Steak-Seasoned Seitan Cutlets and How to Roast Garlic

I suppose it would be too cheesy to call these Steaktan, huh?  Yeah.  That's what I figured.  Anyway, I make absolutely flavorless, seasonless seitan in the crock pot all of the time.  I don't bother to season it, because I grind it up and use it in things with lots of flavor, like tacos and enchiladas and fried rice, or I cube it and use it in a spicy general tso's stir fry type dish.  The crock pot makes a large firm roast that's good for grinding, as it's not very tender at all.

I don't often do the oven simmered cutlets.  Now I remember why.  Wow it's a lot of work!  However, while it may indeed be labor intensive, it sure is worth the effort.  These cutlets turned out tender and juicy and chewy and very flavorful.  I adapted a basic recipe from The Best Cookbook in the World ™. 

Seriously I love this cookbook!  This is the book that actually convinced me that, while I may not like it, I can actually cook!  There is SO MUCH goodness contained within these pages.

Steak-Seasoned Seitan Cutlets

 Ingredients:

Broth:

• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 3 TBSP steak marinade of choice (I used bourbon peppercorn)

Cutlets:

• 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup cold vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup steak marinade of choice (once again, I used bourbon peppercorn)
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 1/2 tsp steak seasoning (or you can make your own)

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°.

2.  Bring six cups broth and 3 TBSP marinade to boil in a large pot; then turn off heat and cover.

3.  Place the vital wheat gluten in a mixing bowl.

4.  Pour the cold vegetable broth into a measuring cup or bowl, and then add the steak marinade.  Add the oil, garlic, and steak seasoning and mix well.

5.  Pour the wet mixture into the vital wheat gluten and stir with a wooden spoon until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

See, it looks like brains this.

6.  Knead with your hands for three minutes, until the dough is elastic and fights back.

7.  Divide into six equal pieces.  I sliced mine with a knife, because it's just easier that way.

8.  Take each piece and stretch it and knead it into a cutlet shape, about 1/2 inch thick.  This offers a lot of resistance, and it keeps snapping back into shape, so you've got to keep at it.  Don't worry too much about little holes you may make in it, because the cutlets plump up and seal them.

9.  Pour the heated vegetable broth/marinade into a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.

10.  Place the cutlets in the broth.

11.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

12.  Turn cutlets using tongs and bake for 30 minutes more.

All the tiny little holes I made while kneading it have already filled in.

13.  Remove from oven and place the cutlets in a colander to drain.

14.  At this point you can use it in whatever recipe you wish, or you can store it in the refrigerator in the cooking liquid. 

I can't stress enough how CAREFUL you need to be while moving about a large baking dish of very hot liquid!  It's not exactly the most stable thing in the world; it's pretty unwieldy, and it's HOT!

While I was cooking the cutlets, I also roasted a bulb of garlic.  It's a real pain to turn on the oven and heat up the house to roast one measly bulb of garlic, but when the oven is already on, it's the perfect opportunity.  Roasting garlic is a piece of cake.

All you have to do is cut the top off of the bulb, so that the tops of the cloves are exposed.

Then you lay it out on tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil.

Wrap it up really tightly and pop it into the oven.  It takes about 45 minutes.  Fortunately, that's just about how long we needed to cook our cutlets!

And speaking of cutlets, this is what I did with mine...

1.  After the cutlets have drained, place them into a Tupperware dish with a lid.

2.  Cover with the same marinade you used for the cutlet mix.

3.  Let marinate for at least a couple of hours, shaking about every now and then to evenly coat cutlets, then cook in desired manner:  pan fry, grill, broil, bake, etc.  I put a couple of shakes of steak seasoning on top and cooked mine on the George Foreman Grill for about eight minutes.

These freeze fantastically, as well.

Drew didn't like these.  They were too chewy for him.  So be warned, they are indeed chewy.  If you don't like your seitan chewy, then the oven simmered cooking method is not for you.  Now having said that, there are a few things to keep in mind.  First of all, he's all about the texture of everything.  There are things that he actually likes the taste of, but can't eat, because the "mouth feel" is all wrong.  Secondly, he is an omnivore and does eat meat when not at home, and he's comparing to how meat feels.  I haven't had meat in so long that I'm not even sure I remember how it feels.

The kiddo and I both enjoyed them very much--eating one and half cutlets each.

Shown here with Super Fast Dinner Rolls, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and steamed corn on the cob.

Enjoy!