Seitan Ribs, from the Fat Free Vegan

Yesterday, I wrote about a few new blogs. One of them was the fat free vegan, and that is the same blog that I got this recipe from.

As I said before, my husband is a meat substitute phobe. He raises an eyebrow at anything that is supposed to mimic meat. We've found a few good substitutes, but the default is always that he won't like it.

I had read bits and pieces about Seitan, and I was starting to feel pretty positive about it. Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten, which is the "binder" in breads. In fact, vital wheat gluten is something many bakers keep on hand for their baked goods. On one of the Weight Watcher boards, I followed a link for "ribz" and ended up at the Fat Free Vegan. She was writing about her Fourth of July feast, which included Seitan Riblets.

Let me start by saying that they really are quite tasty - and the husband did enjoy them! Let me give you a few tips that weren't clearly spelled out at the Fat Free Vegan's site:

(1) DO NO clean up vital wheat gluten with water. You know that rubber-cement like stuff on the back of tags taken off of magazines? That's sort of what VWG is like when wet. Dust it off, and just wipe off the residue. Oh...and be careful with your sink - I'm still trying to clean the sludge out.

(2) The instructions say "knead," but this doesn't mean "knead" like you would a loaf of bread. You can't stretch it out and pull it apart like you can bread dough. Instead, you want to keep the ball of Seitan together, just pressing down, then cupping the very spongy dough back together. Don't flatten and lop over like bread - Seitan doesn't worth that way.

(3) When you spread the Seitan into the pan, it takes some serious effort. I had to work the dough vigorously for quite some time to get it spread out in the pan. Don't give up - it will come together eventually.

Other than that, Seitan is amazingly simple and something we will be trying again! The whole pan is 20 points, so if you divide it into 4, that's 5 points a serving. It's a nice "go to" meal, as Vital Wheat Gluten is a shelf-stable ingredient that can be kept on hand for a substantive meal.