Seitan Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

So at the end of my last post I said I was going off to make a steak dinner and I must tell you, it turned out to be the best steak dinner I've ever made, and perhaps the best meal I've ever made. I cannot convey how pleased I ended up being with how this turned out. Every bite was incredibly satisfying, and I can only hope I'll be able to recreate it's magic next time I make this.

Looks pretty "real," doesn't it? Seitan beef steak is probably the fake meat that I have the most experience with making, because the first time I attempted it my boyfriend and I declared it a new favorite. At first I said that it would have to be only an occasional thing because I thought it was too difficult to make all the time. These days we probably have this just as often as any other given dinner, and I've realized it's actually not difficult, just a bit time consuming compared to what I'd been used to. Most of the time is spent just letting the seitan simmer though, so you can get this started in the afternoon and while it's cooking just go do something else. You do have to come back to it periodically, but just to turn it.

There are a lot of alternative broths out there that are delicious (such as the previously mentioned Better Than Boullion), but the one I've been using for a while now is Dragonfly brand artificial beef broth mix, which I found by chance while I was shopping at my favorite Asian grocery in Vancouver, WA.

Sorry for the blurriness

This stuff is a lifesaver. It's (as far as I can tell) meat free, relatively inexpensive at only $3 a can, and lasts a while. I'm a college student, and as such I really appreciate a bargain. There might be slightly more delicious vegetarian broths out there, but this one definitely gets the job done.

Now, I've found that the key to making something taste especially steaky is Worcestershire sauce. When buying this beware, however: traditionally Worcestershire sauce is made with anchovies which many if not most vegetarians don't eat. It is possible to find vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, but you have to check the ingredients.

Another flavoring that I've been obsessed with nearly my whole life is Johnny's Seasoning Salt ("It's pure magic!"). I find this is great for giving steaks a nice little pick-me-up. However, I do put this in almost anything that it would be remotely appropriate in, so don't think that this is the only way of doing it. If you think something else would be tasty, go for it! That's my attitude about cooking basically anything. You could try some kind of pre-made steak rub, or concoct your own. Whatever floats your boat.

For a dinner for my boyfriend and I, I mix up a cup of wheat gluten which is more than plenty. It might not seem like much, but it makes two very generously sized steaks. This could easily be enough dough for three or even four steaks depending on your preferred portions.  However, when I say I mix up a cup of wheat gluten what I really mean is my dry ingredients come out to about a cup. I'd say about a quarter cup of the gluten was replaced by all-purpose flour, which I believe was the key to the fantastic texture that it ended up having. Some people think that having that low of a gluten-content in the dough makes it too squishy (I guess they like their seitan really tough!). I think that doing this made my steaks deliciously tender, and wouldn't have it any other way.

I like to cook seitan cutlets and steaks in a wide shallow pan. This keeps things orderly, and will produce a nice flat piece of seitan. My pan comes from Cosco, and is called an "everyday pan." Kind of a silly name, but I'll be darned if it isn't true. I use this thing all the time, because it's very versatile.

The simmering broth comes out to about six cups in this pan, but the important thing here is just to make enough to cover (or mostly cover) your gluten. I added in my broth powder (being very generous), some Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, seasoning salt, and a couple bay leaves. I like to get this up to boiling just to be sure it's all integrated nicely before adding in the gluten.

Why, yes, my stove is comically tiny.

For the dough broth I heated a cup of water and stirred in a generous amount of the broth powder. The can calls for a teaspoon per two cups (or as the can inexplicably says, two teaspoons for four cups), but I find that this is much too weak, especially for use in seitan. I put in what must have come out to a little over two teaspoons, but I can't be sure because I just used the nifty little spoon that comes in the can. After this I added a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce and a large pinch of onion powder.

Time to combine them! SUPER IMPORTANT REMINDER: As I said in the previous post, always make a little well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the broth, and mix carefully. Try really hard to avoid dry pockets, because they come out tough and nasty, and will ruin your nice tender steak.

After kneading it together I let it sit for a couple of minutes to let it settle a bit, which seems to help prevent bubbles. Next you just pull it apart into equal parts of however many steaks you want it to be-- in my case, two. You then want to put it on a cutting board or other flat surface and flatten it with your hands until it's around 3/4ths of an inch thick. Remember, this will bulk up considerably in cooking, so don't worry if it looks a little small. Once you have them flattened carefully lay them in your broth. It's not a problem if they're not completely covered, because we'll be turning them. You want to simmer them for an hour, turning them every ten minutes or so. Try your best to keep it a gentle simmer because if it goes to a full boil for too long something something I really don't know. This is just what everyone says so I've never done it any other way. You'll also want to put a lid on it to keep it from reducing too much.

Done simmering! Here the steaks have increased in size quite a bit, and the broth has reduced a little. At this point I take them out and put them in a colander or strainer to let them cool and drain a little bit. I reserved a few cups of the broth to make a gravy, and it turned out lovely! Very flavorful.

To finish off the steaks I like to pan sear them in a little oil (and seasoning salt, of course!), which is much easier to do with seitan than it is with beef. When pan searing beef you have to then bake it to let it finish cooking through, but since the seitan has already been cooked through you can skip that altogether.

And there you have it: a beautiful steak! I paired this with mashed potatoes and some sauteed broccoli, and I could not have been happier with how it came out.

A mouthwatering closeup

I don't imagine this is going to fool anyone into thinking they're eating meat, but it's close enough for me! Nice and chewy with a lovely savory flavor. I always eat mine with A1 steak sauce, because some habits never die. Put on it what you like, or eat it plain. You could even use this in another recipe like fajitas, or anything else that would traditionally call for beef. Such as jerky... but that's a recipe for another day.

As for now, I think it's time for a little afternoon tea because I made myself hungry writing this post.