BBQ Seitan Roast Recipe. All Suggested Uses

Seitan Roast

Seitan roast sandwich

My readers know this about me: I’m a very big stickler for names of dishes. So rather than calling a seitan dish by its meat counterpart, I will call it by its generic name. Besides, I confess I find it somewhat unbecoming to call plant foods by the name of the animal foods we are distancing from. (Oy, did someone say distancing? Again? Can a girl get some distancing from distancing, even for a day?) More on the topic of what’s in a dish name in my main post about Seitan Dishes

The Accidental Brisket Connection

This being said, there is something about this dish that is hard to miss: It looks and tastes remarkably like Brisket. OK, so maybe it’s not so accidental. My original brisket recipe gave me plenty of inspiration.This must be because I riffed endlessly on my regular brisket recipe to get that rich, gooey, juicy, moist texture, and that drip-down-our-elbow sauce. In other words, all of those fantastic Fleishik assets we love in a meat roast, and none of its price tag. A fun festive and healthy dish you can enjoy anytime! Talk about Gastronomie Sans Argent!

You Guys Know I’m a Brisket Mavin, right?

Sorry about bragging, please indulge me. My brisket recipes made their modest contributions in making me famous. They were included in many publications, including the New York Times Jewish Cookbook. Here are my two main brisket recipes: the brisket with sweet and sour sauce, and the brisket with coffee bourbon sauce

So my Seitan roast recipe is kind of a dead ringer for brisket. Hmmm… Good problem, so why should I try to fix it? There’s nothing you would do with brisket that you wouldn’t do with this seitan roast. Sliced and topped with its own gravy, in Skewers and Kebabs, in Sandwiches, even ground in burgers, chili or pasta.

Sliced BBQ Seitan Roast

Seitan Roast Absorbs Lots of Liquid

So don’t get alarmed at the amount of liquid that surrounds the roast: it will be absorbed during the roasting and give your dish all its succulence. You will be left with just enough naturally thickened gravy to pour over the sliced roast. In fact you might even add a little liquid if too much of it was absorbed in the roasting process.

A Real Roasting Pan, Please!

Not a flimsy disposable pan. Those are strictly reserved, as a special concession, for reheating fully cooked food. No need to explain why, I hope. There simply will not be any comparison in the end results. Mind you, I’m not even going into the hazards of prolonged cooking/baking in aluminum. So, please don’t make this dish or any dish in disposable aluminum foil tray. Cook and bake in real cookware and bakeware, best of friends, OK? Phew, I’m so glad we had this little talk!

My Recipe is Ideally Streamlined

The roast bakes covered in the roasting pan, then it gets under the broiler for a few minutes on each side, also in this roasting pan. This is how it gets that fabulous charred grill finish. If you have an outdoor grill, just smear the baked roast with some of the sauce, and throw it on the grill.

My Seitan Roast is so versatile!

Scroll down the recipe for exciting ideas! I am also including my own sources for the best ginger, garlic powder and onion powder (no they are absolutely not created equal)

Ingredients

Wet mixture

3 cups beer, dark or light, (non alcoholic OK if you would rather not use alcohol in the dish)
1 1/2 cups unflavored sparkling water
1/4 cup tamari sauce or coconut aminos
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a little more to smear on the mixed dough
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons sriracha sauce or chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic extract powder
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger or pure ginger juice

Dry Ingredients

2 1/2 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 cup chickpea flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350*F

Whisk all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Place 3 cups of the wet mixture in a food processor. Add the gluten and the flour, and process the mixture for about 2 minutes.

Shape the mixture into an oblong loaf about 2 inches high. Smear the loaf with olive oil on all sides.
Place the loaf in a roasting pan.

Poke the loaf all over with a wooden skewer, all the way through its whole thickness: this easy and quick step insures that the liquids will penetrate the loaf and infuse it with all its awesome flavors.
Pour the remaining liquid over the loaf.
Cover the pan tightly, and roast for 1 1/2 hours.

You will note that the loaf has expanded and firmed up, and that the liquids have reduced and thickened. In the unlikely even that you don’t have enough liquid to form a gravy, whisk the cooking liquids with a little water.

Now set the oven on broil.

When the broiler is ready, brush the roast with the cooking liquids, and stick the pan right under the flame for 6-8 minutes.
Flip the roast, brush it again, and stick it again under throiler for 6-8 minutes.

Go in a few exciting directions:

- Slice the roast thin, and pour the gravy over it. Slice only the part you will be serving, and freeze the rest.

- Make sandwiches, with all the fixings: added BBQ sauce, sliced onions, pickles, sliced tomatoes, coleslaw.

- Cut in strips after you finish baking (to be clear: before you put under the broiler). Thread the strips on skewers, brush them with the baking liquid, and broil 2-3 minutes.

- Dice and use in pasta or chili, even in salads.