Nuggets; Update with recipe.

[eepster]

We are trying to get away from using so much commercially made convenience foods. Our plan has been to make more of our own.

I want to create a recipe for chic'n'nuggets. DS is already very fond of the Morningstar Farms version, so I'm hoping to get pretty close to those, taste wise, but healthier and cheaper.

I was thinking of using some gluten for chewiness and firmness. I though a little long grain rice for stickiness. Quinoa for flakiness and crumbliness. A bit of oil.

I figures I would put the quinoa and rice in the food processor first till they were pretty unrecognizable, then add the gluten and oil and just give it a few quick pulses.

I could then just shape and bread them.

The part I'm unsure is flavor. I'm not sure which oil would give me the most chicken like flavor, or what spices I might want to add. Not that I really remember what chicken tastes like, which is probably a lot of the problem. DS never has had chicken of course, but he is fond of the commercial ones.

Does chicken even really have a flavor? People always say "X tastes like chicken" and "Y tastes like chicken." If every unfamiliar not terrible distinctive thing tastes like chicken, could it be b/c chicken doesn't really have a flavor? (Kind of like tofu.)

Should I bake or fry the gluten first, or use it raw? I definitely planned to boil the rice and quinoa first. Should I boil them in broth for extra flavor and vitamins? I normally do this if I'm just serving them.

ETA: Update and recipe post #8

[MsVyky]

I think a bit of dried thyme and sage ground up and put into your dry mix could impart a bit of "poultry" flavour- by association really. Do you have any no-chicken broth or bouillon cubes? I use those in all of my faux meats.

[lilyka]

I make seitan with gluten and soy four. Boil it in a broth (water, yeast flakes, sage, garlic, onion...and some other stuff), drain off water, dredge in flour and fry in veggie oil. Very good and the texture is right. good dipped in ketchup or bbq sauce.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by MsVyky

Do you have any no-chicken broth or bouillon cubes?

I haven't seen those. Do you get them at Whole Foods?

[smallmama]

Originally Posted by eepster

I haven't seen those. Do you get them at Whole Foods?

I was going to recommend those too. I think I got mine at the nearby storefront for veganstore.com (http://www.veganstore.com/edward-_an...age_1/579.html), but I bet Whole Foods would have them too.

[MsVyky]

Originally Posted by eepster

I haven't seen those. Do you get them at Whole Foods?

We don't have whole foods up here (In Canadaland, LOL), btu I bet you could get some there! I buy the McCormick's "chicken" and "beef" broth cubes. They're almost all salt, so by no means healthy, but they are a wicked good substitute

[emilyjace]

I took some "More than tofu" (pesto-flavored) and made panko-breaded nuggets. They were delish. You could take your favorite tofu, cut it into cubes, dredge in flour, soy milk, then panko, and lightly fry. Yum!

[eepster]

I made them!!!

I found the "no-chicken" broth at whole foods. I tried it out in some stuffing before starting the nuggets, and realized it was really going to add plenty flavor and I wouldn't need to add a bunch of spices on top of that (especially since the breading would have spices too.)

So here's how the recipe went:

ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of quinoa
• 3 cups of broth
• 1 1/4 cups brown basmati rice
• 3 3/4 cups of broth
• 1 box (10 oz) vital wheat gluten
• 3 cups broth
• 1/2 cup sesame oil (approx)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (approx)
• 2 tablespoons salt (approx)

Directions
Cook quinoa in rice cooker with 3 cups of broth. Cook rice in rice cooker with 3 3/4 cups of broth. Put away in refrigerator in covered containers.

In medium bowl mix box of gluten with 3 cups of broth. Use sesame oil on hands to keep from sticking while kneading. Knead till rubbery. Form into three long cutlets. Rub with sesame oil and bake on a greased cookie sheet till golden in a 325 degree oven. Let cool inside oven, about an hour. Then wrap and put away in fridge.

Go to bed and plan to finish the next day.

When you remember that you need to finish, divide rice a quinoa into portions small enough for your food processor to handle. Blend rice and quinoa, along with a proportional quantity of the yeast, oil and salt in food processor till doughy. Put into very large bowl. cut a similar proportion of the gluten cutlets into strips. Chop till course in food processor. Pour on top of rice and quinoa dough. Continue alternating mixing rice, quinoa, yeast, oil and salt with chopping gluten. Once all ingredients are processed and layered in the large bowl, mix together till gluten is distributed evenly.

Shape into nuggets, bread (whatever recipe you like) and bake.


They came out pretty good. Better than the Trader Joe's chickenless nuggets, not quite as good as Morningstar Farm's chik'n nuggets. I think that next time I will try skipping the rice. They really didn't need the extra stickiness from the rice to hold together, and it gave them a slightly pastry like texture. I will also adjust how I breaded them, the breading came out supper crunchy.

It was a huge batch, and I froze 2 big bags of them. Now I just hope they microwave well.