Shredded BBQ Seitan

I had to go to Texas for work training, and there aren’t always amazing vegan options in Texas, so I fully prepared myself to cook most of my meals in the hotel room on a hot plate. I went to this super intense and awesome grocery store that’s popular in Texas, called HEB and found the BEST BBQ Seitan. We ended up eating that a lot while we were in Texas, but then when we got home, our store didn’t sell it. So, we ended up doing monthly orders to Blackbird and even buying a small freezer to store all of our Blackbird BBQ Seitan. The obsession was real. This was before I realized how super easy it is to make your own seitan. And now, no offense to Blackbird, but I prefer my own seitan – it’s cheaper to make and I don’t need to keep a running inventory 🙂

If this is your first time making seitan, this is a great recipe to start with. You basically just blend your wet ingredients and stir them into your vital wheat gluten. This recipe doesn’t require much in the way of kneading because it’s a softer kind of seitan, less chewy than some. We pre-cook it in a pan for a couple minutes and then steam it, shred it and add your favorite BBQ sauce. Trust me, you’ll have it faster than finding Blackbird Seitan lol.

If you just bought a bunch of vital wheat gluten and need some more recipes/ideas, you should also check out my High Protein Bread, Seitan Steak Sandwich and Pumpkin Spice Seitan! If you haven’t tried dessert seitan yet, be prepared to have your world rocked!

Ingredients

• Silken Tofu – I like to use Extra Firm Silken Tofu, but any silken tofu will work great! If you’re new to silken tofu, there are two types – shelf-stable and refrigerated. I’m partial to the shelf-stable ones, because I can buy 12 packs and not worry about running out. My favorite shelf-stable brand is Mori-Nu.
• Vital Wheat Gluten – the most important ingredient for any seitan! I’ve tried a few different brands and haven’t noticed a difference so I think they’re all about the same. Definitely want to weigh this ingredient, because it’s a lot denser than the nutritional label will lead you to believe, and you’ll end up with a different texture and different calories/macros if you eyeball it with a measuring cup.
• Soy Sauce – adds some saltiness to the seitan.
• Maple Syrup – adds a small hint of sweetness that makes it taste really nice even if you don’t douse it in bbq sauce.
• Nutritional Yeast – you may have heard this called nooch by a whimsical vegan. We use this in pretty much everything. It’s high in protein, high in flavor and shelf stable! You can find it at most grocery stores or buy it online.
• Garlic powder, onion powder, salt.
• BBQ Sauce – I lived in Memphis for several years, and something I learned is that everyone has their own idea of what a good BBQ sauce is, so I’m not going to tell you what to use. I’m also not a decorated BBQ champion, so I don’t think I would make one that I enjoy as much as I enjoy my favorite bottled sauce. If you have a really stellar, not too spicy (because I’m whiny) BBQ Sauce recipe you swear by, let me know! I always like trying out new sauces! 🙂

Instructions

• Blend the silken tofu, water, soy sauce, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder and salt together in a blender.
• In a large bowl, combine the blended ingredients with the vital wheat gluten until you have a wet dough. Unlike some seitan recipes, this one isn’t overly chewy, it’s kind of soft, so we don’t really knead this dough. Once it looks like this, your done.

• Split the dough into 8 equal parts.
• Create flat patties, similar to a medium sized pancake.
• In a medium, non-stick pan, cook the patties for about 2 minutes on each side.
  • This step is important because it keeps the seitan from expanding much when we steam it. When seitan dough expands, it ends up getting air pockets, which leaves it with more of a bread-y texture. Cooking the outside first, allows it to keep it shape more.

• In a steam basket, stack the seared patties so that they are overlapping slightly. This serves a similar purpose to the pre-cook. It helps keep them from expanding too much and making the texture weird. I usually use two steamer baskets at the same time, and place 4 patties in each.

• Place the steamer basket(s) on your pot of boiling water.
  • You want to make sure you have enough water that it will last you the full cook period. Too little water, and you will run out which can be very dangerous since the water is taking most of the energy/heat your stove is putting out. You don’t want to start a kitchen fire 🙂
  • You also don’t want too much water, because then you’ll be splashing your steamer basket and will end up boiling your seitan instead of steaming it. This is especially worth noting if your using an in-pot steamer basket.
• Steam for 25 – 30 minutes. I tend to go for the higher side so that the seitan isn’t under-cooked. If it does end up under-cooked (you’ll know because the middle will be a little wet and sticky), you can throw it back in the steaming basket for a little less time.
• Pull off of the heat and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.
• Shred the seitan however is easiest for you. I really like this meat shredder twist machine I found on the tiktok shop lol. It was like $10 and it has saved me so much time and effort. But you can definitely just use your hands or cut it up with a knife.

• In a medium-heat pan, cook and heat up the shredded seitan for a couple of minutes, then add half of the BBQ sauce. Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes. I like to allow the seitan to develop those crispy edges by not flipping it except once or twice.
• Add the remaining BBQ sauce ad cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. Adding the BBQ Sauce in two steps allows you to develop the crispy edges and also end up with a really wet and sauce final product.
• You don’t have to cook all of this at once. Oftentimes, I will just do two patties for dinner for my partner and I so it feels more fresh than re-heating it.
• It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. You can also freeze it if you won’t be able to get through all of it.
• It’s honestly great on its own with a veggie side, but you can also throw it on a toasted bun or on some nachos/fries, even make a quesadilla with it!

Silly Little Haiku

Vital Wheat Gluten

I’m a seitan worshipper

Glory to seitan