Marinated Tea-Smoked Tempeh Slabs

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Tempeh — The other, other, white meat substitute. For those transitioning to a plant based diet may we suggest a switch from Tofu to Tempeh as your main event course. On the grill or in the oven, this ancient bean cake is something to live for! If you are a novice with Tempeh, you may not like the mushroomy/nutty/slightly fermented taste, some have even said it’s a bitter taste. Well if you use this marinade we guarantee you won’t taste any bitterness. And you won’t need a smoker to get that tea-smoked flavor.Tempeh Barbecue

Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven and pre-heat oven to 350ºF

Tempeh Marinade

1. Mix in a large bowl the dry ingredients listed below.

1 teaspoon each of:

  • parsley flakes
  • sage
  • rosemary
  • thyme
  • oregano
  • anise seed
  • red pepper flakes
  • mustard
  • granulated garlic
  • granulated onion
  • chipotle smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon of:

  • nutmeg

2. Add to the dry ingredients the following wet ingredients:

  • 4 cups Red Wine
  • 3 cups Strong Smoked Russian Caravan Black Tea (it has a smokey flavor, a combination of Chinese Keemun and Lapsang Souchong teas) or 3 Cups black tea with 2 Tablespoons of liquid smoke
  • 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/3 cup Tamari
  • 1/3 cup Maple Syrup

3. Mix all of the ingredients well and set aside for about 30 minutes.
4. Unwrap 4 packages (8 oz each package) of tempeh and place in a large oblong glass baking dish; we used pyrex.
5. Pour the marinade over the tempeh slabs
6. Place in oven and bake for 1.5 to 2 hours (until most of the liquid is absorbed)
7. Remove the tempeh slabs from the marinade. At this point you can store them, refrigerated and grill when needed.
8. Heat grill to medium. Place marinated tempeh on the grill and brush with our favorite tea-smoked barbecue sauce, about 10 minutes on each side.
9. Remove from the grill and place on cutting board.
10. Slice into one-inch strips (about 10 to a whole slab) and serve with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed dandelion greens.

If you are lucky to have leftovers, this recipe may be even better, served cold, a day later.

  2 comments for “Marinated Tea-Smoked Tempeh Slabs

  1. Regarding the recipe for Marinated Tea-Smoked Tempeh Slabs, what brand of tempeh do you recommend?

    • Soy Boy, Lightlife or any organic brand of soy tempeh will do fine. You can use a soy/grain tempeh but does not hold together as well.

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