Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I had great success with the steamed white seitan, but the steamed red seitan and the chorizo sausages are really mushy. I threw out the red seitan but I'm hoping there's some way for me to salvage the chorizo. I have already baked for an additional 20 minutes (with aluminum wrappers on) but they're still mush. What else can I do??

Have you let it sit at all? All my seitan firms up like crazy in the fridge overnight.

yeah it'll firm up as it cools.

also, the viva vegan seitans are supposed to be softer than your average seitan.

You lost me at throwing out precious, precious seitan! Definitely let it cool down to room temperature first, then put it in the fridge and keep it in there for several hours or overnight. In a super rush, I've been known to pop it in the freezer for a quick cool down. It hasn't really changed the results.

Yeah, I let it sit in the fridge overnight, but it hardly firmed up at all. That's why I tried the extra time in the oven. I have made sausages like this before, the ones from Vegan Brunch, so I was expecting that kind of texture--good to know it's not supposed to be *that* firm. But right now it's so mushy that it would be difficult to slice!

I'm guessing that I got a crappy batch of vital wheat gluten. The successful white seitan was made with a different bag, though the same brand.

ETA: I thought it worth mentioning that I only threw out half of the red seitan! The other half I attempted to use in that shredded seitan recipe, and only after it had been in the fridge for a couple days. It was an inedible, mushy mess. You guys, VWG is expensive, I wouldn't go throwing things out willy-nilly! :)

any chance you accidentally picked high gluten flour instead of vital wheat gluten? that'd do it.

xo
kittee

Aww mushy seitan makes me sad.

I don't think so, but it's hard to say, since I put it in another container and got rid of the bag. But the brand is Bob's Red Mill and I've been unable to find a high gluten flour on their website.

I'm going to try freezing the chorizo, and when cold enough that I can slice it more easily, I'll try slicing it thin and frying. I really hope I can salvage it because it smells great!

if 'twere me, i'd grind it all up in a food processor and make tacos out of it.

xo
kittee

Also maybe try kneading it longer. If I don't knead seitan enough sometimes it will be less firm than I wanted.