For this battle I wanted to not only test tofu vs mushroom but also different marinades AND cooking methods to truly find the best "Bacon".
THE CONTENDERS:
1) Shitake Mushrooms
2) Portobello Mushrooms
3) Braised Tofu ( I used a 5 spice braised tofu that already had a little bit of smokiness)
4) Extra Firm Tofu
The Marinades:
1) QueerlyRooted Vegan Bacon & BBQ sauce recipe (full recipe below)
2) FourSigmatics "Mushroom Bacon" recipe from their book "Healing Mushrooms"
The Methods:
1) Baked
2) Pan fried in a cast iron skillet
3) Baked THEN pan fried
THE BATTLE:
Prepare all 4 Contenders in 2 marinades utilizing each cooking method for a total of 24 DIFFERENT flavor profiles. Each bacon was judged on the following...
General Yumminess
Actual "Bacon" flavor (read: passable to a meat eater)
Texture
Ease of Preparation
THE RESULTS
Spoiler... none of these ACTUALLY tasted like real pork bacon. But seriously, if you are at all turned off by that, just go eat a real piece of bacon and move on (but come back for the marinade recipe because that shit can definitely be repurposed as a dank BBQ sauce).
Marinade Battle Results:
The FourSigmatic Sauce was super simple to prepare with minimal ingredients ( I'm happy to provide the recipe by request OR go buy their book. It's awesome). I'm definitely not a simpleton when it comes to cooking, so that didn't win any points with me but I know there are people out there that will appreciate the "ease" of this sauce. Flavor-wise, I was initially turned off by how SWEET it was. It's heavy in maple syrup and didn't have as much "smoke" or seasoning as I thought it would need. Honestly, I didn't have high hopes but maybe Maple Bacon is your thing.
1 Point: Ease of Preparation
The QueerlyRooted Marinade has at least double the ingredients, but in my opinion had a much more complex and bacon-like flavor. The Liquid Smoke added a more traditional flavor that I was looking for.. That said, this sauce was not as thick as the first and I wasn't sure how that would play out in the cooking process.... maybe those Mushroom Guys know more than I think... the saga continued.
2 Points: General Yumminess, Actual Bacon Flavor.
Cooking Method Results:
I'm considering this a draw. As long as you make it a point to let the marinades caramelize, they more or less ended up with similar products.... especially in regards to the mushrooms. Due to the water content of the tofu, ONLY using the Cast Iron resulted in a caramelized outside but a floppy piece overall. It was still good, but more or less just tasted like smokey BBQ tofu. If you have the time, the BAKING+PAN FRY joint method got the tofu to a pretty perfect "turkey bacon-like" texture... somewhat dried out and tough (baking) + crispy & caramelized ( pan frying).
0 Points: Draw (Recommended: Bake until crispy can but if you need to speed up the process throw it in a pan).
Contender Results:
The 2 Mushrooms (Shitake & Portabello now grouped as one) ended up tasting and cooking exactly the same, so those are now going to be referred to as "The Mushrooms". These had great flavor...a more complex flavor than the tofu. They both fell apart during the marinade + cooking process so the end result was little yummy partially burnt bits of smokey goodness. They also cooked WAY faster than the tofu. These would be great on a salad, in a pasta or as a garnish.
2 Points: General Yumminess, Ease of Preparation
The braised Tofu is a little more dense out of the package so I envisioned this getting super crispy and taking the crown. While it was easier to work with ( it didn't fall apart OR need drained), I think because it was already braised, it didn't absorb the marinade as much as the Extra Firm Tofu and Mushrooms. This ended up having the texture of Turkey bacon or even a store bought veggie bacon. I think if I would have sliced it thinner this would have been even more successful.
2 Points: Texture, General Yumminess
The Extra Firm Tofu was a little more difficult to handle as it tended to fall apart due to the thin slices. That said, it definitely absorbed the more flavor from the marinade ( and I image would be even better the longer you let it soak). This tofu didn't get crispy, even after pan frying, and definitely took the longest to prepare but it had the best flavor and in my opinion was the clear winner for mimicking bacon on a sandwich ( which was my personal goal... BLTs were on the brain for weeks).
2.5 Points: Texture, General Yumminess, Actual Bacon Flavor ( kinda?)
THE WINNER...
QueerlyRooted Baked Tofu Bacon! (Recipe Below)
Ingredients:
Bacon Marinade & BBQ Sauce
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar ( or maple syrup for a stronger maple taste)
2 Tablespoons Liquid Smoke
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1.5 Teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Dry Ground Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt + Pepper
1 package Extra Firm Tofu (try the braised tofu for a heartier bite)
Instructions:
Prepare Tofu - Drain/Squeeze all water out of the package. Place Tofu block between 2 clean dry dish towels & place a heavy object (cast iron works well) on top for 5 mins to help drain excess water. Slice tofu THIN and lay out on towel. Take a clean paper towel and pat/press to remove as much water as possible. This step is annoying but the more water that is removed the better they will cook. Prepare Marinade - Combine all ingredients in a large Tupperware.
Place tofu slices in the marinade making sure all pieces are covered on all sides.
Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes. 1-4 hours or even overnight is better. The longer the better :)
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Place marinated tofu on a cookie sheet ( sprayed w/ cooking spray) and bake for 30 minutes, rotating cookie sheets half way through. SAVE YOUR MARINADE. Remove cookie sheet and flip the tofu slices. Spread more marinade on the slices and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
Pieces will not be crispy but should be have a dark caramelized coating. If you want them more crispier fry in a skillet at any point. You can always ONLY pan fry these but as stated above, I found that baking them at least for a time helps dry the slices out. I've also considered throwing these under the broiler at the end didn't end up doing it. Try it and let me know how it works!
I made this into an MBALT ( Mushroom & Tofu Bacon, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato) with an herbed vegan aioli on nutty wheat bread and it was BOMB.
Here's the Herbed Aioli I threw together but really you can make any flavor profile you want:
1/4 cup Vegan Mayo
1/2 lemon juiced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dry or fresh parsley
salt + pepper
It's also worth noting, that both types of Tofu were even more flavorful and had a better texture the next day, after being refrigerated over night. Leftover city.
There were SOOO many variables when making these bacons. Let me know what worked best for you!
For all things MUSHROOMS & to order a copy of "Healing Mushrooms" visit https://us.foursigmatic.com.
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