Stuffed Vegan Turkey Roast with Crispy Skin
Perfectly herbed and incredibly textured, this vegan turkey roast will make a lovely centerpiece to your Thanksgiving dinner with hearty stuffing wrapped in a savory seitan coating. It’s got yummy crispy yuba skin and gets roasted with apple cider basting liquid.
Servings: 14 servings
Calories: 204kcal
Cost: $20
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons tamari
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¾ cup chickpea flour
- 3 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- 6 cups vegan stuffing
- 12 cups water
- ¼ cup tamari
- 3 tablespoons vegetable bouillon paste I prefer Better Than Bouillon’s No-Chicken bouillon paste
- 3 large sheets yuba skin or several sheets of rice paper
Basting Liquid:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider or apple juice
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ⅓ cup olive oil
To Garnish and Serve:
- Chopped parsley
- Vegan gravy
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
- In a large bowl, stand mixer, or food processor, mix together the vegetable stock (or water), tamari, coriander, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, chickpea flour, and vital wheat gluten until fully combined. Let the dough rest and hydrate for 10 minutes.
- Place the seitan dough into a food processor fitted with an S-blade, and process it for 2 full minutes to agitate the gluten.
- Using wet hands, compress your stuffing into a 4-5 inch (10-12 cm) wide log shape, and then cover it completely, on all sides (including the bottom), in the seitan dough. Place the stuffed seitan onto a lightly oiled parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes until the outside feels just slightly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Bring the water, bouillon paste, and tamari to a boil in a Dutch oven or thick-bottomed pot. Carefully add the baked seitan into the pot, and immediately reduce to a low simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 40 minutes.
- Lower your oven temperature to 350°F (175°C). Carefully drain your seitan in a colander.
- Rehydrate two sheets of yuba skin in water until pliable. Squeeze out excess water.
- Lay one yuba sheet on a lightly oiled parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the drained stuffed seitan onto the yuba.
- Wrap the vegan turkey in the yuba skin, covering it completely. Use the second yuba sheet from the top, wrapping under the sides and bottom of the seitan turkey to cover any visible seams.
- Either in a blender or using the tines of a fork in a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, mustard, cider vinegar, apple cider, pepper, thyme, and olive oil to form the basting liquid.
- Brush the seitan turkey with the basting liquid, reserving some of it for a second basting, and roast at 350°F (175°C) for 20-25 minutes. Brush with additional basting liquid at the halfway point, and again just a couple of minutes before removing it from the oven.
- Garnish the roasted vegan turkey with chopped fresh herbs and serve it sliced with a gravy of your choice.
Notes
✋ Processing Power-Up: I know you're tempted to skip straight to roasting, but don’t! Running the seitan dough through the food processor for a couple of minutes is crucial for getting that chewy, meaty texture. Skipping this step will leave your loaf lacking.
🍞 Bake, Simmer, Bake Again: It might seem like overkill to bake, simmer, and then bake again, but it’s key. The first bake creates a crust that prevents the seitan from expanding too much while simmering, giving your vegan turkey loaf the perfect structure.
🔥 Keep It Low and Slow: When simmering your seitan, keep the heat low and steady. A gentle simmer ensures it cooks through without turning tough or rubbery. High heat leads to a spongy or brainy texture, and nobody wants that!
💦 Soak, Squeeze, Wrap: Before wrapping your seitan in yuba sheets, soak them until soft and pliable, then squeeze out the excess water. This helps the yuba adhere better, creating a skin that crisps up beautifully in the oven.
🍴 Loaf Lift-Off: Transferring your baked seitan loaf can be tricky. You can serve it straight from the baking pan with garnishes to cover the edges, use large cake transfer tools, or cut it into sections before moving it.
Nutrition
Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 891mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 157IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2mg