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Cooking
nancyofnc

Fake Bacon

8 years ago

Since my DH has an allergy to red meat (Texas Star Tick bite) I have been hard pressed to find stuff that he likes that is OK for him to eat. Here is one to help overtake his craving for bacon.

Rice Paper Bacon

Set oven to 400F. Parchment line 2 (or more) baking sheets ( I
reused the sheets for next batches. This stuff doesn't stick much.)

Buy some edible rice paper - in the Asian section, disks or
squares, as dried they will live forever - I used some with
expiration of 2013 and were just fine,. Don't buy on Amazon -
grocery store has them for cheap.

Cut in strips bacon size wide with a sharp knife - also tried
scissors and paper cutter to no avail. You'll have a lot of
leftover pieces and bits since this stuff tends to crack a lot -
just shove those into the disposal (or drop into soup if you are a
penny pincher). Match them by length in pairs.

Stack two like pieces together with a thin wash of plain water
(use a brush). Really thin ones were pressed down with fingers for
a while - just a couple seconds or so. They will curl up if they
are not watered on the "right" sides. After a few you will get
which is the right side.

With another brush spread top with marinade and turn over onto
parchment covered baking sheet. Brush top heavily with more
marinade.

Whisk the marinade several times between brushing since it does
not stay emulsified.

Bake 400 F for 5 minutes or a couple more - until bubbly and
kinda browned. Will burn easily so be watchful.

Lay out onto a plate to cool. Wrap between layers of parchment to
store in fridge or freezer.

Marinade

2 T olive oil or safflower oil
2 T nutritional yeast (this stuff is cheap and gives the right
umami needed - don't omit) Bob's Red Mill in GF food section
3 T tamari (or low sodium soy sauce - IMO it's better than tamari
for this)
½ T garlic powder (fresh will burn horribly)
¼ t liquid smoke or more ( or 1 T BBQ sauce - IMO not as tasty)
½ T maple syrup (real - not pancake syrup)
¼ t ground black pepper (I added more for Don who is a pepper
freak)
¼ t hot Hungarian paprika (or more)

Featured Answer
  • 8 years ago

    It's called alpha-gal allergy from the bite of a Lone Star Tick identified by scientists just since 2002 and mostly occurs in the Southeast States. DH went to allergist and confirmed with skin prick test and a blood test confirmed pork too so all mammalian meat consumed causes a reaction so it should be described as a reaction from eating mammals not red meat. He went into anaphylactic shock after eating stuffed pepper with beef - months after the tick bite. There is no cure but some say the reaction recedes in time - though we don't want to test it out until we revisit the allergist next year and thereafter. It does make it difficult to eat out because beef broth may be used in soup, or ham used to flavor vegetables - stuff we didn't think of before. It's not like a gluten allergy where you get a tummy ache, this allergy can be life-threatening and we carry an Epi-pen. Asking around we've found many of our friends have it too! He can have poultry and fish so is not totally vegetarian. I wouldn't be surprised if they start opening restaurants called "Non-Mammalian". In the meantime I'm revisiting my cookbooks for things that taste like meat (he hates tofu so that avenue is closed). The fake bacon actually tastes pretty good though I would not have tried it before.

    Comments (9)

    • 8 years ago

      Interesting idea, but just a question- does pork count as red meat? I always thought it was “the other white meat”. Or do you mean your DH can’t eat meat from four legged animals? That sucks.

    • 8 years ago

      Oh, geez, that really does suck, I agree with Colleen. Being a vegetarian because you choose to is one thing, but not being able to eat things you like and would choose to eat if you could, that's awful.

      I heard about that complication to a tick bite, I guess it's becoming more and more prevalent. What an odd complication, though, it's definitely not something you would think of happening with an insect bite.

      Annie

    • 8 years ago

      Pork is definitely red meat! I believe the misconception came about a few years ago when an ad campaign was launched advertising it as 'the other white meat'. Partially due to its color, I believe, and also due to the fact that 'they' have produced a pork that is much lower in fat (and flavor) than it used to be, thus considered it 'healthier' than beef. But if memory serves me, pork is higher in purines (what gout patients have to avoid) than beef.

      I have a friend whose husband developed an allergy to red meat a few years ago. He develops a very itchy and painful rash when he eats red meat. However, they've found he can eat a small portion is he takes a Benadryl tablet an hour so before the meal.

      Back to bacon. Have you tried turkey bacon? It's a lot better than I expected it to be. Might be worth a try, certainly a lot less work than the fake bacon.

      Rusty

    • 8 years ago

      Yes, we've tried many brands of turkey bacon and it is OK. I don't mind a little "work" to make stuff that is different, i.e., I render fat to make lard; whip cream by hand, also egg whites in my copper bowl; knead bread on the counter, and I make fresh pasta for ravioli. You can buy all kinds of stuff made by a conglomerate but I'd rather take some time playing in the kitchen where I control the ingredients and don't have to use weird additives.

    • 8 years ago

      Serious Eats has a recipe for mushroom bacon I’ve been meaning to try. Anything’s got to be better than this mess I was served at Dunkin Donuts a couple months ago. I thought they served me something that had gone bad but it turned out it was a kosher DD’s. Didn’t look like bacon. Didn’t feel like bacon. Didn’t taste like bacon. Didn’t taste like anything good at all. Why even bother?


    • 8 years ago

      We've done a search on non-pork bacon (actually me obsessing!) and we actually found the best stuff right around the corner from us! Tried almost all of the vege and turkey bacon out there! Bleah

      Williebird turkey has the closest to real bacon I've ever tasted and it's organic with only 2.5 gr fat per serving.

      We drove by the little store for 30 years before discovering it a few years back!

      Also, their sausage is to die for!

      I just have to remember to go more than a week before Thanksgiving, cause the lines for organic turkeys is usually out the door!

      Not sure if you can order online, they're pretty downhome, but, hey! Maybe! I'll check into it! Nancy

    • 8 years ago
      last modified: 8 years ago

      I've been a vegetarian most of my life, and now eat meat occasionally. There is no substitute for bacon. You are a very wonderful wife for trying. I sub baco bits or turkey or chicken sausage for the taste of bacon. There are even smoked salts for that aspect of taste. But there is nothing like it for the texture. It used to kill me during BLT season. I would buy Morningstar Farms fake bacon, but . . . meh. At least it was crunchy.

    • 8 years ago


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