me off from eating it and I end up eating around them when I make this. I'm asking 'cause whenever I see pictures of the "bacon" that someone has made, I never see those seeds in it.

If you DO remove them, is there a simple way to do it? I have an eggplant here just waiting to be "baconized" but I wanted to ask this first and get some feedback. Thanks!

[sweetpea76]

i've made this before and didn't take out the seeds. it still turned out great! In fact, during the dehydration process the seeds shrank A LOT and I didn't even notice them!

Good Luck

[Rawkinlocs]

Thanks for the reply Sweetpea! Hmmm...I must be slicing too thinly or something because when I dehydrate it, those seeds seem to become magnified as the eggplant itself "shrinks" down in size!

[SchoolOfRAWk]

Nope, I don't. I make slices with the seeds. After it marinates and browns, you really do not notice it at all. I use a potato/veggie peeler and try to make it a thicker piece. I also mince the bacon up for the pizza toppings, though, too. "Bacon bits" kinda. But they are perfectly fine to ingest, and seeds usually are super-nutritious (or super-deadly - lol!!!)

[Rawkinlocs]

Thanks Erica! Maybe I need to just slice thicker then. It IS a pain trying to remove the seeds.

But I'm just so surprised you don't remove them because looking at this photo of your cheddar BLT, it doesn't look like there are any seeds at all...looks just like...bacon!



MAN...I just wanna reach through this screen and eat that sandwich!

[weezieworks]

This looks way too yummy! Where is this "bacon" recipe located? I want to try this!

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Weezieworks,

Here is the recipe as I've always seen and made it:

Bacon, Why Not

1 large eggplant, thinly sliced lengthwise
3/4 c. oil
1 tsp. cayenne
2 Tbl. honey
4 Tbl. Ume Plum Vinegar

Marinate for 2 hours. Place on teflex sheets and dehydrate for 9 hours. Turn bacon over and dehydrate another 9 hours.

But here is a slightly different version as posted by SchoolofRAWK and the one I just made yesterday...SOOO good! I had started adding a little liquid smoke before and using the above recipe, but this time I did pretty much the one below with a few minor modifications as I noted:

Bacon
1 large eggplant peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise. (wide veggie-peelers work)
Marinate in a mixture of:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons maple syrup (rawkinlocs note: you can sub with agave if you want)
3 Tablespoons Ume Plum vinegar (rawkinlocs note: I was out of this, so I used nama shoyu instead)
2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon liquid smoke (rawkinlocs note: I didn't use this amount...only one small capful and it was quite enough...I've learned in the past that too much of this makes it bitter once dehydrated...at least in MY experience)
Marinade for 2 or more hours. . . I like 6 or so. Spread them out on the teflex and dehydrate for 8 hours and then turn the "bacon" and dry another 8 hours.

[trinity082482]

MAN...I just wanna reach through this screen and eat that sandwich!

Me too!!

[dani_b]

this is interesting. i've never had eggplant. i didnt know you can eat it raw. you have to peel the eggplant right? would this recipe work okay without a dehydrator since i dont have one?

[Rawkinlocs]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

So, I did end up making it and I sliced thicker and it was great! My dh ate most of it up so I'll be getting probably a couple more eggplants to make more this weekend. The kids tried it...well the two older ones anyway. Son said it tasted like "vegetable fruit leather" and gave it a thumbs down and daughter said it tasted like eggs (not sure where she got THAT from) and also gave it thumbs down. But dh said it reminded him of jerky and he liked it a lot. So, I'll make it for us Like you, Beckla, I like to leave the skin on too!

Here's a picture of mine:

[exurb]

Hi Rawkinlocs :)

If an eggplant has seeds it is too old (grown too long not stale) and past its prime. It's not "bad" or "off", but it was grown too long on the plant to get a big eggplant.

If you try to buy younger eggplant, they will not have as pronounced seeds, or no seeds at all.:)

You might have more luck with the long narrow Thai type eggplants if they're not too big and they're kind of ready in the shape of bacon too. Or try to get the smallest eggplants when you're choosing from a bunch.

If you've got an old eggplant with seeds, you can also salt it and wait for it to emit water for the bitter to come out, then rinse off the excess salt.

Too bad you're not closer to our garden, hubby grew so many eggplant we can't keep up! I'm not complaining though!

[Rawkinlocs]

Spiralgirl, let us know how it turns out!

Exurb, thanks for that tip! :) I've see those narrow ones as well as smaller baby ones so next time, I'll try those out!

[queenfluff]

I have a variation of the bacon recipe too that I make. I came up with this variation to make it less spicey (less cayenne). Here it is if anyone if interested:

http://www.goneraw.com/recipes/418-Raw-Bacon-

[Stina]

I'm not familiar with liquid smoke. Is that something I could find in a "normal" grocery store? I've never seen such an item in a health food store. thanks, this recipe looks good.....

[Rawkinlocs]

I'm not familiar with liquid smoke. Is that something I could find in a "normal" grocery store? I've never seen such an item in a health food store. thanks, this recipe looks good.....

This brand is the most "natural" brand though still NOT raw: http://www.colgin.com/public/lsfaq.aspx and can sometimes be found in health/natural food stores.

There are some in regular stores as well, check the back of the bottle as some have shorter ingredients lists than others.

I feel odd posting about this on here, but since it's already been brought up and I'm letting yall know as a disclaimer that it's not a raw product. This recipe can be made without this added ingredient, but for me (not being a purist) I like to add just a tiny bit, like a capful, to my marinade for that extra flavor boost. But I've been just as happy with using Nama Shoyu added to the recipe and then it's more like some sort of jerky.