Vegan Reuben with Corned Beef Seitan

By blum099

Just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day, this recipe for corned beef seitan should please even the biggest weirdo corned beef purist. What you do with this knowledge is up to you, but I highly suggest getting a bunch of friends together and celebrating with a tray of vegan reubens.

For the record, I’ve never actually eaten corned beef, but I can safely surmise that this recipe is pretty dang authentic. This seitan includes all the same spices and flavorings as traditional corned beef — minus the animal corpse. I think it makes a super tasty sandwich, and I’m not just saying that because it’s topped with sauerkraut (one of the greatest foods on the planet)!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c wheat gluten
• 1/2 Tbsp ground mustard
• 1/2 Tbsp pepper
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp red pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 c cold water
• 1/2 c kidney beans, mashed
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 ” ginger root, finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste

Details

Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 75mins
Adapted from hellyeahitsvegan.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325°.
In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients, wheat gluten through allspice.
In a medium bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures together until well-blended, and knead the mixture for few minutes to condition the gluten.
Shape dough into a 9-10″ log and roll tightly (double-roll, if you have to!) in aluminum foil, twisting the ends to seal.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotating once.
Let cool fully; slice, and serve.
Notes
It’s easier to make thinner slices if you chill the log in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before slicing.

To assemble reubens, lightly butter one side each of two slices of rye bread. Between the un-buttered sides of the bread, layer with corned beef seitan, thin slices of vegan mozzarella, a copious amount of sauerkraut, and a drizzle of Russian dressing. (You’ll now have a sandwich with the outsides buttered.) Fry sandwich, one side at a time, in a covered frying pan on medium-high heat, until each side is golden brown and the cheese has melted a bit (pressing down on the sandwich once or twice while it cooks helps). Slice diagonally, crank the DKM, and eat up!