BBQ Pizza, BBQ Everything

For dinner tonight, I made BBQ "chicken" pizzas and they were pretty delicious. For the "chicken," I rehydrated Butler Soy Curls and seasoned them with thyme, garlic powder, onion powder and a little BBQ sauce. For the sauce, I used my new favorite which is the hickory flavor from Garland Jack's Secret Six made in Garland, TX right outside of Dallas.  It is delicious on everything and I suggest that if you cannot find a bottle in your store, you should order some online. They don't stock the "squealin' hot" flavor here, so I think am going to order some of that.  So, started with the special sauce, added thinly sliced red onion, a mixture of Daiya cheeses, soy curls and them topped them with fresh cilantro when it came out of the oven. Of course, I had to spice mine up with a little Sriracha sauce, but I have to do that regardless of what kind of pizza it is!

Our Lord Seitan

I've been trying to make a good seitan at home for years now. I've tried a variety of recipes, mixes and techniques. I wanted something that could be used in different applications, had a good flavor and, most importantly, the perfect texture. For me the target has always been the seitan White Wave used to have in the freezer section that is no longer available. I think I about have it down and several people who have tried (or heard) of my homemade seitan have asked for the recipe. So, I'm going to put it all down here--or attempt to. If you try it, please let me know how the instructions read and how the variations work for you. I'd love any feedback.

Recipe: Basic Seitan
This is a basic recipe, but there are two different textural variations and a myriad of seasoning options. Pick and choose what you would enjoy.

Basic ingredients:
1 16 oz. can chickpeas, drained and well-rinsed
2 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth (use chicken-flavored bouillon if you have it. or even beef-flavored is good.)
4 tbsp. soy sauce (I generally use Tamari in the kitchen, but here use a classic, basic soy sauce. You'll notice there isn't any additional salt, so all it comes from the soy and vegetable broth.)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. liquid smoke (Optional, but the liquid smoke adds a very savory component.)

Seasoning variations

You can use a few of the following. When I'm making it, I consider what the end recipe will be and include those same flavorings in the seitan. If I'm going to do something simple with it, like make fried chicken or chicken salad, I'll just use poultry seasoning or thyme. Maybe lemon zest? If I'm going to do something Asian, I'd probably use all sesame oil (instead of half olive half sesame as above), ginger and the garlic powder. It's up to you!

1 tsp. of paprika
1 tsp. onion and/or garlic powder
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 crushed red pepper
1 tbsp. tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper

Textural variations:

For a more tender seitan you can shred to make pulled 'pork' or Korean BBQ, use the first one. For a firmer seitan you want to dice or fry, use the second. Yes, I bread and fry this like conventional fried chicken in a giant, cast-iron skillet. And, just like its real-life counterpart, it's so good the next day, cold out of the fridge.

Tender
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten*
Firmer
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten

Putting it all together

This may seem like a lot of work, but honestly, you can have this cooking on stove in a matter of minutes once you get all of your ingredients together. The trick? Food processor. Or as they say en français, robot coupe!

1. Heat a large pot with water and fitted with a steamer on high until it's steaming, then turn down to medium. Cover.
2. Tear off four sheets of aluminum foil, about square in shape.

3. In a food processor, combine all of your ingredients from the garbanzo beans through whatever seasoning you decide to use. Pulse, then run the processor until everything is very smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl once.

4. Add the combination of nutritional yeast and vital wheat gluten that you're using, then pulse until it comes together and a dough forms.

5. Turn the dough out onto a cutting board and divide into four pieces. Knead each for two to three minutes, making sure all of the ingredients are well combined. After kneading each piece, gently pull it apart, knead it back together, and pull it apart. This helps the gluten to form and really improve the texture. I made a short video, because I'm not sure I can explain this technique very well. Tell me how you would?

6. Wrap each piece of seitan in foil tightly, folding the ends over each piece. Place in the pot, cover and steam for 40 minutes, turning once about halfway. Remove from heat and let cool.
7. You can use the seitan immediately, and if you are going to shred it with a couple of forks, it's easiest to do while it's still warm. But, the flavor and texture does improve from it cooling completely and resting in the fridge overnight.

And that my friends, is making seitan!

*I prefer Bob's Red Mill. I have tried other brands, but this is really the best.