Dulse Bacon: Delicious, But Not Quite The Real Thing

When Americans think of hearty breakfasts, they usually don't think of seaweed, but a hearty Irish breakfast includes dulse. Americans are discovering that this tasty and nutritious Irish breakfast food can take the place of bacon.

What Is Dulse?

Dulse, which rhymes with "pulse," is a cold water red seaweed. It's in the same family as the seaweeds used to make nori sheets and kelp salads. Also known as creathnach or dillisk, this red algae grows along the northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Fresh dulse resembles red lettuce.

Dulse has been a staple vegetable in Ireland, Iceland, and Wales for over a thousand years. It contains all the trace minerals needed in human nutrition and generous amounts of omega-3 essential fatty acids, and is also a good source of fiber and protein. Dulse is harvested at low tide from rocky shores during late summer and early fall. Unless you know someone who harvests dulse, you probably won't be able to get it fresh (the raw dulse in stores is frozen and thawed out before it is offered in the seafood section), but dried pulse is available in most larger grocery stores. Dulse can be eaten straight from the ocean, or dried into flakes to be added to soups, pan-fried to make chips, baked with cheese, or fried to make "bacon."

Where Did Someone Get the Idea of Making Seaweed Into "Bacon"?

Many American health food fans eat dried dulse straight from the bag. It has an intensely salty, smoky, fresh-from-the-ocean flavor and a pleasantly chewy texture. Heating dulse with a little oil in a frying pan changes its flavor and texture. The seaweed flavor goes away, and the salty and smoky flavors predominate. The dulse gets crispy, like bacon, and its red hues darken to a bacon brown.

There's Really No Bacon Substitute

To be honest, no bacon connoisseur is ever going to give up real smoked pork bacon for fried dulse strips, but they are nonetheless a great accompaniment to scrambled eggs or savory cereals or potatoes. Dulse isn't something you eat instead of bacon, at least not on a long-term basis, but it is a food you can eat occasionally in addition to bacon for an interesting change of pace. Cholesterol-free even when it is pan-fried in vegetable oil, dulse lowers cholesterol (by the blocking action of its fibers) rather than raising it. Also, there are no preservatives.

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How Do You Prepare Dulse for Breakfast?

It doesn't take a lot of dulse to make a generous serving of dulse "bacon."  Heat a skillet to which you add one or two tablespoons (15-30 ml) of a neutral tasting oil. Take two handfuls, or about 20 grams (3/4 of an ounce), of dulse out of its package. Pull the leaves apart so they spread across the pan flat. Cook on medium heat for about three minutes or until the leaves begin to get crispy. Remove the dulse and place on a paper towel. Add a little more oil or butter to the pan and scramble eggs. Serve the eggs as desired with dulse bacon on the side.

Other Uses For This Tasty Sea Vegetable

While Irish, Icelandic, and Welsh families have recognized the value of wildcrafted dulse for centuries, American agricultural researchers have just started growing dulse commercially. Oregon State University professor Chris Langdon has even created a patented strain of dulse that can be harvested at any time of year for full-scale agricultural production in the American Pacific Northwest. Langdon works extensively with Jason Ball, a research chef at the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center to create recipes for dulse that will appeal to even the most seaweed-averse. Some of the ways Ball uses dulse in creative, tasty, nutritious recipes include:

• Sourdough bread with dulse substituted for salt. If this sounds a little out-there, it may help to know that Irish soda bread, which is popular even in parts of the United States, is also made with dulse.
• Beer brewed with dried dulse instead of hops. Home beer brewers may want to try this one.
• Instant ramen with a dulse spice packet. Adding dulse flakes to other instant ramen imparts a smoky, salty flavor that the MSG packets that come with most brands can't match.

• A puffed rice dulse cracker. Reported to be a hit at taste tests, Ball says “it’s like a vegetarian chicharrón (pork crackling)."
• Smoked dulse popcorn brittle. Home cooks can simply add dulse flakes to any kind of brittle they make with a savory component for an added smoky, bacon taste.
• Trail mix with dulse-and-banana leather. Dried dulse strips can also be added to trail mix made wit nuts.
• Dulse-and-fruit ice creams. The addition of dulse makes ice cream especially creamy.

How can you add this nutritional powerhouse to your own recipes? First of all, be sure to store dulse (you will almost certainly be buying dried dulse) in a cool, dry place. It will keep for up to two years. When you are working with dried dulse fronds, pull them apart just to make sure no stray pebbles or sand found their way into the product. Use dulse creatively.

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Fried dulse isn't just a breakfast food. Crisp dulse strips in a pan with oil, and then slap them between two slices of bread with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise for a DLT. Eat dulse chips instead of potato chips. Sprinkle dulse flakes over popcorn for a unique smoky-salty flavor, or use the flakes to season scrambled eggs when you aren't making dulse "bacon."  Add dulse flakes to salad dressings and vinaigrettes, or to season canned tuna fish or casseroles. Make a vegan miso soup with dulse flakes instead of bonito flakes. Add a meaty, umami flavor with dulse. The secret to the Japanese food craze the "umami burger" is dulse added to the meat.

With commercial dulse farms being set up in both the United States and Denmark, dulse is quite possibly the next kale, only even more nutritious. This magic seaweed creates new flavor profiles while adding fat-free nutrition to nearly everything you cook. Catch the wave of flavor and cook with dulse.