Protein: Seitan is 58% the cost of chicken breast

@rrcoffin Another way to look at it is that your seitan is 77 grams of protein per dollar, while chicken breast is 31 grams per dollar (at $3/lb, which I think is a slightly better price estimate for chicken).
 
@rrcoffin Does anyone have a really good seitan recipe or some tips? I've made it a few times and its always come out too bready/chewy for me. I know I'm doing something wrong but I don't know what that is.
 
@dawn16 Don't tell anyone - this is my secret personal seitan recipe.
  • 2 1/2 cups wheat gluten
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbs all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
  • 1 1/2 tps lemon zest
  • 4 ts Sage
  • 2 ts Rosemary
  • 2 ts Oregano
  1. Blend in a food processor with a dough blade. If you have very strong hands, you can kneed it, I'm told. Keep going till it coalesces in to a ball and runs round and round, threatening to knock over the blender. It might not look quite like a ball of dough, but it should be mostly clumped together.
    • if it turns into a paste, but won't hold together, it's probably too wet. Add a small amount of wheat gluten at a time, until squeezing makes it solid in your hand. If it won't turn to paste, it's too dry.
    • The longer you blend it, the firmer the seitan will be. Also, the less wet it is, the firner it will be. I make my seitan a tiny bit wetter if I want it soft.
  2. Cut it into three equalish sized chunks and put in a pot of cold water. Turn the water up, and let it boil.
    • It has to be cold and get warm, don't warm it up first.
    • Keep an eye on the seitan - it will sink at first and sit on the bottom, but eventually rise. But it will also stick to the bottom. At some point as it's boiling, you'll find yourself wrestling it free of the sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  3. When it's boiling, turn it down to a simmer and let it cook for an hour. Turn it off and let it cool to room temperaturish before putting it in the fridge.
    • This also helps the seitan become more firm.
I usually make a double batch, and after cooking and cooling, slice one batch up and put it in freezer bags in the freezer. Cuts up great with a bread knife, and then it fits in the freezer bags.

You can vary the spices - put whatever in there. I've made 'indian' seitan. I've made 'arabic' seitan (with zaa'taa).
The above is sage heavy - I've fooled people with it. "Sausage?" they say, "But I though you were ve-", "Yes," I reply, "Everything they told you was a lie."
 
@rrcoffin I usually simmer it in water with this recipe:

http://www.theppk.com/2009/11/homemade-seitan/

But instead of using plain vegetable broth, I simmer it in whatever soup I'm in the mood for at the same time. Then I get a free soup out of the ordeal. Also, I use garlic powder instead of chopped garlic, because I find the chopped garlic just get squeezed out of the seitan.

I've never had any issue with it falling apart. Always delicious.
 
@rrcoffin I've simmered it and it got really goopy and fell apart. I've also baked it and it puffed up and got super chewy. I am clearly doing it so, so wrong.
 
@dawn16 Simmering is really hit or miss, if you keep the temp low enough (a true simmer, not nearing a boil) it's ok but it's easy to go too high and have problems.

My favorite way is to steam it. Divide your dough into individual portions and then wrap them in foil. Steam the foil packets (you can stack them if you have a lot) for 30-45 minutes based on size and the texture is excellent. For an example, google "theppk seitan sausage recipe" and pick one.
 
@dawn16 personally 'simmering' is the way to go. people will say it over and over again, but it's really true, this is not boiling. You want the water at the barest heat to make it move, or not even. You can make it in a slow cooker for a more reliable heat.

Making something like seitan o greatness might make for a more ready snack though. The simmering method assumes you will saute or otherwise cook it afterwards. This secondary cook is more to impart flavor than anything else.
 
@jdepps I think I've bought tempeh for $3 for 8 oz, $1.20 per serving with 16g protein per serving, or $0.075 per gram of protein. That's a lot more costly than making your own seitan but I'm sure if you knew how to make your own tempeh (or tofu for that matter) it would be much more comparable.
 
@ghassen A lot times you can find it in the bulk section, or health food section of the grocery store. Be warned - it's a unique taste that is often acquired. I hated it when I first transitioned, now I like it but don't love it the way some do. Also, I'm sure you can find seitan recipes without nooch (yep, we have a nickname for nutritional yeast) - really the only essential ingredients are wheat gluten and some sort of liquid.
 
@rrcoffin Problem is that I'm trying to get nearly a lb of food per meal. $4.50 lb adds up, and that's still the cheapest price I've seen where I don't have to buy a grain silo of the stuff.

Costco pls sell wheat gluten
 
@dawn16 I'm not sure I understand... You want a pound of just gluten per meal? That's 350g of protein. A pound of seitan would be less because it's mixed with water and other ingredients, but then it won't be $4.50 (and that's still way too much seitan).

Or do you mean a pound of food in general? In which case that's easy: beans n' grains are nutritious and cheap.
 
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