Tofu, Tempeh, Setian, TVP, etc..

wookie · Oct 17, 2007

I know, I know....it's the smoking MEAT forums, but there's a lot of good cooks here so I can't resist asking...

Anyone have some good recipies for smoking any vegetarian/vegan protein sources like tofu, tempeh, seitan, or TVP? I have quite a few vegetarian friends and family and I'd love to be able to make some great entrees for them on the smoker.

I tried making smoked tofu on my gas grill once and was less than thrilled with the results. Not terrible, especially once chilled and sliced on a sandwich, but not what I was hoping for. The brine, smoke, and rub flavors didn't seem to get very good penetration into the block of tofu. Maybe I should try brining and smoke tofu slices instead of blocks? Or maybe try cold smoking it for a long time?

I've had Spring Creek's hickory smoked tofu before and it's quite tasty. Very smokey flavor the whole way through and the texture's even different. A bit denser and meatier even than the extra firms. Really good sauted up with some red onions and put in an omlette with some cheddar.

blackhawk19 · Oct 17, 2007

Wish I could help but I live in East LA(Eastern Lower Alabama) and I don't know what the things are

Really I don't

lisacsco · Oct 17, 2007

you really need to find new friends....

deejaydebi · Oct 18, 2007

I never did acquire a taste for tofu but I might suggest smoking it with some nice sliced green and red peppers or onions so it can absorb some kind of flavor.

payson · Oct 18, 2007

I'm guessing it would take quite a bit of time because I'd imagine you'd use extra firm tofu and tempeh is firm anyway. Personally, I'd marinate it in something like teriyaki or a black bean type sauce and then smoke it. The sauce might actually pick up the smoke flavor that way. I'd then put it on a super hot grill and get some sear marks on it.
Good luck!

shellbellc · Oct 18, 2007

Heck the only one I recognized was tofu!

Smoked tofu fattie...just doesn't sound right! ABT stuffed with tofu and cheese, hmmm can't get a warm and fuzzy for it...Sorry! Can't help with this one at all except maybe treat it like a block of cheese and cold smoke it.

navionjim · Oct 18, 2007

Have you considered rehab? What do the rest of y'all think? Time for an intervention?

vlap · Oct 18, 2007

First off make sure you buy a high quality tofu. The difference is incredible between the 2. I think the millenium restaurant in san francisco does a smoked tofu. It is a vegan place that does very well there. They have a great cookbook out (very cheap if I remember right) The greens there also is veg oriented. I think they may have a good book as well. I will check around and find a good brand or 2 of tofu. Check the books from those places to get some good ideas on cooking it.
Tofu is very dense so I imagine slices would be the best way to get some flavor.
I will check around and get back to you.

vlap · Oct 18, 2007

My sister is a vegetarian and a pretty good cook. I asked here about tofu and another fake meat that when I first tried it I thought I was eating pork or duck. It had a great texture, flavor and was very filling. Here is her response.

"I usually buy whole foods brand extra firm tofu or white wave extra firm. By the way, it's important to drain the tofu pressed between paper towels with something heavy over it to get water out before cooking or the texture will be weird. For soft (silken) tofu, I only get that at Asian groceries and the labels are in Japanese or Korean, so I can't tell you the brand. The one I like the best is in a tube shaped plastic wrap with light green Korean writing. The ones sold in regular supermarkets are awful..a very suspicious consistency.

The fake meat is seitan, which is just wheat gluten. I buy white wave brand seitan--sometimes it is called vegetarian stir fry strips. If you've ever had mock duck at a chinese restaurant, it's seitan. I couldn't find that at Publix or any of the regular grocery stores in Bradenton, but Whole Foods always carries it."

Try the meat substitute "Seitan" its very good and your veg head friends will enjoy it. The meat lovers might do so as well.

I checked the Millenium and thier only recommendation was to smoke it for 40-60 minutes. Same with the temph and seitan.

Hope this helps.

deejaydebi · Oct 18, 2007

I would think it would smoke alot like cheese except for the melting. I'd start at 30 minutes max and chill. You will probably see by the coloration. Maybe you could take one block cut it up and pull one piece at 30 minutes, one at 45 minutes and one at 60 - see which you like best.

