Vegan Tofu Jerky - Camping Food!

I posted about my favorite campfire foods here last year, and they were a huge hit!  I know I always love hearing about new fun ideas for camping foods, and I am happy to share mine as well. :)

I did try the Tofu Jerky after I created that post, and it was DELISH!  I kind of forgot all about it until this week when I realized that A) we're going camping this weekend, and B) we had an over abundance of tofu in the fridge.  Perfect!

VEGAN TOFU JERKY
Adapted from Allrecipes.com "Tofu Jerky II" recipe. 

I just eyeballed a lot of these ingredients, since it's a marinade - it still turned out great!  I also cut WAY back on the cooking time - the original recipe wants you to cook them for 8 hours!  I don't have that kind of time.  Also, I'd rather my "jerky" be a little softer personally, but that's totally up to you. 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Marinade time: 1 hour

Cook time:  4-8 hours

Ingredients
    1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu, drained
    3 tablespoons soy sauce (this recipe is gluten-free if you use the gluten-free soy sauce!  I actually used Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for the soy sauce instead since it tastes just like it). 
    2 teaspoons maple syrup
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
    2 teaspoons brown sugar

Directions
Wrap your tofu block gently with a kitchen towel, and set on a plate. Set another plate on top, and put a weight on top of the plate such as a can to press the water from the block of tofu while you prepare the sauce.

In a medium bowl, stir together the soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic powder, black pepper, barbeque sauce and brown sugar until smooth.

Slice tofu into 1/4 inch thick slices, and dip them in the sauce to coat (I dumped any extra marinade on top too). Place in a tightly sealed container, pop in the fridge, and let marinate for one to two hours.

Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature, around 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Line the oven rack with heavy duty aluminum foil, and place in the lowest position of the oven. Place the tofu slices on the foil. (I just put them on a cookie sheet, but maybe this would help them dry out faster). 

Bake for at least 4 hours, checking and turning over tofu slices every few hours. Tofu jerky is done when it is hard and uniformly dark in color.  (Again, mine was not terribly dark, but I like it a bit chewy!) 

 
Keep in mind, these pictures are from BEFORE these guys went in the oven, so they look quite wet & juicy.  Trust me, they will dry out significantly.  

And they are BANANAS GOOD!!  So so yummy!  I put them in a tupperware container, and I'm so bringing them with me for camping.  They'll be a great salty snack!  YUM! 

I'm totally making my famous breakfast burritos wrapped in foil for this trip, as well as a crazy yummy vodka drink I made up last night (homemade iced tea mixed with cranberry juice, vodka, and a little bit of honey).  

So excited!