Vegan Buffalo Deli Turkey

I make a lot of seitan based vegan meats.

I have recipes for a holiday roast, holiday turkey style breast with crispy skin, chicken breast, pastrami, brisket, and even pepperoni. But until I made our original deli turkey I had never added tofu to the mix.

If there was ever a sandwich I missed since going vegan it is a regular old turkey sandwich. I used to love a good deli carved turkey sandwich more than almost anything. So I decided I would try to add tofu to my regular turkey style breast recipe to see if I could get it to a more deli sliced texture.

Y’all, the answer is YES! I have seen other people adding tofu to seitan recipes, and obviously Tofurkey lunch slices are a mix of tofu and vital wheat gluten so I decided to give it a go. It only took one experiment and it came out pretty perfect the first time. I was elated.

Even my husband who normally passes on vital wheat gluten recipes loves it! I was so excited that I made sandwiches to take to my Mah Jong group, i’m sure I have mentioned my Mah Jong group before. Y’all, side note: learn to play Mah Jong, it’s SO FUN!! Sorry back to the point of this! They were skeptical at first but everyone who tried it was floored and surprised by how good it was! Yay for my Mah Jong crew loving vegan meats!!

So after I created my original turkey recipe I have started playing with different rubs and spices. I am a sucker for any and all things buffalo and Franks Buffalo sauce is bought in bulk in this house. Why it took me so long to deicide to rub one of these bad boys down with some melted butter and Franks is beyond me but thank the heavens it finally occurred to me because OH MY GOSH, Y’ALL!!!!

If you are not into buffalo, check out our original deli sliced turkey recipe. Just as tasty but not spicy! But when the recipe tells you to LET IT REST IN THE FRIDGE, you have to muster all of your strength and patience and do as I say! You will not have the texture you want unless you “let the breast rest. “ So just cook it one night and let it sit in the fridge til the next day. And if you don’t let it rest and decide to dig right in, don’t message me and tell me it was not firm enough, not even joking.

So if you are missing some legit turkey but don’t want to eat an actual turkey, this is your answer! I promise, PROMISE, it will be worth your time and effort. Maybe just go ahead and make 2 at once!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1 block extra firm high protein tofu (14oz -16oz block)

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil ( you can replace with water if you are oil free)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any chicken-less bouillon cube or powder (if using cubes or powder just dissolve in with the water)

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1 teaspoon salt optional if you feel like the bouillon is not salty enough

• For the coating: 3 tablespoons up to 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, 1 teaspoon melted vegan butter ( we used Franks Buffalo sauce, it is vegan), plus 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon onion salt

• A few teaspoons dried parsley (optional)

TROUBLESHOOTING THIS RECIPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipe as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the buffalo sauce and parsley and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough.

4. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Mix the buffalo sauce, garlic, onion salt and butter in a small bowl. Pour half of the mixture in the center of the foil. Place the turkey on the foil and roll it around in the sauce. Sprinkle with dried parsley if you like. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the turkey. Seal up the foil nice and tight around the roast, twisting the ends. If you feel like the foil may leak then add a second piece tightly around the first.

5. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 25-30 minutes.

6. Remove finished “turkey” breast and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “turkey” breast in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

7. Once the “turkey” breast has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Corned Beef

Vegan Salami

Vegan Turkey Breast with Crispy Skin

vegan flank steak

Southern Vegan Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

I grew up eating a lot of frozen, individual sized pot pies.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was big fan as a kid.

Even after I grew up and started cooking on my own, I often made homemade pot pies, but I always made individual sized pies and used traditional pie crust.

And then one day I saw a skillet pot pie in a magazine with a biscuit top and I knew I had been missing out on something my whole life.

I mean I have been making homemade biscuits since I was a kids. My grandmother taught all of the grandkids who wanted to learn how to make biscuits. My grandparents lived on a farm in Alabama and my grandmother made biscuits every single day.

These biscuits are buttery, fluffy and a southern staple. And since making biscuit pot pie, I rarely crave pot pie with a traditional pie crust anymore. I mean I will look for any reason to make biscuits!!

So taking a traditional pot pie filling and adding a biscuit top was a no brainer.

As far as the chicken part goes, I make a LOT of vegan seitan meats. I often cook up a batch of easy vegan chicken breast on a Monday so we have it to use in recipes throughout the week. The vegan chicken is SO easy to make yourself, far less expensive than store bough vegan chicken, and taste a lot better.

If you already regularly make the 86eats vegan deli turkey, you can easily use 1/3 of that recipe in this as well. Both the chicken or the turkey recipes will work great for this pot pie!

Instead of adding plant milk to this recipe, I use cashews to make a super delicious vegan heavy cashew cream. You can also use sunflower seeds if you prefer, they work just as well.

