Recipe Directions

1. Thinly slice eggplant lengthwise. When slicing your eggplant,  think about how bacon strips look. I use an old cheese slicer and mine turns out great. You could probably accomplish this with a vegetable peeler too. Alternately, you could make "round" bacon by slicing the other way.

2. Mix all remaining ingredients to make the marinade.

3. Marinate eggplant strips for 2 hours.

4. Variation: I dehydrated some ground pine nuts to make a pine nut spread and spread it on to the bacon. This gives a unique taste to the bacon.

5. Place eggplant strips on dehydrator sheets. Salt eggplant strips (optional) and dehydrate for 9 hours around 110 Fahrenheit. 

6. Turn strips over and dehydrate another 9 hours. I actually dehydrated mine longer. You can judge for yourself if you want them even crisper. They will still have an “oiliness” to them even after dehydrated. If you don’t want this, then you can put less oil in the marinade or “blot” your bacon after it comes out of the dehydrator.

 

Queenfluff's Thoughts

By queenfluff

Yes, you read the recipe name right--it is Raw Bac-un (Bacon)! I modified this recipe from one I got from the SAD TO RAW website.

When I make this for raw potlucks, people are always buzzing about it and asking me for the recipe.

I subbed agave for honey to make it vegan. The original recipe called for 1 full teaspoon of cayenne! I made it that way the first time and it was way too hot for me, so I modified it to have a lot less cayenne and it turned out wonderfully (and it actually looks like real bacon)!

Note: This recipe is for home use only. My boyfriend and I sell this for our raw food home business so this is not for commercial sale or use! 

 

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4 votes
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Thanks queenfluff...I made a batch (and did peel them) and they are delicious!!!!! I left mine go for 2 days and they didn't get crispy, but more like fruit leather, so it's sort of my raw bacon/raw jerky :) I am wondering if it might be the humidity outside? I did slice them super thin with a potato peeler and only used 1/4 cup oil. I also sliced some into circles and those have a totally different texture and taste because of the seeds. If you want lots of texture, do circles, if you want thin smooth texture, do strips. I love them both in strips and circles, what a fun food...I could eat an entire eggplant in one sitting ;)

3 votes
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It is peeled first. I know people who make it with the peels on. But I think it is easier to peel the skins off first.

3 votes
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Did you peel your eggplant first or leave the outside on it?

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UME PLUM VINEGAR substitutes:

UME PLUM VINEGAR has a pungent and salty taste, so use it sparingly. If you are watching your sodium intake, substitute additional seasoned rice vinegar.

OTHER OPTIONS:

If you don't have the umeboshi plum vinegar, substitute more cider vinegar and nama shoyu or miso for the bite and saltiness.

Another option is red wine vinegar.

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This is great!! We have tried this recipe twice now. The first time we followed the recipe as is and though we ate it all up and it went over great at a meat eater's potluck, (smile) we thought it a bit too oily. This time we tried it using 1/4 cup of oil and liked it much better. Also instead of salt we added a dash of Namu Shoyu.

One other thing, this time we mixed the marinade with a hand blender and it kept it from seperating out and it seemed the eggplant absorbed all the ingredients better. What a yummy recipe!! Definitly a keeper!!

4 votes
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Hi Bellasera, Yes you can dehydrate at your high temp of choice - it will just take a bit longer. glad you like it. You could probably just sub some water for a few tablespoons of the plum vinegar to make it less salty.

5 votes
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Ok just finished making the "bacon" and boy oh boy is it salty. Very tasty though. I think next time I'll decrease the plum vinegar and not add salt to taste. Maybe try one with maple syrup instead of the agava for a maple flavor bacon. Thanks great recipe! BTW my lower temp just took longer but it didn't appear to affect the flavor.

3 votes
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Has anyone made this recipe dehydrating it under the 110? I don't do anything over 105, usually 95, and worry about the higher temp.

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I get mine at the local co-op in the Asian section. Whole Foods sells it too.

2 votes
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Where can I get Ume plum vinegar? My local Chinese food store doesn't have it....

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I am on batch #2, these are soooo good! They go awesome with the crazy bread cracker recipe on this site. Just put the "bacon" on a cracker and snack away. I ate these when the rest of my family was eating cheese and crackers.

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I never had a clue what to do with an eggplant, this was awesome! It was tasty, had that oily texture of real bacon, and yes, GREAT as a BLTA (A for Avocado! Yum!) Thanks for sharing :)

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I followed the BLT on onion bread suggestion...OH YEAH! Yummy!

I only made a half recipe and now I regrett it..I ate most of them straight out of the dehydrater...they where gone in one day! Definatly a staple..

Thanks!

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Can't wait to make a "BLT" with this (maybe on some onion bread).

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