Seitan jerky

Veganite

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So I made some seitan yesterday. I've sliced it all up and it's now marinading in a brine I used to use for beef jerky. Hopefully it permeates through enough to give it that nice flavour I desire. So when I get home later today, after lunch, I will put it in the smoker. I am really looking forward to seeing how it comes out.

If anyone has made seitan jerky, I would love to hear from you. I'd be interested in sharing recipes and trade secrets ;)

Veganite
 
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Well, it was a learning experience. My first batch of vegan jerky is acceptable, as in it won't get wasted, but it has lots of room for improvement. I will try making a different seitan this next time, and perhaps bake it instead of simmering it.

I've heard steaming seitan improves the texture too. This is going to take a bit of trial & error. I think I need a more neutral seitan flavour though. The brine and smoke will provide enough flavour.

Overall though, I love the smokiness in the jerky, but I brined it too long, as it's somewhat salty. Fortunately I split it into two batches, so the other batch got a different brine, which was less salty. Not bad for a first effort, but my next batch will be better.

Once I iron out a good recipe I might even try marketing it. There's a huge vegan community here in Vancouver, and a demand for vegan snack foods.


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Last weekend I was visited by my non-vegetarian friends. And i decided to cook a vegetarian shish kebab. I used soy meat and homemade seitan marinated with favourite spices. It was very tasty.
 
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O-M-G!! I think I'm onto something now. No, not seitan jerky, but tofu jerky!!

I feel like I finally got a winner. I used the freezing technique with the tofu, to get the excess water out of it. It also slightly changes the texture. It makes it way more absorbent. It almost becomes sponge-like. So then I sliced it up into strips and squeezed any additional water out of the individual pieces.

For the brine/marinade, I used a combination of saki & mirin, soy, liquid smoke, sriracha, pineapple juice, maple syrup, and a bit of water, and some chipoltle powder for a little extra kick. I smoked it in my electric smoker for a couple hours, then finished the dehydration process in my food dehydrator, to speed the process up.

All I can say is WOW! My neighbour, whom is NOT vegan, loved it. He's offered to buy 5 lbs of it from me. lol. I just want to eat it all day :p

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