Bet i'd be good with sliced Mangos ...

wookie · Oct 19, 2007

Haven't seen the White Wave brand out here in Ohio, Vlap. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. The brand we usually try to get is extra firm Spring Creek, from a small place out in WV. Very good stuff, but getting harder and harder to find. I tried doing pressing the block last time to help get the brine to penetrate further but it still didn't make it through the whole block. I'm thinking maybe slice a block and lay the slices between paper towels, and then stick the paper towels between a few cookie sheets with a few bricks on top. Then marinate it. That should do the trick! I'll keep an eye out for that cookbook too. Thanks!

I'll take a stab at smoking it like cheese too, Deb. If nothing else it lets me practice your techinque for cold smoking in a propane smoker without risking a bunch of pricey blocks of cheese or a salmon filet. By the way, I'm loving the Camp Chef 24" model so far!

One thing I was thinking about was maybe going for a rub that wasn't BBQ oriented. The less I try to get it turn out like Q, probably the better as I'll never get it to be the same thing. I still want to smoke it though! I had some tandoori chicken at an Indian restaurant last night that had a smokey flavor to it that was really good. I might give a shot at mixing up some of that for a rub.

richtee · Oct 19, 2007

Hmm what about slicing maybe 1/2" thick..peppers/onions etc sandwiched in between, re-gelled with some Knox? ?? Or "lard" it with the stuff? Or maybe an injection of a puree'?

Ummm.. not that *I'd* eat the stuff... LOL

"Salad..it's what my dinner had for dinner" I love that quote!

adamtbest · Oct 19, 2011

This may be an old and dead thread but I'll share my experience anyway. I should be getting my order of TVP in the mail today. I plan on cold smoking some of the TVP and mixing it with pork or beef and making susages or burgers with. I might even try the smoked TVP on it's own. I will cold smoke it in the same way I cold smoke malt for beer brewing or cheese. I'll write about my experiment when I get a chance to smoke it and taste it.

adamtbest · Oct 23, 2011

update time! Friday night I cold smoked the TVP for 1 hour 30 minutes. Then on Saturday I made the TVP hot dogs. I had 1 cup TVP, 4 T Olive oil, 2 T Say Sauce, 1/8 cup milk, 7/8 Cup water, 1/8 cup dehydrated onions, 1/2 clove of garlic, 1/2 t coriander, 1/8 t marjorium, 1/8 t mace, 1/4 t mustard seed, 1/2 t paprika, 1/2 t white pepper, 1/2 egg white 3/4 t sugar and 1/2 t salt. t = teaspoon, T = tablespoon.

While it smells and taste like hot dogs, it's from looking like hot dogs. Also when feed threw a meat grinder with a susage attachment, the susage attachment got clogged.

so it's close, if you close your eyes and eat it on a bun like a sloppy joe it's ok. I'd like to get a way that I could feed the miture into my meat grinder and get actual hot dogs.

shakesignal · Nov 12, 2012

old topic, but this will come up in searches, so here's my experience so far: i'm a vegetarian who loves meat, but quit because i interpret "thou shall not kill" very literally. but i ate meat for a looong time and i love it. brats, bacon, filet mignon, ribs, jerky, everything. i just don't eat it.

i've been smoking tofu and seitan on my weber kettle. at least once a week, for a year now. until this weekend it's been mostly hot smoking with hickory, mesquite, apple, and cherry chips, for about an hour. now i have an a-maze-n tube smoker, which i used to cold smoke seitan bacon with applewood pellets. smoked tofu is delicious and relatively easy. smoking a block of tofu out of the package would be less effective. just slice it length wise into patties (about 4-5 per block), marinate it in half soy sauce and half water for a day or longer, then hot or cold smoke it for 2-3 hours. other marinades, as well as rubs, probably work as well.

seitan is actually easier to find than you think. anything that says tofurky, gardein, morningstar farms, or boca is seitan. most major groceries carry that stuff. if you have a trader joe's or whole foods nearby, they have a lot of options for you. i make my own in just about every form that tastes good on the grill. seitan tends to dry out a bit when hot smoked, so a quick steam will make it nice and juicy when serving. cold smoking seems to have no effect on the moisture content. i make a couple types of seitan ham that are next on the list for cold smoking. then, seitan pastrami.

chef jimmyj · Nov 12, 2012

TVP is one of the greatest inventions for Vegetarians and as filler for the Cheapo Hot Dog and Hamburger industry. Properly prepared the look and texture is very close to that of lightly cooked ground beef. It takes flavors well and is great for Veggie Sausage and Veggie Burgers. I have not had an opportunity to make it yet but I understand Seitan Pastrami is close enough to satisfy a meat eater...JJ

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