I Smoked Seitan. Oh, yes I did

[cathyeats]

I'm a barbecue purist at heart, but can no longer eat the stuff. So I devised this smoked seitan. It absorbs the smoke beautifully and develops a nice crust. At last weekend's party, I had meat eaters fighting each other for the last bite.

I used a dry rub, leaving out the salt because the seitan itself is quite salty. For the sauce, I chose a traditional Lexington, NC vinegar sauce. A South Carolina mustard-based sauce also works well here.

The recipe looks long and involved, but it’s actually quite simple. And if you don’t have a real smoker, you can smoke right in a Weber grill. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_turn_your_kettle_grill_into_a_smoker/

If you want to check out more photos of the finished product, they're here. It really looks like brisket! http://whatwouldcathyeat.com/2010/07/...

Step 1: Make Seitan

1 ½ c. vital wheat gluten

¼ c. nutritional yeast flakes

1 c. + 2 T. ice water

1/3 c. low sodium soy sauce or tamari

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 t. lemon zest

2 t. paprika

¼ t. cumin

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

½ t. chili powder

Liquid for simmering:

10 cups extremely cold water

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

Combine gluten and nutritional yeast in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together water, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, lemon zest and spices.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine. Knead dough in the bowl for about 3 minutes until you have a spongy dough (this will look and feel like the most disgusting food ever). Excess liquid will accumulate in the bottom of the bowl, and that’s fine – just leave it in the bowl. Let rest for a few minutes, then shape into a log about 7 or 8 inches long. Cut into 3 pieces.

Put the cold water and soy sauce in a large saucepan and gently put the pieces of dough in the liquid. Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for one hour, turning the pieces occasionally. Let it cool for ten minutes, then remove the seitan. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze out all the liquid you can, being careful not to break the hunks of seitan. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap or place in a zip lock bag and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Step 2: Rub and smoke

Dry rub:

3 T. paprika

1 T. black pepper

1 T. sugar

1 T. chili powder

2 t. garlic powder

2 t. onion powder

1 t. cayenne pepper

½ t. dry mustard powder

Start a fire in your smoker. Soak wood chips (preferably hickory) for 45 minutes or more. Coat the seitan pieces in the dry rub mixture and put it on a grill basket or right on the grate. Throw some wood chips on the hot coals and close the cover. Smoke for 1 ½ hours, adding more soaked wood chips occasionally. If your smoker has a thermometer, keep the temperature at about 225.

Step 3: Sauce and eat

Barbecue sauce:

1 c. water

1 c. cider vinegar

2/3 c. ketchup

1 T. sugar

½ t. red pepper flakes

½ t. freshly ground pepper

1 t. salt

Whisk the sauce ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Let the smoked seitan cool for 5 minutes, then slice, drizzle with sauce and serve plain or on buns. (Note: It’s best served right after you smoke it – if you reheat it in an oven later, the edges will lose the crispiness.)

[nakji]

Ooh....Ahhhh....(I'm tempted to ask: "But did you inhale?")

Does it come out dry or moist? And importantly, what did you serve alongside this? I know a lot of vegetarians who would enjoy something like this at a cookout.

[cathyeats]

To answer your question, it came out pretty moist but not mushy. The crusty exterior really makes it.

I didn't serve much of interest with it. But if I had my choice again, I'd have some coleslaw and baked beans!