The New Vegan Table » Tofurky

Review: Vegetarian Plus Whole Vegan Turkey

Justin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:44:59 +0000

Every year for the holidays the biggest question is what to serve as the main protein dish. This year a new option showed up at the grocery store, and I couldn’t resist giving it a try. The Vegan Whole Turkey from Vegetarian Plus is a four pound roast shaped a little eerily like a whole roast turkey. Along with the roast, the box contains “Himalayan Barley Fried Rice Stuffing” and gravy. I put my box in the refrigerator and waited eagerly (if a little hesitantly) for T-Day.

Opening the box, the roast did look incredibly turkey shaped, a far cry from the gluten football that is the Tofurky roast. The next discovery: the roast comes unstuffed. There is a cavity in the back of the bird and the “stuffing” is provided separately. This was incredibly exciting as it opens up many possibilities for future applications. As this was my first time trying the product, I decided to stick to the basic package directions, which were fairly simple: stuff the roast, wrap in foil and bake. An hour later it was ready to eat.

The roast itself was very good. As soon as I took a bite I instantly figured out what else the company made. Vegetarian Plus (Vege USA) makes the little vegan chicken drumsticks that can be found frozen, and at some restaurants, wrapped in a tofu skin and skewered with a sugar cane “bone.” The “whole turkey” was similarly, if not identically, composed of so fiber and soy protein wrapped with a tofu skin. The soy fiber makes for a grained texture very much like poultry. It was much lighter and cut much better than seitan or Tofurky. Most pleasently, the roast was exceptionally moist, even without any basting or marinating. Flavor wise, it was not particularly turkey like, but more like chicken in flavor. The “meat” does have a bit of an oddly sweet flavor to it, but covered in a nice gravy it balanced out nicely. If I get arround to making another one of these beasts I will probably experiment with spice rubs or basting to inject a little extra flavor. I might also try cooking it uncovered for a few min at the end to crisp up the skin a little better. Ultimately I would like to deep fry one of these, but I don’t think it will fit in my fryer, so I might actually need a turkey fryer. The size of the roast was great as well, as it allowed for easy carving and plenty of left overs.

One of the exciting part of the roast was carving off the "drumsticks." It would have been awesome if they had put the same sugar cane "bones" in that they use in the little chicken drumsticks.

The gravy didn’t fail to disappoint. Initially the pouch of gravy seemed a little ridiculously small, but further investigation revealed that it was more of a base, and it will take a good amount a water to thin down to proper gravy consistency. It was salty, tasty, and had a good consistency. Over all I found it much more enjoyable than the Tofurky “giblet gravy”

The stuffing was a little bit of a let down, but fortunately I had prepared some herbed chestnut stuffing.

Where things fell short was with the stuffing. The “Himalayan Barley Fried Rice Stuffing” was much more fried rice than stuffing. It appears it is a product that the company makes separately and just threw in rather than making a new stufing product. As a fried rice, it was OK. Some very decent mock ham and a curryish spice bled blended decent flavor. The barley is very toothsome, bordering on underdone, and did not stick together at all so it was very granular. The texture was one of the areas in which it most failed to fulfill the stuffing role. Also, the spice blend did not really jive with the turkey and gravy, let alone the rest of the meal. Luckily, the turkey comes un-stuffed, so next times I will use my own stuffing and save the fried rice for a later meal.

Over all we were all very pleased, including a couple of my meat eating friends that tried it. While it caries a bit of a heft price tag, ranging around $40-$50, the size of it makes it comparable to other vegetarian roasts on the market. I’ll be watching and will hopefully be able to grab a couple on sale late in the season.

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T-Day Recap

Justin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:34:53 +0000

Every year I get many people asking me what I eat for Thanksgiving. While often this time of year can be hard on us vegans types, there is no reason it has to be. This year I got a little carried away and cooked enough food to feed at least twelve people (and it was just the two of us at home). I tried they new “Vegan Whole Turkey” from Vegetarian Plus (full review coming soon). Along with that I made five pounds of mashed potatoes (with caramelized onions and roasted garlic), deep fried Brussels Sprouts, cranberry sauce, chestnut herb stuffing, and a sweet potato pie with a pecan streusel topping. More pictures, recipes and reviews will be up over the next few days, but for now I am still recovering from all that power eating.

The full spread.

I used my fried brussels sprouts recipe, but tossed them with carmelized onions, Bac'un bits and topped with fried onion.

Making your own craberry sauce takes mimimal effort and produced results that far outshine the canned stuff.

The sweet potato pie was my pumpkin pie recipe, but using sweet potato for the pumpkin and I replaced the glazed pecans with a pecan streusel.

Five punds of potatoes, two carmelized onions, and a head of roaseed garlic. Oh and a cup or two of Earth Balance.

Deep Fried Tofurky

Justin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:15:12 +0000

Tofurky has become an essential staple of the holiday season for many vegans. It is widely available, easy to prepare, and something your parents can grab from most major grocery stores that they are sure your can eat. After a time though, it can get boring, especially if you are just preparing it to the recipe on the box. While there are some good alternate recipes on Tofurky’s website, and you can always just play with different spice rubs and marinades, I prefer that great American culinary tradition: Deep Frying.

Before frying the Tofurky roast is heated in the oven. This is primarily to make sure the center is heated through, but is also an excellent time to add some extra flavor. You can use either of the standard marinade recipes on the package, or I have provided one below. Feel free to use your favorite spice blend or marinade. Harissa was particularly good, and Cajun spice would be a great choice, just be sure that whatever you use there is a good amount of liquid so the outside will not dry out in the oven. Deep frying gives the roast a delightful, crispy skin while retaining the flavors of whatever marinade you choose to use.

I like to get the Tofurky feast that comes with gravy and dumplings. You can usually find them on sale for a bargain either early in the season or late in the season (I like to pick them up after the holidays when they are on super close out). The dumplings are decent, but become exceptional after a good dip in the old deep fryer. Make sure to defrost your Tofurky roast and gravy in the fridge at least the night before you plan to cook them. I discovered (actually they mention it somewhere on the box, hidden away) that you get much better results if you carve the Tofurky more like an actual roast, shaving off thinner pieces, rather than cutting big slices like they picture on the box.

Deep Fried Tofurky

Marinade
1/8th cup orange juice
1/8th cup Braggs or soy sauce
1/8th cup dry white wine
1 tsp rubbed sage

Tofurky roast, defrosted according to package directions.
Tofurky Dumplings

Deep Fryer
Oil for frying

To Make the Tofurky

Heat oven to 300°. Mix marinade ingredients. Place Tofurky on a large piece of foil and add marinade. Seal Tofurky in foil and place on a pie plate or baking dish. Bake for 30 min. Heat oil to 375°. Deep fry about 5 min on each side, until well browned. Remove and drain briefly on paper towels before carving.

To Fry the Dumplings

Heat oil to 375°. Fry dumplings until browned, flipping half way through cooking. Drain on paper towels and serve.