And Seitan is the winner!

Well, y’all voted. I have to say, I’m a bit surprised that seitan skewers won over lemon genoise cake. But, who am I to say?  So, without further ado….

Vegan Blueberry BBQ Seitan Skewers

Start out by making the sauce…

Blueberry BBQ Sauce

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (unsalted)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/8 cup agave (I used amber)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 5 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced tiny
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Wash blueberries.  Once washed, put in large saucepan and cook on med. low until the blueberries start to break down and reduce.  Turn to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes.  Mix all of the other ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Once fully combined, add to blueberries.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.  The sauce will be flavorful after 20 minutes but if you want truly flavorful sauce, cook it the day before you need it.  The flavors will be outrageously yummy the next day.

Find out the rest of the recipe by reading more…

Seitan

• 1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 2 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 additional cups of vegetable broth for simmering

Mix together the vital wheat gluten flour, nutritional yeast flakes, and spices (garlic, oregano, black pepper).  Add in soy sauce, tomato paste, and vegetable broth.  Knead dough until fully combined, the dough will be spongy and stingy- about 4 minutes.  Let dough rest (either in bowl or on a cutting board) for a few minutes.

I cook my seitan in a large stainless steel wok, but you can use a large skillet or large soup pot.  Add the remaining vegetable broth to pan.

Roll the dough into a log type shape.  Slice into smaller pieces.  Gently place the pieces into the broth.  Bring seitan and broth to a boil, then reduce and simmer for an hour.  Turn the pieces every once in awhile to cook evenly.  Now, I prefer my seitan (depending on what I’m cooking) a little less firm than store bought brands.  That said, check your seitan after an hour, if you prefer a more firm seitan then simply continue to simmer it until firms up to your taste level.  Congratulations, you now have seitan.  Homemade, cheap and awesome.

** For this recipe, I made the seitan a day ahead.  Once the seitan was cooked and cooled I cut it into smaller chunks (appropriate for a skewer) and placed them in a marinade of olive oil, white wine vinegar, and spices (or you could use an italian style dressing) alongside some button mushrooms.  I marinated both together overnight. **

Assembly

Skewers are so much fun, I mean- who doesn’t love to eat off of a giant toothpick?  Am I right?  Plus, you can fill up those suckers with anything you can dream up.  Okay, now for tip time.  Skewers are wood, wood on a grill burns, so soak your skewers in a sink of cold water for an hour before you need them.  They’ll stay damp and won’t burn, saving you countless amounts of frustration watching your skewers burn and toppin’s fall into the grate at the grill  later.

For these skewers I used:

• Cherry tomatoes (homegrown, yes indeedy)
• White onions, cut into large chunks
• Green peppers, cut into large chunks
• Light Green peppers (like the ones seen here), cut into large chunks
• Pineapple, cut into large chunks
• Marinated button mushrooms, whole
• Marinated Seitan

Create skewers by alternating pieces of vegetables and seitan.  Leave a bit of room to grab skewer at top and bottom (I always forget to do this part).  Are you using a grill?  Awesome, these taste best done on a charcoal grill.  If so, place on grill, slather in rich, decadent blueberry BBQ sauce you made the day before.  Grill on each side, coating in sauce, until they are crispy, caramelized deliciousness of epic proportions.

Don’t have access to a grill or feeling lazy?  While not as stellar, but still damn good, you can use your stove.  Line a deep cookie sheet (one with a great lip) with foil.  Make all skewers and line up on cookie sheet.  Preheat oven to broil.  Slather in awesome sauce (premade the day before because you are good at planning ahead) and stick under broiler.  Watch these guys close, turning and saucing frequently, because they pups will burn fast under a broiler.

Now, if you’ll excuse me- I’m off to make up some sauce for some BBQ of my own, this post made me crave it!