Whole vegan turkey - a perfect centerpiece for your vegan Thanksgiving dinner, vegan Christmas meal or other festive gatherings. It's made from Seitan, wrapped in a delicious rice paper skin and filled with vegan stuffing of your choice.
6-8sheetsrice paperenough to cover the seitan turkey
3tablespoontamari soy sauce
1tablespoonmaple syrup
2tablespoonnutritional yeast
½teaspoonsmoked paprika powder
½teaspoongarlic powder
½teaspoonliquid smoke
½teaspoonground black pepper
water
Instructions
Creating the Seitan dough:
Place the entire tin of chickpeas (including liquid), silken tofu, miso paste, vegetable oil, bouillon cube, vegan poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and baking powder into a food processor and process until smooth.
Swap the blade for a dough attachment, then slowly add in the vital wheat gluten whilst pulsing until a firm dough forms. If your food processor doesn't have a dough attachment, then simply transfer the wet mix to a large bowl. Stir in the vital wheat gluten with a spatula then knead the dough by hand until everything is mixed well.
Let the Seitan dough rest for 15 minutes.
Filling and shaping the roast:
Using a large rolling pin, firmly roll the dough into a large rectangle of roughly ½ inch thickness. Place the stuffing onto the middle in a firm log shape.
Fold over the sides of the Seitan dough to wrap over the stuffing, then fold down the top and stretch it over the filling. Lastly, fold over the bottom and stretch if over the entire Seitan as firmly as you can to wrap the entire Seitan. Pinch the edges with your fingers to seal and create a firm parcel.
With a sharp knife, make 4 diagonal cuts into the Seitan parcel (see the image instructions in the post above!). Knead each section firmly into the desired shape - the top two cuts will be the turkey wings, the bottom the legs. You can fold the middle part of the Seitan underneath the parcel to create a round shape. Secure the turkey legs together with a toothpick and make a shallow line cut down the middle of the turkey shape.
Steaming:
Wrap the entire Seitan first in parchment paper, then in aluminum foil, then place it into a large steamer basket and steam for 2 hrs. After 2 hours, let the roast cool down slowly in the steamer basket without removing it. It's vital that it cools down slowly to help with the texture - rapid temperature changes can make the Seitan rubbery.
Prepare the skin:
Once the roast is ready, unwrap it and place it onto a large board, then prepare the ingredients for the rice paper skin: set aside 2 bowls, fill one with water. In the second bowl, whisk together tamari, maple syrup, liquid smoke, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, smoked paprika and black pepper.
Dip each sheet of rice paper first into the water, but only very briefly and allow for any excess water to drop off. Next, dip the sheet into the seasoning mix. It should slowly become soft and pliable but to keep it in a flat sheet, whilst you coat it. Remove any excess, then wrap the soft sheet over the turkey. Repeat 6-8 times or until the entire Seitan is covered. Don't forget to add rice paper at the bottom of the roast too!
Roasting
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Transfer the entire seitan turkey into a large roasting dish. Add in a few roasting vegetables, such as carrots, celery, onions, garlic and potatoes, and fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and sage. Pour in the vegetable stock, then cover with a lid and roast in the oven for 40 minutes in total.
After 20 minutes of roasting time, remove the lid and continue to roast uncovered for another 20 minutes (40 minutes total) or until the skin is crisping up. The roasting time might slightly vary depending on the oven, so just keep a close eye on it.
Transfer to a large serving dish and slice to serve.
Notes
large steamer - if you don't have a steamer basket big enough for the entire Seitan roast, you can place the roast in the oven with a large oven dish filled with water underneath and 'steam' the Seitan in the oven that way.
yuba skin - as an alternative to the rice paper skin, you can also use yuba. Yuba is essentially soy milk skin - the kind that forms on top of milk when cooking or boiling it. You can buy ready-made yuba in large Asian grocery stores or make your own but that can be time intense and require a lot of soya milk to coat the entire roast turkey.
shape - it's definitely not necessary to make the shape of the Seitan look like a turkey but it's surely a playful twist! Alternatively, I recommend shaping the Seitan into a log with the stuffing filling on the inside.
flavors - you can generally season the skin to your liking! I've used a seasoning based on my vegan bacon recipe in this case as I simply thing these flavors work wonderfully but you can get creative and try other coatings for the Seitan turkey. In my Vegan Roasts cookbook you can find a mustard glaze that works wonderfully with this type of seitan roast.
Fridge - keep the sliced turkey in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer - you can also freezer your vegan turkey! For ease, it is best sliced beforehand, then frozen as individual slices, so you can easily defrost individual slices. Once they are frozen, you can pack the slices into a large freezer container to save space.
Extra tip - To get the turkey skin extra crispy, use an oil spray and spray it onto the skin right before roasting - and also during if the skin is getting too dry in the oven.
Substitutions - find more tips for suitable ingredient substitutions in the blog post above.