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This is a slight variation to my first washed flour turkey recipe. I left out the mushrooms, started with a little more flour for a larger yield, and slightly adjusted the amount of seasonings and tofu. I really twisted the dough when knotting this one and wrapped in a cheesecloth to keep it from expanding in my slow cooker. I think this improved the texture, giving it a better "meat grain," but it's still just as flavorful and juicy as the original.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash that flour! (WTF!) 😊 You can wash the 16 cups of bread flour (or full bag of AP flour) in two batches to make it easier to handle than all in one bowl. I have found that about 6 1/2 cups of water is about perfect for 16 cups of flour, but different flours may vary, so start with 6 cups total and add up to 7 or even a little more if you find it necessary. You're looking for the dough to come together not too sticky, not dry and crumbly. I washed this to the cloudy/hazy water stage. If you leave in too much starch you might have a doughy result.
New to washing flour? Follow steps 1-7 here.
While your dough balls are resting in water, prepare your simmering liquid using the vegetable broth base plus chickun variation of this recipe, or use about 1 gallon of vegetable broth and add 6T nutritional yeast, 2t dried sage, 8 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Bring the broth up to a boil and let it simmer for at least an hour to develop the flavor before straining.
Once your gluten has drained for at least 20 minutes after washing (really wring it out to remove as much liquid as possible), add the tofu and 6T of chickun bouillon to a food processor along with the optional MSG and titanium dioxide. Purée to a paste. You do not want to see any tofu chunks as this will impact the texture of the final roast. If necessary, add a small amount of the gluten to the tofu and seasoning to help it completely break down. Then, working in batches, add the rest of the gluten until it is all well-mixed.
If making the legs, simply add the gluten and seasonings to the processor and blitz to incorporate.
Let your gluten rest about another hour on the counter or until the strands have developed enough so you can stretch it without breaking. You'll want to be able to stretch it enough to tie in one big knot, or even 2-3, really twisting as you go to develop the "meat grains". Wrap the knotted dough tightly with cheesecloth to keep the seitan from expanding but still let the flavor of the broth in. Secure the cloth with butchers twine or any other food-safe string or bands.
If making the dark meat, follow the same process, except tightly twist the gluten and knot/wrap around sticks or any other faux bones if using. Tightly wrap and tie these in cheesecloth as well - I secured mine at the bottom of the "leg" around the "bone".
I transferred my hot, strained broth to a slow cooker on high. This is so I can make sure that it does not boil and barely maintains a simmer. IMPORTANT: My broth stayed at a steady temperature of about 190F (85C). This temperature can also be achieved by the medium (normal) setting on the slow cooker function of an Instant Pot.) If you can manage this on the stovetop - perfect. Cook for about 2 hours or until it starts to feel firm*.
If the seitan is not completely submerged, rotate it after about an hour. Keep an eye to make sure the broth is never boiling, even in a slow cooker but especially on the stove. You want it to be barely bubbling. When done cooking, allow it to come to room temperature. You can remove it from the broth or keep it in, letting it rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. Either way, save that broth!
*TIP: Some people have said their dough took longer to cook than 2 hours. It should feel pretty solid when it's done. Continuing to cook it for longer as long as the temperature remains at about 190F is fine.
On the day you are eating your roast, bring it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 2 hours, then set your oven to 325F. If making the dark meat, fry the steamed "legs" in the 2T of neutral oil on all sides until just browned.
Place your vegan turkey parts on a work surface. Warm about a half cup of the broth and soak your rice paper in the broth until it is very malleable. Rub the butter onto the turkey and add the rice paper skin, tucking it around the edges at the bottom.
Add all the ingredients for your basting liquid to a small pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, then lower the temp so it stays warm.
Prepare a small roast pan. Add about 3/4-1c of the reserved broth, just enough to coat the bottom. Place your wrapped turkey in the pan and drizzle with about 1/3 of the basting liquid. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and baste again with another 1/3 of the liquid. Leave the foil off and continue to cook for another 20 minutes.
Baste one final time, and turn the oven up to 425F, cooking for about another 10-20 minutes. You want to cook it just long enough at this temperature to crisp and brown the skin. After that, your roast turkey is ready to serve. Enjoy!
Servings 8
More Turkee & Holiday Recipes
Ingredients
Directions
Wash that flour! (WTF!) 😊 You can wash the 16 cups of bread flour (or full bag of AP flour) in two batches to make it easier to handle than all in one bowl. I have found that about 6 1/2 cups of water is about perfect for 16 cups of flour, but different flours may vary, so start with 6 cups total and add up to 7 or even a little more if you find it necessary. You're looking for the dough to come together not too sticky, not dry and crumbly. I washed this to the cloudy/hazy water stage. If you leave in too much starch you might have a doughy result.
New to washing flour? Follow steps 1-7 here.
While your dough balls are resting in water, prepare your simmering liquid using the vegetable broth base plus chickun variation of this recipe, or use about 1 gallon of vegetable broth and add 6T nutritional yeast, 2t dried sage, 8 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Bring the broth up to a boil and let it simmer for at least an hour to develop the flavor before straining.
Once your gluten has drained for at least 20 minutes after washing (really wring it out to remove as much liquid as possible), add the tofu and 6T of chickun bouillon to a food processor along with the optional MSG and titanium dioxide. Purée to a paste. You do not want to see any tofu chunks as this will impact the texture of the final roast. If necessary, add a small amount of the gluten to the tofu and seasoning to help it completely break down. Then, working in batches, add the rest of the gluten until it is all well-mixed.
If making the legs, simply add the gluten and seasonings to the processor and blitz to incorporate.
