Tempeh in Homemade Mulberry BBQ Sauce
If you like tempeh, you’ll love this seared tempeh in a homemade mulberry BBQ sauce. The tempeh is nutty and funky with an excellent crust, where the sweet, sticky, and smoky spicy mulberry BBQ sauce clings. The sauce is slightly caramelized, fruity, with notes of ginger and smoky chipotle peppers. If you have a mulberry tree in your neighborhood, now is the time to turn it into the most tasty and fun BBQ sauce out there.
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Foraging for Mulberries
Most of the mulberries growing across the United States are in settled areas, having been brought over from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia by fans of the berry. There is one native species of mulberry, but because most of our mulberries were planted you’ll find them far more frequently skirting parking lots than you will deep in the woods.
The best way to find mulberries is to look in late June (where I am- your mulberry season may be a little different). Instead of looking up, try looking down. It can be hard to find mulberries boughs amidst the other foliage, but the stained purple pavement is hard to miss. Squished berries and leftover berry stains are a tell tale sign that you’ve found your tree. Now you just have to pick faster than the birds.
Harvesting mulberries often results in stained hands, but they wash clean before long. Since ripe mulberries are prone to bursting, I’ve developed a technique to minimize this risk. With one hand holding a large container underneath a branch, I gently tap the berries with my other hand—something akin to a brush or a tickle—causing the ripe berries to fall and be caught in my container, while the unripe ones remain on the tree.
Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I can’t responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.
There are a dozen or so species of mulberry, each with a little different flavor and appearance. Some are sweet, some are a little tarter, and others can be disappointingly watery. That means that once you find a good tree, remember where it is for next year. To complete your mulberry identification, next look at the leaves.. Mulberry leaves are single and lobed, resembling a somewhat heart-shaped, light green structure. Height differences in mulberries can be enormous- some tower several stories high, whereas others might be mistaken for a shrub. The berry itself first appears white or greenish like a blackberry are comprised of many small berries. Once fully ripe, mulberries come in three colors: black (as pictured here), red (which is native to North America and primarily found on the East Coast), and white (which takes on a pale lavender hue when ripe). Their sizes vary, ranging from almost round to moderately elongated. It’s important to note that mulberries are not suitable for consumption when they are green, but I do enjoy them when they are just the tiniest bit underripe.
Looking for Mulberry Recipes? Try one of these!
Want Tempeh Recipes? Try one of these!
How to Make Tempeh in Mulberry BBQ Sauce
The first step to making barbecue mulberry tempeh is to make the barbecue sauce. I recommend doing this the night before, or the very least a couple hours before you will be eating your tempeh. To make this fruity, sweet, and smoky sauce we’re going to start by combining all of our ingredients in a saucepan and cooking them until the mulberries release their juices and start to break down. It will really only take about 5 minutes, and then you’re ready to blend your sauce. You can use an immersion blender to break up the Chipotle peppers, garlic, and mulberries into the sauce. At this point your sauce will look quite thick, as the mulberries have a lot of seeds and stems that are not going to blend smooth. And don’t worry, we don’t want them either. Use a fine mesh strainer and pass the sauce through to remove all the solid bits from the liquid. Once all the seeds and stems are removed you can set your sauce in the fridge to cool fully. The sauce is a little thinner than a store-bought barbecue sauce, because we haven’t added any thickeners. Nevertheless, it will cling to your tempeh beautifully once cooked.
Next start the tempeh by cutting it into pieces and heating up a skillet on the stove. We’re going to cook it in oil until all the tempeh is crispy, flipping as needed. Once our tempeh is done we can take it off the heat, but leave it in the pan and before it cools down add your mulberry BBQ sauce. You should only need about half of what you’ve made, although if you like a lot of sauce you may want to use more. Toss the sauce with the tempeh in the hot pan, making sure each piece is coated. It tastes great in sandwiches and is equally delicious over rice with vegetables. 
Tempeh in Homemade Mulberry BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh mulberries, washed
- 3-4 dried chipotle peppers
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. grated ginger
- 1 tsp. miso paste
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 12 oz. tempeh
- Oil for cooking
Instructions
- To make the BBQ sauce, combine all the ingredients aside from the tempeh and oil in a saucepan. Heat on medium-high for about 5 minutes, letting the mulberries break down. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce together, and use a fine metal strainer remove all the solids. You should be left with 1-1 1/2 cups of sauce. Transfer to a jar and allow to cool fully in the fridge.
- To make the tempeh, heat a large skillet with a couple tablespoons of oil. Cut the tempeh into pieces- I cut mine about 3/4 of an inch thick. Sear in the oil, flipping, until all the sides are crispy.
- Remove from the heat, and while the pan is still hot add about 1/2 cup of the mulberry BBQ sauce. Stir well to coat all the tempeh in the sticky sauce. Transfer to a serving dish, topping off with a little more mulberry BBQ sauce if desired.
Notes
Depending on how saucy you like your tempeh, this recipe can create enough mulberry BBQ sauce for two batches.
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