The Famous BBQ Ribz

I've been a vegaquarian for almost 4 years now. And although I don't crave meat at all, there are certain times that I miss the idea of it. For example, I love summer. I love the heat, I love the sun, I love being outdoors. And there's nothing better on a summer day than throwing a BBQ with friends and family. The smell of the grill, the charcoal - it's all good. And I've done just fine grilling fish and seafood for the past few years. But every once in awhile, I'll get the whiff of barbequed chicken or ribs and it almost makes me miss the meat. Almost.

Enter Susan V's BBQ Ribz. This is a recipe so brilliant and so tasty, I wish it was my own creation. First off, it's super super easy to make. It takes about 5 minutes to measure and mix the ingredients together, and then you throw it in the oven for 25minutes. After that, it's simply a matter of grilling, either on a grill or using a grill pan, and viola - you've got tastiness! I love that the texture of the seitan isn't too meatlike, but it still has enough bite to it that you feel satisfied biting into it.

You can absolutely guarantee that this recipe will be making many appearances this summer. And when it looks this good, don't you want to try it too??



Susan V's BBQ Ribz
An ever-so-slight variation

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons tahini or other nut butter
1 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Beef Base (optional)
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients, from gluten to garlic powder. In a smaller bowl, whisk together tahini, bouillon, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Press and pat into lightly-oiled 8x8 baking dish. Cut in half lengthwise, then slice each half into 6-8 pieces. Place into oven and bake for 25 minutes. Start heating grill or lightly-oiled grill pan. Brush top of baked seitan with a generous amount of BBQ sauce. Place, sauce-side down, on grill rack. Brush bottom side with BBQ sauce. When there are nice grill marks on bottom, flip and rebrush with sauce. (Mine took about 2-3 minutes each side) Remove from grill and cut into riblets. Serve with additional sauce if desired.