MY SEITAN "SALAMI" (WITH "PEPPERONI" VARIATION)

I devised this recipe quite a few years ago, but never got around to sharing it until now. I grew up in San Francisco, in a district with plenty of Italian grocery stores and delicatessens, as well as a father who was half Italian. Salami and pepperoni on crusty San Francisco sourdough bread or rolls were favorites during those pre-vegetarian days. Unfortunately, even to this day, commercial vegan versions leave me unsatisfied.

Over a number of years, I worked on this recipe until I finally came up with one that satisfied my memory of real Italian salami. It’s not hard to make and the ingredients are not hard to obtain. I hope you like it as much as we do!

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BRYANNA’S SEITAN “SALAMI” (WITH “PEPPERONI” VARIATION)

This is a recipe that I devised many years ago. I grew up in San Francisco and used to love the real Italian salami there. So far, commercial vegetarian/vegan versions don’t do much for me

This recipe is baked (sort of like my seitan roasts, but it does not require all the kneading and resting.) The flavor is great, especially if you have the patience wait until the next day, and it slices very thinly, yet is moist. It freezes very well!

DRY MIX:

2 cups/10.4 oz./292g pure gluten powder (vital wheat gluten)

6 Tbs oat bran

2 Tbs instant (minute) tapioca (also known as “small pearl tapioca”)
(See photos just below– this is NOT the same thing as tapioca starch or flour!)

4 tsp paprika

2 tsp dry mustard powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp WHOLE black peppercorns

1 tsp salt

WET MIX:

1 1/2 cup dry red wine (can be non-alcoholic)

6 Tbs soy sauce (Please do not use Braggâ€™s liquid aminos instead– they are not fermented, which means that they donâ€™t have all the umami flavor of fermented soy sauce,)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

2 Tbs dark (roasted) sesame oil

6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

1 tsp Liquid Smoke

COOKING BROTH:

1 3/4 cups water

6 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs olive oil

6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

Preheat the oven to 325Â°F.

Mix the Dry Mix ingredients in a medium bowl, or in the bowl of your food processor, blending well.

Mix the Wet Mix ingredients together in a blender. Add to the Dry Mix. Stir and then knead, or process until a soft dough forms. (If you have a food processor, use it– it makes the mixing very fast and easy.) This just takes a few minutes– it will seem too liquid-y at first, but will firm up.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and roll them on a clean countertop into 2 rolls.

Roll and tie the dough tightly in doubled-up cheesecloth, 16″ long, as in the photo just below. (See about cheesecloth and twine, and wrapping the rolls, and photos of how to wrap, in MY NOTES at the end of the post.)

Place the rolls side-by-side in a small roasting pan (I use a 10 x 6″ oval roasting pan with lid).

Pour the Cooking Broth over them. Cover the pan (use foil if necessary) and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, turning after 45 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Bake longer, if necessary. (See ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD below.)

Cool the rolls for at least 8 hours before using (you can freeze them after that, if you like). The flavor improves upon standing. Slice very thinly.

VARIATION:

SEITAN “PEPPERONI”:

Use only 2 tsp. of whole black peppercorns

and add 1 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper.

Add to the Dry Mix:

1 tsp dried red chile pepper flakes

1 tsp ground anise seed,

2 pinches ground allspice

To make “Pepperoni”, proceed as above, but you may want to make 4 smaller rolls.

ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD
When I was first developing sausage recipes, Dori, one of my original subscribers, used the following slow-cooker method on this salami recipe in a trial run, and she really liked the results.

She wrote: “I put the cooking broth in my slow-cooker (the 5 qt. West Bend with removeable oblong pan and 5 heat settings) and set the temperature between 3 and 4.”
(NOTE from Bryanna: I happen to have one of these– it’s old, but great for smaller jobs. Look for them it thrift stores. See photos below for the old one first, and then a newer version.)

Below is the newer version, and other brands make a similar product:

Dori continues: “I placed the wrapped logs into the slow-cooker (the broth was hot already). I let it cook covered for 2 hours, removed the lid and turned the logs over – they were already firm when I did this. Let it cook for 1 more hour uncovered – until the liquid was absorbed form the bottom of the pan.”Â© Bryanna Clark Grogan 2019

MY NOTES:

Cheesecloth is loosely woven cotton gauze, originally used to wrap cheeses, but also used for crafts, cooking, straining and more. Cheesecloth is available in at least seven different grades, from open to extra-fine weave. Grades are distinguished by the number of threads per inch in each direction. Here’s an article explaining all!

For wrapping the sausages, I use a double layer of ordinary, all-purpose, household cheesecloth (#10 grade), available in most grocery stores, or dollar stores. (See photos above.)

However, you can use a finer grade of cheesecloth if you prefer (#40 to 90 grade), in which case you will only need one layer. Kitchen Supply Co. is a popular brand and is available from kitchen and gourmet stores and many online kitchen supply stores. Unbleached varieties are now available. Beyond Gourmet is a popular brand and is available from many online sources.

White Cooking or Kitchen Twine is food-grade, biodegradable cotton twine. (There is also an unbleached variety.) It is indispensable for tying off small sausages and wrapping large sausages, seitan roasts, etc. before simmering. There are several common brands and spool sizes, and there are also convenient dispensers, such as spools and twine holders, available. Most kitchen supply and gourmet cookware stores will carry this product, and it is available widely online. Search kaboodle.com and amazon.com or .ca, etc. for a variety of brands, sizes, prices, and twine dispensers.

Enjoy!