Vegetarian Sausage -- Just Wondering

[maggiethecat]

We were listening to a story on "Marketplace" today about Wurstkuche, a hot new sausage restaurant in LA. (My son-in-law, who is hip to word of mouth about restaurants and technology , threw my daughter's birthday party there Way back in February and gave it good marks.) They serve sausage, many many varieties, and so we had to discuss sausage at length.

Is there any such thing as a good vegetarian sausage? My mind boggles at the likelihood.

But if there is a good recipe out there -- light on the tofu, please -- I know that the eGullet community is the place to go.

[snowangel]

Is there any such thing as a good vegetarian sausage? My mind boggles at the likelihood.

Having made many, many sausages in the past, and eaten even more, I'm thinking that pork fat is essential, but what do I know other than that I love pork. I'm wondering where the fat would come from so that it could be incorporated.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

As a vegetarian myself, I have tried various vegie pattie recipes, and I can make some nice tasting things but they are not worth thinking about as meat substitutes... i think of them as fritters or patties. So if you mean a vegetarian sausage that seems like meat, I'm not much help. But if you think of it more as just a tasty "log" that can be enjoyed in a roll, I think there are possibilities.

There are "nut loaves" or non-meat loaf recipes that use nuts as part of the bulk, which can be quite pleasant. I have also made some tofu balls that involve firm tofu crumbled into little bits, and mixed with various other stuff, including peanut butter, which really helps the taste for some reason... i guess it's adding salt and fat. Also helps to bind.

But I find all my attempts end up a bit squishy or paste-y, which is less than desireable! Meat has so many qualities and textures that are just really hard to emulate!

Here's a blog post from a friend of mine, in which she discusses vegan (skinless) sausages with a similar conclusion to me.

[SobaAddict70]

actually there's a restaurant called "Bark" in Park Slope that has a vegetarian hot dog

so yes, it's possible.

from what I've heard tofu isn't one of the ingredients.

Edited September 16, 2009 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[baroness]

There are commerical vegetarian sausages; some are not bad.

I think tempeh would be a good base ingredient.

[dougal]

There are plenty commercial veggie sausages.

I think this is an area where "food technologists" might be entitled to show off.

One standout is Sainsbury's own-brand frozen "Meat-Free" Hot Dog sausages. Made in Israel, IIRC.

Most folk wouldn't think they were veggie. (Which isn't always a recommendation in veggie circles.)

ADDED: They might be from Tivall (?), ... http://www.veggie-uk.com/html/sainsburys_reviews.html (and scroll down)

2nd addition : http://www.tivall.co.uk/content.asp?id=14 and http://www.tivall.co.uk/content.asp?id=28

One difficult (impossible) ingredient for a home-made veggie sausage is the casing.

I don't think veggie sausage skins can be obtained as such.

Commercially, a "casing" can be formed round the sausage using alginate. I'm pretty sure that's what the Sainsbury Hot Dogs have.

Edited September 16, 2009 by dougal (log)

[DanM]

I occasionally use vegetarian sausage at home. It is necessary when you keep a kosher kitchen and want a little "meat" with your dairy. I second the notion that you cannot compare them to the real thing. As a vegetable or grain based sausage, most are pretty good. Some stand outs are Trader Joes Sausageless Italian Sausage, Gimme Lean Sausage, and Morning Star Breakfast sausages and patties.

Dan

Biscuits and Gravy with Gimme Lean Sausage

Break 1/2 tube of Gimme Lean sausage broken into grape size chunks. Fry in a cast iron pan on high heat until brown. Remove from pan.

Fry a handful of sliced crimini mushrooms in the cast iron pan. Once cooked, return the sausage to the pan.

Add 1 pt (or as much as desired) of whole milk and bring to a boil.

Once the milk starts to thicken, season and serve over biscuits.

[Moopheus]

[Having made many, many sausages in the past, and eaten even more, I'm thinking that pork fat is essential, but what do I know other than that I love pork. I'm wondering where the fat would come from so that it could be incorporated.

This is in fact a problem (in my opinion, I guess) with the commercially produced veggie sausages. Even if the taste is okay, they are too low fat. This is deliberate, I'm sure, to attract the "health conscious" consumer who wants a low-fat product. But a good sausage, like an Italian hot sausage (my favorite) is not generally a low-fat product. But I suspect it is useless to complain. I don't expect, in this day and age, to see any producer put out a product labeled "New and Improved! Now MORE Fat!"

Maybe I will have to try making my own.

[Peter the eater]

. . . . One difficult (impossible) ingredient for a home-made veggie sausage is the casing.

I don't think veggie sausage skins can be obtained as such.

Commercially, a "casing" can be formed round the sausage using alginate. I'm pretty sure that's what the Sainsbury Hot Dogs have.

I've seen but not tasted digestible cellulose casing somewhere.

[Lisa Shock]

I've never been able to make anything very good at home. But, the 'Gimme Lean' stuff is available at most of the big chain supermarkets, and is similar to breakfast sausage patties. As stated above, it's very low in fat. I am able to get it to crisp-up by frying in a little oil. It holds up well in casseroles and on pizza.

White Wave, a Colorado tofu company, used to sell 'SoySage' (a small brick with a patè-lie texture) to Wild Oats, prior to the WF buyout of WO. It was tasty, but had to be fried til crusty to stand up in most dishes. It had visible sunflower seeds in it, which was comforting as an indicator that there wasn't any meat in it.

[dougal]

. . . . One difficult (impossible) ingredient for a home-made veggie sausage is the casing.

I don't think veggie sausage skins can be obtained as such.

Commercially, a "casing" can be formed round the sausage using alginate. I'm pretty sure that's what the Sainsbury Hot Dogs have.

I've seen but not tasted digestible cellulose casing somewhere.

Ummm. Can humans digest cellulose?

ADDED EDIT: I think there may be super-thin, "edible", cellulose skins - principally for 'skinless' products!

However, these are industrial products, film-thin, and beyond the possible technology of the home sausage-maker.

And I still think you'd need to be a herbivore to digest them!

Edited September 17, 2009 by dougal (log)

[Peter the eater]

. . . . One difficult (impossible) ingredient for a home-made veggie sausage is the casing.

I don't think veggie sausage skins can be obtained as such.

Commercially, a "casing" can be formed round the sausage using alginate. I'm pretty sure that's what the Sainsbury Hot Dogs have.

I've seen but not tasted digestible cellulose casing somewhere.

Ummm. Can humans digest cellulose?

ADDED EDIT: I think there may be super-thin, "edible", cellulose skins - principally for 'skinless' products!

However, these are industrial products, film-thin, and beyond the possible technology of the home sausage-maker.

And I still think you'd need to be a herbivore to digest them!

I'll look for the product to see what they say. IIRC it's like a "biodegradable plastic bag" that breaks down into tiny particles without actual digestion.