Why did my eggplant parmasan turn out tough?

I usually take the skin off my eggplant slices and drizzle the slices with olive oil and Italian bread crumbs and bake at about 350 dg. for about 12 minutes until just tender. I find that leaving the peel on makes them tough. Then I add them to the casserole. Hope I helped. A lot of cooking shows tell you to leave the peel on.

When I make my eggplant parmesan, I don't peel it. I don't cut it into rings. There was an excellent Italian restaurant near where I worked that made outstanding eggplant parmesan. They showed me how they made their's. The cut the eggplant lengthwise instead of widthwise - with the peel on. He then lightly floured it and put it on a cookie sheet and baked it at 500º until it softened. He didn't do the salt thing to take out the moisture or anything. Once they were softened and lightly browned, he layered them with a meaty Maranara sauce, and cheeses. It was to die for.

There are only two reasons I can think of why it might have been tough and others have already named one - old eggplant - but the other might be undercooking the eggplant before putting it with the sauce. I cook my eggplant parmesan longer than 30 minutes - more like 45.

Hope that helps.

The little restaurant I talked about no longer exists but they had the red checkered tablecloths with the wine bottle candles on every table. The hubby was the cook and the wife was the waitress and originally they lived upstairs. As they grew, they bought a home and hired people to work for them. But he would come in at all times just to make sure all the cooks cooked the food exactly as he had taught them so a customer could count on it tasting exactly the same no matter when they came in.

Great little place.

Did you salt the slices, and let them set on paper towels for a few minutes first? That let's some of the excess moisture come out of it, so you're just working with eggplant, and not the liquid IN the eggplant too

Your eggplant may have been a bit old - too large. You should have salted the slices and let the water run from them for 20 mins or so. I hope you used real parmesan and not this powdered rubbish they sell in packets because that is a realy waste of money

You might have over cooked it. When you brown it just do it until it is a light golden brown. Low flame. Bake for at least 10/15 minutes. You only want to melt the cheese when you put it in the oven. Good Luck...