Comments on Vegan Planet: Slow-Cooker Seitan Pot Roast

Sure, Sara, you can adapt this recipe to either th...

2008-06-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

Sure, Sara, you can adapt this recipe to either the oven or stovetop. Just follow the recipe the same way as you would for a slow cooker, but for stovetop, put everything in a large covered pot (like a Dutch oven) and cook on a fairly low heat so it doesn't burn. You may need to add a bit more liquid so everything braises nicely and doesn't burn. And unlike the slow cooker, which you can leave alone, you'll need to check on this a few times. It should be done in about an hour, depending on how big or small you cut the veggies. For the oven, just combine the ingredients in a large baking dish and cover. Bake at about 350 for an hour, again, depending on the size of your veggies. By the way, I like to sit the seitan roast on top of some thinly sliced onion so that the onion flavor gets into the seitan. The down-side is that you'll get onion indentations in the bottom of the seitan roast. But it also helps keep the seitan from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Good luck with this and let me know how it turns out.

i'd love to try this recipe, but unfortunately am ...

2008-06-07T15:01:00.000-04:00

i'd love to try this recipe, but unfortunately am not the proud owner of a slow cooker. is there a way to adapt this to the oven or stovetop? or am i just out of luck until i finally convince my mom to give me her old one?

Debi, seitan can be funny sometimes -- not ha-ha f...

2008-03-21T11:57:00.000-04:00

Debi, seitan can be funny sometimes -- not ha-ha funny, but strange/odd funny. It can be spongy one time and rubbery the next, and then perfect another time. I've found that if I start with cold water, and knead it for a minute or two, and then press it together well, it's usually okay. Adding a little less liquid will make it firmer, but since there needs to be enough liquid to make it hold together, it can be a bit of a balancing act. Hope this helps.

Karen, glad your seitan roast turned out okay. It...

2008-03-21T10:13:00.000-04:00

Karen, glad your seitan roast turned out okay. It probably would have kept its shape better if it had more gluten flour in it. Also, to have more control over the shape, you can wrap it in cheesecloth next time. BTW, it's fine if the roast sits in the broth -- it will still firm up, after all, it even firms up when plopped into a pot of simmering water! Still, for this recipe, to keep the potatoes from insinuating themselves into the underside of your seitan, you can place the seitan on a layer of sliced onions and carrots, and then surround it with the potatoes (and then add some water or vegetable broth).

Love this recipe! It was indeed very easy - but I ...

2008-03-21T09:14:00.000-04:00

Love this recipe! It was indeed very easy - but I have one question. The "roast" part of it came out very spongy -- lots of air in it. I made seitan once before that came out like this, but it had baking soda in it so I understand why. I followed your recipe to the letter. Any ideas for how to make the roast a little more dense? Thanks much!!!

The morning after... (drum roll please) ... it tur...

2008-03-20T09:52:00.000-04:00

The morning after... (drum roll please) ... it turned out okay! Not great but I was able to slice it and it tasted great. I don't think it was firm enough because it drooped down and conformed around the potatoes and into the liquid. Although I cooked it on high for 3.5 hours, I don't think it was fully done, but it was time to eat. It broke in half while trying to get it out. I set one half aside and we ate the other half. Another mistake was that I only did half the veggies so the roast sat in a little of the broth, keeping it a little too wet. I have learned much and will do it right next time. Thanks for the recipe. It was nice to have something different and I will definitely try again.

Sounds intriguing, Karen. Can't wait to hear how ...

2008-03-19T22:31:00.000-04:00

Sounds intriguing, Karen. Can't wait to hear how it turns out!

Re: wheat/soy mix -- I did it after seeing this re...

2008-03-19T19:18:00.000-04:00

Re: wheat/soy mix -- I did it after seeing this recipe: Gluten/Soy Meat. It's in the crockpot now... I hope it turns out okay. I'll let you know!

Hey, Keeta, congrats on making your first slow-coo...

2008-03-19T18:15:00.000-04:00

Hey, Keeta, congrats on making your first slow-cooker seitan pot roast. When I want a rounder-looking seitan roast, I make it in my round 4-quart slow cooker. If I want a flatter end-result, I use the large oval cooker, which is what I used to make the flatter looking seitan in the "Corned Seitan and Cabbage" photo post. It's all good!

