Making your own seitan is really easy with Vital Wheat Gluten, which can be found at health food stores, and it allows you to control the seasonings and flavor of your "meat." I like to make this recipe the night before I wserve it to let the seitan soak up all of the flavors of barbecue sauce. While this recipe can be served as an elegant entree, it is also great party fare or as a first course.
Serves 4 to 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 cups vegetable broth or water
- 2 2/3 cup vital wheat gluten
- 2 T. nutritional yeast
- 1 T. salt
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 ¾ cup water
- For the Molasses Barbecue Sauce:
- 2 T. tomato paste
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup blackstrap molasses
- 1 cup plain rice milk
- 2 T. vinegar
- 2 T. salt
Preparation:
1. Pour the vegetable broth or water into a large stockpot and bring to a boil.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast and salt. In another bowl, combine the white wine and water. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry with a wooden spoon and knead until forming a sponge-like, tough dough.
3.Knead the dough until it is slightly pliable, about 2-3 minutes. Cut the dough into 6” strips about 2 “ wide and ¼” thick.
4. In a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat, brown the pieces of seitan on both sides (this will keep your "meat" from falling apart in the broth). As the seitan pieces are browned, place them in the boiling broth and allow them to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until they have expanded and risen to the surface. Remove the seitan with a slotted spoon or spatula and place in a small ovenproof dish just large enough to fit the seitan.
5. While the seitan is in the boiling broth, make the barbecue sauce. Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring well to dissolve. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Pour the sauce over the seitan and allow the mixture to cool slightly. Place in the refrigerator and allow seitan to marinate for 1 hour to overnight.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Allow the seitan to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before baking.
8. Bake the seitan until slightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve hot, spooning extra sauce over the seitan pieces.