Let your gluten rest about another hour on the counter or until the strands have developed enough so you can stretch it without breaking. You'll want to be able to stretch it enough to tie in one big knot, or even 2-3, really twisting as you go to develop the "meat grains". Wrap the knotted dough tightly with cheesecloth to keep the seitan from expanding but still let the flavor of the broth in. Secure the cloth with butchers twine or any other food-safe string or bands.
If making the dark meat, follow the same process, except tightly twist the gluten and knot/wrap around sticks or any other faux bones if using. Tightly wrap and tie these in cheesecloth as well - I secured mine at the bottom of the "leg" around the "bone".
I transferred my hot, strained broth to a slow cooker on high. This is so I can make sure that it does not boil and barely maintains a simmer. IMPORTANT: My broth stayed at a steady temperature of about 190F (85C). This temperature can also be achieved by the medium (normal) setting on the slow cooker function of an Instant Pot.) If you can manage this on the stovetop - perfect. Cook for about 2 hours or until it starts to feel firm*.
If the seitan is not completely submerged, rotate it after about an hour. Keep an eye to make sure the broth is never boiling, even in a slow cooker but especially on the stove. You want it to be barely bubbling. When done cooking, allow it to come to room temperature. You can remove it from the broth or keep it in, letting it rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. Either way, save that broth!
*TIP: Some people have said their dough took longer to cook than 2 hours. It should feel pretty solid when it's done. Continuing to cook it for longer as long as the temperature remains at about 190F is fine.
On the day you are eating your roast, bring it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 2 hours, then set your oven to 325F. If making the dark meat, fry the steamed "legs" in the 2T of neutral oil on all sides until just browned.
Place your vegan turkey parts on a work surface. Warm about a half cup of the broth and soak your rice paper in the broth until it is very malleable. Rub the butter onto the turkey and add the rice paper skin, tucking it around the edges at the bottom.
Add all the ingredients for your basting liquid to a small pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, then lower the temp so it stays warm.
Prepare a small roast pan. Add about 3/4-1c of the reserved broth, just enough to coat the bottom. Place your wrapped turkey in the pan and drizzle with about 1/3 of the basting liquid. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and baste again with another 1/3 of the liquid. Leave the foil off and continue to cook for another 20 minutes.
Baste one final time, and turn the oven up to 425F, cooking for about another 10-20 minutes. You want to cook it just long enough at this temperature to crisp and brown the skin. After that, your roast turkey is ready to serve. Enjoy!
Can i usemy instant pot?
Yes, absolutely. I set mine on the slow cooker “less” function, because “normal” sometimes gets too hot.
Can you use vital wheat gluten powder instead of washing it yourself? If so how much liquid?
I wouldn’t suggest trying to adapt this one because you not only need more liquid, but typically more tofu or beans or something to soften the gluten. I also find you need more seasonings with VWG, but that may be my preference. You can still find several great recipes that use VWG here (all but the first three recipes are made with it), even if just to compare the ratios that are used: http://seitansociety.com/turkee/
I used half size of the listed recipe. I wrapped the seitan in a foil package and baked for 60 mins at 350F, then simmering broth for a further hour. After cooling and conditioning overnight I smoked the turkee on my pitboss BBQ for 4hrs on smoke with competition blend pellets for smoke/ heat source (which is mostly hickory). I did use a vegan butter to baste the exterior (no rice paper) a couple of times to prevent too much drying-out.
The resulting texture and flavor was really excellent. I love Jen’s chicken bullion mix in this recipe. Next time I will likely cut out the oven set of the shape and go back to the recommended cheesecloth and 2hrs simmer to simplify the steps but smoking the turkee is a keeper.
Smoking it sounds great! I have an electric smoker and have yet to smoke the turkee, but I may just have to try it this way for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Thanks for the inspiration and the tips!
Hello! I made this yesterday and it smells amazing! So I’m wondering though why my simmered seitan always has a grey color on the outside?? I’m using very standard broth ingredients, but it’s just unappealing and I wonder if you’ve experienced the same. Thanks for your amazing recipes as always!!
Gray color unfortunately can come from the green herbs, both from the dry seasoning but especially I think from the broth. Sometimes mine comes out a little differently depending on how green the herbs were when I made it, if I was extra heavy-handed, or if I let the broth decant first. It can also depend on the type of flour you use. I use unbleached bread flour, but different brands and varieties may look a little different. The inside should look less gray when finishing and slicing. I know it’s a controversial ingredient, but the titanium dioxide really works to whiten it.
What should the gluten ball look like after adding the tofu and seasoning? Mine looked beautiful after draining the first time, then I processed tofu and seasoning in the processor and added the gluten and it looked like sad yellow brains…lol. I am hoping the gluten will come back together?
Hi Martha, yes, the gluten needs time to rest and come back together. You can leave it on a cutting board to rest and drain and in about 30 mins-1 hour you should be able to stretch it and knot it.
Can I sub Better Than Bouillon for the chickenless bouillon? And if so, how much would I replace it with?
I assume you can sub Better than Bouillon, but since it’s a paste it may soften the end result a little. I’m not sure how much to recommend as I haven’t tried it myself.
Made your turkee recipe,came out perfect,delicious today as hot turkey sandwiches.Sliced beautifully on deli slicer.It’s the best recipe and I’ve tried
many. Thank you
So happy you enjoyed it and thank you for your comments! 🙂
Hi, I was wondering what is the tofu doing in this recipe? Is it for the texture? If so, what does it do? Also, I usually don’t wrap my seitan in cheese cloth before cooking it, why is it necessary for this recipe? I’m afraid the result will be to dense?
Thank you!