Guest Post with By The Porchlight - Tofu Jerky

Hey there Kitty & Buck readers! I'm so happy to be hanging out here today. I'm Lesley from the blog By the Porchlight where I chat about all things creative, good food, good reads, good deeds and all of life's adventures in between.

I love my lazy Sundays but I usually try to "do" at least one thing. This weekend I've been brainstorming lunch ideas since I just got a brand new office job. I'm not much of a lunch person and haven't been in regular routine for a long time where I could actually sit down and eat it. So, now that I am going to be eating at the office I feel like I can force myself to eat healthier by strategically packing my lunch bag.

I made tofu jerky years ago and since then lost the recipe. Since the creation of Pinterest, though, my luck has changed. I was able to find the same recipe for tofu jerky that I used ages ago!

I'd love to share the recipe with you guys that I found on Made Just Right! My jerky turned out great. My husband who is an avid tofu-hating, meat-lovin' kinda guy even liked it!

What you'll need:

1 block firm or extra firm tofu
1/2 cup soy sauce (I prefer reduced sodium)
3 tbsp liquid smoke (found in the "ethnic" section of grocery stores)
1 tbsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 tsp black pepper (I used almost 2 tsp since I love it on my jerky)

First, Get all the water out of your tofu! Squeeze it gently in between a couple of paper towels. The website even suggests opening the package and letting it sit open overnight in the fridge but I didn't bother with that step. After the tofu is sufficiently dry, cut it into strips. Remember that the tofu will reduce in size as its cooked so don't make these strips too thin.

Tofu while marinading

Next, mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. You're going to have to marinade the tofu strips for several hours or even overnight. I laid out my strips on a stoneware baking pan and poured the marinade over top and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, as you can see above.

When finished marinading, heat your oven to 200 degrees. You're going to want to bake your tofu for 3-5 hours. I left mine in the oven for about 4 hours. Don't forget to flip them!

The downfall of this recipe is the energy it takes to produce a small amount of jerky. Next time I do this, I'll probably make about three blocks of tofu worth so make the most of my energy consumption.

While cooking, after 3 hours

Keep checking your jerky's consistency and texture. You'll figure out how you like it. The more it gets dehydrated, the harder it's obviously going to get. I like mine a bit chewy.

Thanks so much for letting me hang out today! I hope you'll come visit me! Enjoy your jerky!

Thanks for your post today Lindsey! I'd never even heard of tofu jerky, though now you mention it, it makes sense! I'm sure there'll be a few vegetarians out there munching on the tofu jerky on long car rides now.
Kitty
xo