On my list of store-bought items that I'd like to make myself is vegan lunch meat. I'm not much of a meat analogue person myself, but my fella often fancies a hefty Field Roast or Tofurky sandwich for lunch. The king of internet recipes for vegan deli slices seems to be Vegan Dad's Hickory Smoked Veggie Turkey Lunchmeat, so I gave it a go.
I quickly learned that the blended parts of the recipe are beyond my food processor's capacity, but I made it through. Somehow. After steaming and baking the seitanic loaf, it was still a little mushy on top, so I popped it back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so, and it firmed up quite nicely.
The texture of the "meat" is decent enough, perhaps a little chewy for some, but it's not quite as flavorful as I'd like it to be. Next time I make this I'm going to use vegetable stock in place of water, real garlic and onions instead of powders, and I'll probably up the spices and add a generous spoonful or two of freshly ground pepper.
While my main plan was to have sandwich meat on hand, I think this would also make a comfortable dinner with some Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes and gravy. And it makes a large enough quantity to get many sandwiches and meals out of one loaf. I look forward to giving this another try!
You're brave, attempting such a big project! I'm still plucking courage to try my first homemade seitan! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt was surprisingly easy and mostly successful, aside from the bland flavor, which I will remedy the next time I make it. The difficult part was clean up. Vital wheat gluten likes to cling to dishes, I have learned.
Delete