Mushroom Bacon

December 01, 2018

I was really surprised the first time I ordered a B.L.T. at By Chloe. Even though they are a vegetarian restaurant, they have very successfully created the texture of bacon for their sandwich by making Mushroom Bacon. Though I have been a skeptic of some vegetarian meat substitutes in the past, I had to admit that the texture and flavor of the umami mushrooms is a very accurate substitution for bacon, and less greasy, so it actually is easier to get a crispy texture.

I love this in an omelette or breakfast sandwich.

  • 8 servings
  • 5 mins
  • 40 mins
  • 45 mins
  • Ingredients

    • 8 oz shitake mushrooms
    • olive oil
    • 1 ounce soy sauce
    • 1/4 tsp. paprika
    • 1/2 tsp. salt

    Equipment

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
    2. Remove the stems of the shitake mushrooms and slice the caps into t1/8" thin slices.
    3. Toss the sliced mushrooms with the soy sauce, paprika, and salt. It should be enough to coat the mushroom caps but not pool at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
    4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray or brush with a light amount of olive oil.
    5. Lay the mushrooms in a single layer close together but not touching.
    6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, checking every 5 minutes after that. Remove when the shitake mushrooms are dehydrated and about half the thickeness they started at and dark brown.
    7. Let cool for another 10 minutes, which will crisp the mushrooms.

    This recipe was adapted from:

      Written by Will Chiong who lives and works in New York building useful things.