If you have been following my recipes for a while, you know I am a fan of Seitan, a delicious meat alternative for vegans and vegetarians. You can make seitan many different ways and it will take on the flavor of the spices you add. You can make seitan on the stovetop, in the oven, in a slow cooker or in a pressure cooker. This particular one I made on the stovetop for an hour, then in the oven for another hour. You will find this roast has a bit more of a dense texture than my turkey loaf, the texture is more like a ham, but still very tender. This is a great tasting sweet "vegan ham" to serve on the holidays. It is excellent for slicing up thin and putting on sandwich's.
Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp ground cloves
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 block or 7 oz extra firm tofu
1.5 T red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 cup pineapple juice
1 TB soy sauce
1.5 TB liquid smoke
4 TB pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable Flavor Paste
1 T brown sugar
6 drops of red food coloring
Glaze Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 T maple syrup
Simmer Sauce:
6 cups water
2 bay leaves
4 T Teriyaki Sauce
Whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside. In a blender or nutribullet, combine all wet ingredients and blend well to a very creamy consistency, it may take a couple minutes. It should look quite pink with the food coloring. You could use beet juice instead, but it will not stay as pink. With a wooden spoon add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients a bit at a time, your batter will look quite pink. Finish mixing with your hands and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. It should feel very stretchy and elastic like. This is an important step to activate the gluten. Roll into a ball or log shape whichever you prefer, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
While waiting, fill your pan, (I used a dutch oven type pan) with about 6 cups of water. Add the teriyaki sauce, and bay leaves. Now Place your "ham" on a large piece of heavy duty foil, I like to season the ham with a light rub of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, but that is optional. Loosely wrap it in the foil, folding the ends over twice or twist. You want to wrap it fairly loose because seitan expands considerably as it cooks, the foil will help it hold it's shape, but you want some of the broth to still seep inside. Now place it in your pan, put the lid on and simmer gently for one hour, turning once.
When complete, carefully remove the foil, and leave a few inches of the water on bottom of pan. If you want to get fancy, you can score a criss cross pattern on the top of your roast. Bake in your oven uncovered at 375 degrees for 45-60 min, basting occasionally with the broth. The last 10 min, remove from oven, Spoon or pour off most of the broth if there is a lot left, then spread the sweet glaze over the top and return to oven. It will be done when the glaze is bubbling hot and sticky. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve. I find it is easiest to slice thinly with an electric knife. This makes great sandwich's and you may find yourself nibbling bits right out of the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp ground cloves
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 block or 7 oz extra firm tofu
1.5 T red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 cup pineapple juice
1 TB soy sauce
1.5 TB liquid smoke
4 TB pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable Flavor Paste
1 T brown sugar
6 drops of red food coloring
Glaze Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 T maple syrup
Simmer Sauce:
6 cups water
2 bay leaves
4 T Teriyaki Sauce
Whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside. In a blender or nutribullet, combine all wet ingredients and blend well to a very creamy consistency, it may take a couple minutes. It should look quite pink with the food coloring. You could use beet juice instead, but it will not stay as pink. With a wooden spoon add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients a bit at a time, your batter will look quite pink. Finish mixing with your hands and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. It should feel very stretchy and elastic like. This is an important step to activate the gluten. Roll into a ball or log shape whichever you prefer, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
While waiting, fill your pan, (I used a dutch oven type pan) with about 6 cups of water. Add the teriyaki sauce, and bay leaves. Now Place your "ham" on a large piece of heavy duty foil, I like to season the ham with a light rub of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, but that is optional. Loosely wrap it in the foil, folding the ends over twice or twist. You want to wrap it fairly loose because seitan expands considerably as it cooks, the foil will help it hold it's shape, but you want some of the broth to still seep inside. Now place it in your pan, put the lid on and simmer gently for one hour, turning once.
When complete, carefully remove the foil, and leave a few inches of the water on bottom of pan. If you want to get fancy, you can score a criss cross pattern on the top of your roast. Bake in your oven uncovered at 375 degrees for 45-60 min, basting occasionally with the broth. The last 10 min, remove from oven, Spoon or pour off most of the broth if there is a lot left, then spread the sweet glaze over the top and return to oven. It will be done when the glaze is bubbling hot and sticky. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve. I find it is easiest to slice thinly with an electric knife. This makes great sandwich's and you may find yourself nibbling bits right out of the refrigerator. Enjoy!
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