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Smoked Coconut Bacon

Source of Recipe

From "The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook" by Amy Lawerence


Recipe Introduction

"On The Food Network's website, we watched a video of Chef Jesse Kimball of The Memphis Tap Room in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, make this amazing-looking, crunchy, smoky, non-bacon bacon. We've been looking for a vegetable medium or process that'll have that crispy crunch like bacon, and this coconut idea is brilliant. We emailed Chef Kimball out of the blue, and he was happy to share the recipe and talk about his food. Thanks to him, you too can whip up a batch using a bag of shaved coconut with soy sauce, vegetarian Worcestershire, and maple syrup added to the mix for that sweet, Southern, bacon-y flavor. The coconut takes the smoke beautifully, and when it's baked, the inherent fat in the coconut crisps the flakes. The best part is that they stay crispy. You can make a big batch of this and have it as part of your lunch all week. We have used this many different ways since first making it: as a garnish for an omelet, on pesto flatbreads, and on top of grits. However, our favorite has to be this avocado BLT. All you do is load up two slices of seeded whole wheat bread with sliced heirloom tomatoes, olive oil mayonnaise, crunchy romaine, sliced avocado, and plenty of Smoked Coconut Bacon. It's beautiful to hear the crunch of the bacon when you slice the sandwich in half."

List of Ingredients

◦ 3 � cups unsweetened coconut flakes
◦ 2 tablespoons maple syrup
◦ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
◦ 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
◦ 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
◦ 1 tablespoon sesame oil
◦ 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (only if you don't smoke the coconut on the grill top)


Recipe

Smoke the coconut flakes for 4 minutes using our Quick-Smoking Method. (That doesn't sound like a long time, but the coconut really soaks up the smoke quickly. This ain't no pork belly, y'all!)

Preheat your oven to 350� F. Place the smoked coconut in a large bowl, and add the maple syrup, soy sauce, pepper, Worcestershire, and sesame oil. Only add the liquid smoke if you didn't smoke the coconut. This is just an option for people without access to a smoker. Toss to coat.

Spread the dressed coconut into a single layer on a parchment-lined 17-by-2-inch sheet pan or two smaller pans. Cook the coconut for 10 minutes, stir it around, spread it back out on the sheet pan, and cook it another 5 minutes or until it is nice and dark brown. Let it cool and then store it an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 3 � cups






❧ Quick-Smoking Method:


"Many grill-top or stove-top smokers are available these days. You can find them online or at almost any specialty kitchen store. I made my own using a 12-by-9-inch stainless steel pan with a shallow, perforated basket and a tight-fitting lid. You could also use an old stock pot with a lid and an old footed colander that will fit down inside the pot. (Just remember, the lid has to fit tightly to keep the smoke in, and anything you use has to be dedicated to smoking it�it will be completely ruined for any other purpose.) The large pan has to be at least 1 inch deeper than the perforated pan so there's room for the wood chips. You'll also need an outdoor gas grill and some wood chips, which are available in most grocery stores�especially during the summer months. The following instructions work for smoking any non-meltable foods like mushrooms, dates, grapes, sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, sea salt, or tofu. Do not try this method with a cheese that will melt because it will melt unattractively. That said, this is a wonderful and simple way to impart a ton of flavor into some very unexpected ingredients."


1. Soak a handful of hickory wood chips and two handfuls of applewood chips in water for about 20 minutes. This is the best mix of pungent hickory and fruity applewood smoke. But if you like a less intense smoke flavor, try all-fruit woods, like apple or cherry.

2. Drain the chips and set them in the bottom of your smoker pan. Turn your grill on high. Do not do this inside as it produces a lot of smoke! Place the smoker pan directly over the flame of your outdoor gas grill (the side burner works best for this). After 8 minutes, you will notice a lot of smoke coming from the chips; this is a good thing!

3. Lay your mushrooms, dates, tomatoes, garlic, or anything else you want to taste smoky in a single layer in the smoker basket, and place over the smoking wood chips. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Smoke for 5 minutes. It doesn't take long for vegetables to soak up the smoky flavor. Remove whatever you just smoked from the basket and allow it all to cool. Keep the smoked items in an airtight container for up to a week.