Robin, I made this tonight for my family and every...

2008-03-19T18:07:00.000-04:00

Robin, I made this tonight for my family and everyone loved it! I don't think mine turned out as pretty as yours, but it was a first try. ;) I made the seitan kind of flat, so next time I'll try to loaf it up a little more. My toddler LOVED the seitan!

Karen, since seitan IS wheat gluten and therefore ...

2008-03-19T17:25:00.000-04:00

Karen, since seitan IS wheat gluten and therefore made up mostly of wheat gluten flour, I'm concerned that you may have too much soy flour in your mix and that's why it isn't holding together properly. With that much soy flour, I'm not sure what you'll end up with, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

I actually used half soy flour and wheat gluten bu...

2008-03-19T17:02:00.000-04:00

I actually used half soy flour and wheat gluten but don't think that would make a difference. Wasn't sure if adding flour would be okay, but I'll do that. Lucky I started early and have time do that still. Thanks!

Omigosh, Anonymous, I don't understand why your se...

2008-03-19T15:28:00.000-04:00

Omigosh, Anonymous, I don't understand why your seitan isn't mixing up with 2 cups of wheat gluten flour and 1 1/2 cups of water. I find that to be a good proportion, even with the addition of some tamari. If you're still working with it, try adding some regular flour to the mixture as well as nutritional yeast -- this will help absorb the liquid. And next time, try starting with 1 1/4 cups water, and only add more if the mixture seems too dry. Hope this helps. Sorry about that -- I make seitan this way at least once a week and it's perfect every time!

I'm finding 1-1/2 cups water in the seitan mix is ...

2008-03-19T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm finding 1-1/2 cups water in the seitan mix is too much. I can't form a ball... and I'm out of wheat gluten. :-(

I've made your original version of this and loved ...

2008-03-14T13:16:00.000-04:00

I've made your original version of this and loved it. I'm looking forward to trying this one. Thanks for sharing your recipes and I'm excited you've got a blog!

Thanks, Isa! (I like The Band, too!)

2008-03-13T15:36:00.000-04:00

Thanks, Isa! (I like The Band, too!)

I'm fixing your name on my blog, sorry! That made ...

2008-03-13T15:28:00.000-04:00

I'm fixing your name on my blog, sorry! That made me laugh. I do like the Band.

I appreciate your nice comments, Urban Vegan -- on...

2008-03-13T13:45:00.000-04:00

I appreciate your nice comments, Urban Vegan -- on behalf of my Seitan Pot Roast and Vegan Planet -- thank you!!

Looks wonderful. I have to tell you I'm a HUGE fan...

2008-03-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

Looks wonderful. I have to tell you I'm a HUGE fan of Vegan Planet.

I'm glad you liked my post about vegan kitten food...

2008-03-13T11:55:00.000-04:00

I'm glad you liked my post about vegan kitten food and the pictures of my little devils.

I hope to see pictures of your cats soon. :)

Sorry about the stray punctuation at the end of yo...

2008-03-13T09:05:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the stray punctuation at the end of your link, Billy. It has been repaired!

And, yes, that seitan pot roast IS really good!!!

That looks really good!Thanks for adding me to you...

2008-03-12T23:52:00.000-04:00

That looks really good!

Thanks for adding me to your blogroll, but the link to my blog is wrong. There is a "." at the end by mistake. :)

Thanks for the speedy response. I'll definitely tr...

2008-03-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the speedy response. I'll definitely try it. I want to use my crockpot more but I am sort of afraid of it cracking if it's not full enough. Thanks again!

To answer the question about the crockpot being "3...

2008-03-10T13:03:00.000-04:00

To answer the question about the crockpot being "3/4 full w/liquid": a crockpot should be no more than 3/4 full of ingredients (not necessarily liquid). I used about 1 cup of liquid (veg stock or water) for this recipe in a 4 quart crockpot. If using a larger crockpot, you might want to add a little extra liquid. This liquid acts as a braising liquid to create steam to help cook the seitan and the vegetables and can then be used for a sauce. Hope you try it -- it's really good!

I want to try this but isn't the crockpot supposed...

2008-03-10T12:53:00.000-04:00

I want to try this but isn't the crockpot supposed to be 3/4 full w/liquid?