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As something a little different, to make for cold cuts, sandwiches or even as a roast I really like this vegan smoked turkey seitan. When making a vegan smoked turkey I find the texture to be one of the most important parts of the process and this seitan turkey is really close to the real thing.
Why Vegan Smoked Turkey?
A vegan smoked turkey is not something you are going to find in many stores, it is the ideal thing to do at home. I first saw this recipe in this book by Michael Skye Conroy and have made and tweaked it many times. I have to say the flavours in this seitan turkey are so good and that little bit of smokiness adds something that is hard to find in a lot of vegan dishes.
How you use this seitan turkey is up to you. I love slicing it really thin and piling the slices high in a sandwich with some salad and vegan mayo. It is just as good served hot with gravy and all the trimmings.
How To Make A Juicy, Flavourful Vegan Smoked Turkey
The key ingredient in this vegan turkey is, of course, seitan and to get both the texture and juiciness of the real thing we have to use plenty of liquid in the recipe so that when it’s cooked it carries through into the finished dish.
This recipe uses vital wheat gluten which is a type of flour made from wheat. The wheat gluten is mixed with herbs, spices and water to form a dough. By using a little more water than usual this seitan turkey comes out nice and moist and with the perfect texture.
The seitan turkey is then wrapped in foil and baked in a low oven which in effect steams it slowly maintaining the moisture and preventing the seitan from drying out.
Do You Have To Use Smoke?
The smoke in this vegan turkey is completely optional, it is liquid smoke that is made from real smoked wood chips. If you don’t like smoke flavour then absolutely leave it out. There is plenty of flavour in this turkey without the smoke and the texture and colour will be exactly the same.
How To Form The Seitan Turkey
As I mentioned above, this seitan dough is quite wet. It won’t be sticky but it is slippery and will spread out quite easily.
Eventually, we are going to bake the dough in a low oven so we need to shape it into a large roll or cylinder which means it needs wrapping and support.
When seitan is cooked it expands. If it is not tightly wrapped the seitan will be spongy and develop holes. Tightly enclosing the seitan turkey with triple layers of foil means we get the perfect texture after cooking.
Vegan Smoked Turkey - Seitan Turkey Joint
A deliciously moist and totally vegan smoked turkey. Great hot or cold or for just eating slices straight out of the fridge.
Ingredients
Dry Mix
- 320g Vital Wheat Gluten
- 30g Chickpea Flour
- 30g Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 2 tsp Vegan Chicken Broth Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Pepper
Wet Mix
- 630ml Water
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tbsp Liquid Smoke
- 2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 Celcius / 340 Fahrenheit and make sure the fan is not running if you have a convection oven.
- In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- In a smaller bowl combine the wet ingredients and whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Knead the seitan dough with your hands for about 2 minutes. This will help to create texture in the cooked turkey.
- Tear off an 18-inch piece of strong foil. Place the dough on the foil and try to roll it into a compact cylinder, the dough will spread so it is a little tricky.
- Wrap the dough in the foil as tightly as possible and seal the ends by folding them under the dough. Place this on another piece of foil and wrap it as tightly as you can.
- Wrap in a third piece of foil and then twist the end which will compress the whole package and keep everything nice and tight.
- Place the wrapped seitan in the oven on a rack. Bake at 170 Celcius / 340 Fahrenheit without the fan running for 2 hours. Rotate the vegan turkey every 30 minutes or so.
- After 2 hours remove from the oven and let the smoked turkey cool. Once cooled place the turkey still wrapped in foil in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight for the best texture
- The turkey is ready, it can be sliced and served cold or the heated in a pan with a little oil or broth.
Notes
Keep refrigerated for a week or slice and freeze in airtight bags for up to 3 months
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 84Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 13g
Storing Vegan Seitan Turkey
Keep this seitan turkey wrapped in clingfilm or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
For longer-term storage, I like to slice the turkey and separate it into portions in airtight bags and then freeze for up to 3 or 4 months.