Grandma's Homemade Vegan Seitan Turkey

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Every year, we get together with my family for a vegan Thanksgiving feast. I know some of you think Thanksgiving is about the turkey but I beg to differ. The origins of Thanksgiving indicate that it was a celebration of a good harvest and you know what you harvest? That's right, PLANTS! What can you make with plants? Everything! Including a delicious homemade turkey recipe.



Nowadays, not many of us are actually involved in an actual harvest but we can still partake in the modern tradition of celebrating all the wonderful plants that were harvest this year with all the loved ones in our life. The friends and family part is actually my favorite, and I certainly don't need a poor little dead bird on the table to enjoy it. My family always has an overabundance of food on the table including this awesome homemade vegan turkey recipe.

It may not look much like fall here... this is typical Southern California Thanksgiving!

Recipe is based on The Vegan Family cookbook by Brian McCarthy

What you need:

1 gallon purified water
2 1/2 Cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 Cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbs onion powder
1 tsp salt
2 Cups vegetable broth (we use organic vegetable Better Than Bouillion)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 double thick 24x16 inch cheesecloth
2 6 inch pieces of string

What you do:

Bring 1 gallon of water to a very low simmer in a large pot.

In a large bowl, combine vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, thyme, onion powder, and salt.

Add in vegetable broth, soy sauce, and oil and combine well.

Form dough into an oblong loaf shape and cover with cheesecloth tying at both ends.

Place in simmering water, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour. (If you double the recipe, you will simmer for 2 hours). You should be as LOW as possible and just barely bubbling to prevent the seitan from getting rubbery.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Remove from water. Remove cheesecloth and place in baking dish.

Cover with sheet of tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes.

Slice and serve!