Vegan Hot Dogs (with recipe!)

Vegan Hot Dog. My inner five year old is ecstatic!

Labor Day at our casa started out pretty sweet. A sunny day with just enough breeze to make one happy to be outdoors on a typically sweltering South Florida holiday.  Me, T and the Cap'n spent time outside cleaning out and detailing my car, even breaking out the carpet cleaner to finally get those grease stains off the front seat from that time I brought some marinating tofu to a family gathering, and it leaked. Everywhere. 

We had plans to spend the day together in the pool after all our hard work was done, but as is typical of the Sunshine State in September, crazy thunderstorms came rolling in and all activities were moved inside. 

Nothing that a delicious but simple Labor Day dinner couldn't fix! The Cap'n fired up his grill for things that only omni's eat, and I steamed hot dogs, something I'd always wanted to try. T shucked the corn while I cut up what turned out to be this summer's finest watermelon.

Mmmm, mustard. Some sweet onions made them perfect.

I've made plenty of vegan fauxsages in the past but hot dogs never really occurred to me.As a kid I loved hot dogs with lots of mustard. Remembering that I'd seen them on the PPK forums, and digging up this recipe, I tinkered a bit and really enjoyed the way they turned out. The texture was spot on. Spot. On. Not mushy like store bought veg brands. The flavor didn't scream 'hot dog', but I haven't had a hot dog since the mid '90's. I think as far as mouth feel and overall flavor once bunned and dressed was really great. It wasn't 'gluteny' which I worried about without the sausage flavoring that usually carries fauxsages.  I got a nice 'skin' on mine by lightly sauteing them in a tiny bit of coconut oil after they'd cooled a bit from the steaming.  I plan to freeze some of the leftovers and look forward to boiling them to thaw and then throwing them on my grill. Everything good tastes even better with char lines, no? 

A bit of Lime Cilantro Coconut Butter on my corn on the cob and I'm convinced I'll never be enjoying this summer crop with vegan margarine ever again!

Vegan Hot Dogs

 Makes 8 Dogs

5T almond meal

9 oz xtra firm tofu

2T shoyu

3T canola oil

1.5 tsp sugar

1 tsp arrowroot

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Hungarian paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp mustard powder

3/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 c. water (+ 1-2 T if needed)

1 c. + 1 T vital wheat gluten

1. Add all ingredients but gluten to food processor.

2. Blend, scraping down sides as needed, until it becomes a smooth mixture.

3. Scrape contents of processor into large bowl.

4. Add gluten and mix to combine well. You should have a very soft dough. If needed, add water one tablespoon at a time to achieve desired texture.

5. Knead softly only until all gluten is absorbed

6. Divide dough into 8 equal portions.

7. Roll each portion into a log, careful not to make longer than steamer basket.

8. Wrap logs tightly in cheesecloth and secure or parchment then aluminum foil, twisting the ends to secure.

9. Place seam side down in steamer basket. (I laid mine four across and four on top of them at a 90 degree angle.

10. Steam, covered for 45 minutes. Allow to cool and eat as is or reheat in boiling water or on grill for 5 minutes.

I've never met a batch of seitan that didn't freeze just fine, so I froze some of mine with the intention of thawing in the future and reheating as directed above,