Because Coconut Bacon will become less crisp the longer you store it, I recommend making it just ahead of preparing your sandwiches.
Ingredients
8 slices sandwich bread
Vegan mayonnaise
2 cups Coconut Bacon (see below)
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
Lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry
Directions
Spread each slice of bread with a generous amount of mayonnaise. Top the mayonnaise with about 1/2 cup of the Coconut Bacon per sandwich, followed by slices of tomato and lettuce leaves. Top each sandwich with the remaining bread slices. Cut each sandwich with a serrated bread knife and serve immediately.
Coconut Bacon
Makes 2 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the tamari, liquid smoke, water, and maple syrup together in a large bowl. Stir in the coconut and mix well to ensure that the flakes are evenly coated.
2. Spread the coconut in an even layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10 minutes, then stir. Bake another 8 minutes, keeping a very close eye on the coconut in the last few minutes. The coconut will go from almost done to completely burned very quickly. Remove from the oven when the coconut flakes on the outer edges of the pan are becoming a deep, dark brown, but not black.
3. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. The coconut will continue to crisp as it cools. Coconut bacon will keep 1 to 2 weeks in an airtight plastic container, but will become less crisp the longer you store it.
From Baconish: Sultry and Smoky Plant-Based Recipes from BLTs to Bacon Mac & Cheese, © 2016, by Leinana Two Moons. Used by permission of Vegan Heritage Press, LLC.
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