Vegan Summer Sausage

This has been a labor of making and tweaking and making and tweaking. I have pages of crossed out notes and things that I added and tried. Finally this is it! The finished product!

In our meat eating days, we enjoyed Hickory Farms turkey sticks. They were sold as a seasonal item and we waited with anticipation. Let me just say its been a long time since those days but this is a similar taste as to what my family and I remember, albeit not as rich.

This recipe makes two medium sized sausages. They are easy to slice for sandwiches and wraps. I recently added slices to a veggie stir-fry. We have served slices with crackers and vegan cheese as a game snack. I’ve put chunks into vegan Mac and cheese. The possibilities I am discovering are endless. Anywhere you would typically have used processed meat, this is a perfect plant-based alternative.

The recipe calls for a block of tofu drained. Drain the tofu, wrap it in paper towels to pull off the excess water, it doesn’t need to be pressed. There are two flavors of liquid smoke available I have used both, so you can use whichever you prefer. The more flavorful BBQ sauce you use the more flavorful your sausages will be, so select based on your tastes.

I froze sausages in slices and it thawed just fine. The pieces I thawed I used in a stir-fry so perhaps the best way to use sausages that you have frozen is in something you are cooking.

Begin by placing a large pot of water on medium heat so its heating while you are preparing the sausages. In a food processor, add everything except for the vital wheat gluten. Once you have the tofu and the seasonings pureed add in the vital wheat gluten and just pulse until it’s incorporated. Take it out and knead it just a bit until it’s not crumbly and its more like dough.

Once you knead it a few times, it gets a smoother surface. Don’t knead it too much as it will make the sausage have a rubbery texture. Tear off two sheets of aluminum foil, and divide the dough into two equal portions.

Roll the dough with your hands until you have two log shaped pieces.

Wrap each sausage in aluminum foil, twisting the ends closed. If you don’t roll it up and seal by twisting the ends the cooked log looks more like a loaf than a sausage, so twisting the ends is an important step.

Place the summer sausages in boiling water and allow to simmer on a low boil for 1 hour. Then just cool and enjoy. Store them in the refrigerator or freeze in an airtight container.

Vegan Summer Sausage

• Servings: 2 logs
• Time: 1 hour 15 min.
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A substitute for processed meat in snacks, sandwiches, wraps, stir-fries, pastas, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 block of tofu, drained
• 1/2 c. BBQ sauce (the more flavorful the sauce, the more flavorful the sausage)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. mustard powder
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. liquid smoke
• 1 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and set to medium heat.
2. In a food processor add all ingredients except for the vital wheat gluten. Mix until smooth, you may need to stop and scrape down the sides.
3. Add in the vital wheat gluten and pulse a couple of times until it’s incorporated into the mixture.
4. Remove from the food processor and knead a couple of times until it forms a dough and isn’t crumbly anymore.
5. Divide dough into two equal portions and shape each into a log.
6. Wrap each log up in foil, twisting the ends to seal.
7. Place wrapped logs in boiling water and allow to simmer on a low boil for 1 hour.
8. Remove from water and allow to cool. Refrigerate or freeze. Enjoy.

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