BBQ Mexican style tempeh with Pico de Gallo

Tempeh I think is the only vegetarian protein source I haven’t found the right recipe for. It always feels like I’m eating overly dry tightly packed beans. In continuance with my recent project of cleaning out the freezer I found 4 packages of Tempeh that needed to be used, and had company coming for dinner so here is what I made. The original concept came from  Vegan Dad. I made some minor and major changes to suit what I had on hand, and what I could buy in the store. Enjoy the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 packages of soy Tempeh

1 batch of Pico de Gallo

Romaine lettuce sliced into thin strips

Mexican Rub:

2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp kosher salt or iodized salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

Mexican BBQ Sauce:

4 TBL margarine

1 Med Vidalia onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup tequila

juice of one lime

1 cup ketchup

2 pieces of chipotle pepper (I used canned chipotle’s in Adobo sauce so two pieces out of the can)

1/2 tsp chili powder

What you do with it all:

First mix together all the dry ingredients (if your using kosher salt I like to mix the dry ingredients using a mortar and pestle to crush the spices into the salt). Now transfer the rub to either a salt shaker, or a old spice container to help you sprinkle the rub when the time comes. Set aside.

Now for the BBQ sauce, in a small to medium sauce pan melt the margarine over medium heat then fry the onion and garlic until translucent and somewhat golden. Add the sugar, tequila, and lime juice, mix well. Now add the rest of the BBQ sauce ingredients and mix until well combined. Bring to a bubble then remove from heat (you can either use it right away or refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to blend more).

Time for the Tempeh, turn one side of your grill to high, while the grill is warming up remove the tempeh from the  packing and cut each in half, then sprinkle the Rub all over and rub in with your hands (don’t be afraid to get messy here). turn and repeat, until the tempeh has a reddish color and smoky smell. Once all the tempeh has been coated go out to your BBQ with the

BBQ Tempeh with a serving of spicy brown rice

tempeh, BBQ sauce, a basting brush and a clean plate (I always like to bring a cold beer, but not necessary). On the hot side of the grill, drop your tempeh just long enough to make some nice grill marks, then flip and repeat on the other side. Once all your tempeh has grill marks transfer to the cold side of the BBQ (the one without flames) and generously coat with the BBQ sauce, flip

and repeat. Cook for about 5 minutes per side adding more sauce if it begins to dry out.

For the Service:

Place a peice of tempeh on your plate, top with a small handful of the romaine lettuce, then spoon some Pico de Gallo over the top.

Serves well with my Spicy Brown Rice recipe (coming soon).