So if you love pot pie and have never had one with a biscuit top, what are you waiting for. This pot pie is the perfect vegan comfort food, packed with veggies, vegan chicken, savory herbs, in a creamy sauce and topped with buttery vegan biscuits. It is also a good and delicious way to use up that 86eats deli turkey or easy vegan chicken breast and a great take on traditional pot pie!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Easy Vegan Chicken Breast or 1/3 of the 86eats Vegan deli turkey, diced into cubes

• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced

• 3-4 stalks of celery, diced

• 3 carrots, diced

• 6 button mushrooms, quartered

• 1 can of green beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/4 cup cashews or sunflower seeds

• 2 1/2 cups water

• 1 teaspoons each thyme, rosemary, and sage

• 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1-2 teaspoons No Chicken Better than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon corn or tapioca starch plus 3 tablespoons water, whisked together

• 1 batch vegan southern biscuits

• 4 teaspoons vegan butter, divided

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare chicken or turkey according to instructions. Both seitan recipes require a rest time so make sure you account for that when planning this recipe.

2. Place a large dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top. Add two teaspoons of vegan butter and the onion. Cook until the onion becomes soft and translucent.

3. Add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms and let the veggies hang out and cook for about 5 minutes, giving them some time to soften up a bit.

4. Add 2 cups of the water, Better Than Bouillon, and spices to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium/low and allow the veggies to simmer until they have completely softened and you can easily pierce them with a fork.

5. While the veggies are simmering, place the cashews or sunflower seeds in a microwave safe container and cover in water. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. If you do not own a microwave, you can bring them to a boil on the stove top for 3-5 minutes as well. Drain the water.

6. Add the nuts and 1/2 cup of fresh water to a high speed blender or food processor and blend until the nuts are completely broken down and you have a creamy liquid. Make sure there are no little bits of nuts left. You want the mixture completely smooth.

7. Add the cashew cream to the pot with the veggies. Add in the diced vegan chicken or turkey.

8. Whisk the starch and 3 tablespoons water together and add to the pot. Stir well and the mixture should quickly thicken.

9. Prepare the biscuit dough according to recipes instructions. Press the dough into a large half inch thick circle and cut the dough into 1 1/2 to 2 inch squares.

10. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

11. Transfer the chicken and veggie mixture to a 9 or10 inch cast iron skillet or any other large oven safe high sided skillet.

12. Using your hands spape the biscuit dough squares into a crude circle shape and place the biscuits on top of the chicken and veggie mixture in an even layer. Melt the remaining butter and brush the biscuit tops with the butter and sprinkle with some additional garlic powder and dried parsley if you like.

13. Bake the pot pie for about half an hour or until the biscuits are cooked through and have began to brown on top.

14. Allow to cool just a bit before serving.

15. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Vegan Jackfruit Divan

Vegan Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey Breast

I make a lot of seitan based vegan meats.

I have recipes for a holiday roast, holiday turkey style breast with crispy skin, chicken breast, pastrami, brisket, and even pepperoni. But until now I had never added tofu to the mix.

If there was ever a sandwich I missed since going vegan it is a regular old turkey sandwich. I used to love a good deli carved turkey sandwich more than almost anything. So I decided I would try to add tofu to my regular turkey style breast recipe to see if I could get it to a more deli sliced texture.

Y’all, the answer is YES! I have seen other people adding tofu to seitan recipes, and obviously Tofurkey lunch slices are a mix of tofu and vital wheat gluten so I decided to give it a go. It only took one experiment and it came out pretty perfect the first time. I was elated.

Even my husband who normally passes on vital wheat gluten recipes loves it! I was so excited that I made sandwiches to take to my Mah Jong group, i’m sure I have mentioned my Mah Jong group before. Y’all, side note: learn to play Mah Jong, it’s SO FUN!! Sorry back to the point of this! They were skeptical at first but everyone who tried it was floored and surprised by how good it was! Yay for my Mah Jong crew loving vegan meats!!

If you do not like the spice profile I used, feel free to change it up. That part is up to you. But when the recipe tells you to LET IT REST IN THE FRIDGE, you have to muster all of your strength and patience and do as I say! You will not have the texture you want unless you “let the breast rest. “ So just cook it one night and let it sit in the fridge til the next day. And if you don’t let it rest and decide to dig right in, don’t message me and tell me it was not firm enough, not even joking.

So if you are missing some legit turkey but don’t want to eat an actual turkey, this is your answer! I promise, PROMISE, it will be worth your time and effort. Maybe just go ahead and make 2 at once!

INGREDIENTS

This is what the tofu looks like that I used. Vacuum sealed, not in a tray of water.

• 1 block extra firm high protein tofu (14oz -16oz block)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil ( you can replace with water if you are oil free)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1 teaspoon rosemary

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any chicken-less bouillon cube or powder (if using cubes or powder just dissolve in with the water)

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1 teaspoon salt optional if you feel like the bouillon is not salty enough

• 3 tablespoons hickory seasoning, or any other seasoning you like to coat the “turkey.” I often use a chili lime seasoning, jerk seasoning, or even Italian blend.

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough.

4. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle half of the hickory, or whatever seasoning you are using in the center of the foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top and press it in. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

5. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

6. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes.

7. Remove finished “turkey” breast and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “turkey” breast in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

8. Once the “turkey” breast has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

   If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Pastrami