Jack's BBQ Seitan Ribs
Smoky, caramelized seitan ribs made with jackfruit, too, for a real tear-apart texture. Smothered in barbeque sauce to caramelize. Great for a cookout or a regular night at home.
Notes
A note about scoring: Scoring means cutting partway into the dough without going all the way through, so the slab stays in one piece. You score the ribs before the first bake, pressing down hard but stopping short of the bottom. This does two things. It gives you a guide to cut clean ribs later, and also, it lets the sauce work its way into the grooves during the second bake so every rib gets caramelized edges instead of just the outside of the slab.
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can young jackfruit in water, rinsed
- 1 ¾ cups vital wheat gluten
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 3 cups prepared barbecue sauce or Almost Bottled BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready a large piece of aluminum foil lined with parchment paper, about 24 inches long.
- Drain the jackfruit. Discard any large seeds and pull the pieces apart with your fingers until they resemble shredded meat.
- In a large bowl, mix together the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Make a well in the center and pour in ¾ cup water, the tamari, olive oil, tomato paste, vinegar, and maple syrup. Add the jackfruit to the well and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Use your hands to knead the mixture together for a few minutes until it's very springy and you can see gluten strands.
- Roll the dough into a 10 by 6-inch rectangle. Score the ribs widthwise with a knife, pressing down hard but not cutting all the way through, so that you have 8 ribs, a little over 1 inch wide each.
- Transfer the rectangle of ribs to the parchment paper-lined aluminum foil and fold into a neat package. Wrap loosely to cover. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, flipping halfway through.
- Remove the package from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Carefully unwrap the rib loaf; it will be hot. Do not turn off the oven.
- Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray, then pour 1½ cups of the barbecue sauce onto the baking sheet (line the pan with parchment first if you don't want to scrub it forever). Spread the sauce out so that when you return the ribs to the pan, they fully cover the sauce.
- Place the slab of ribs on the sauce and smother the tops with the remaining 1½ cups barbecue sauce (gloved hands work well, but tongs do the trick too). Return the ribs to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly caramelized. Remove from oven.
- Turn your broiler on and keep a close eye on the ribs. Place them under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, checking for caramelization every minute or so. Be careful not to burn them.
- When the ribs are caramelized in spots, remove them from the oven. Cool until they are easy to handle but still warm, about 10 minutes. Use a pizza wheel to cut along the scored lines, creating 8 ribs. Or use a sharp knife, pressing down hard with a downward motion to separate the ribs. Serve them on a platter, with additional barbecue sauce alongside if you like.
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