Vegan Hot Dogs

Making my own vegan hot dogs.

Why, oh why, you might ask? Well, these hot dogs have a chewy consistency, and they are fun. A little like playing with Silly Putty. I will make a few changes next time, I think. This recipe is modified from one I tried on the site baked-in.

Read all the way through, for the connection to muffins.

Here is what I did - to make four large dogs.

I put these ingredients into a blender:
2 1/2 TBS almond meal (I grinded blanched almonds in my coffee grinder for this)
4 1/2 oz. extra firm tofu
1/2 TBS soy sauce
5 TBS water
1 1/2 TBS vegetable oil
1/4 diced smallish onion
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 TBS smoked paprika (I got this from Penzey's spices a while back - very handy stuff)
3/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cumin (not next time!)
Salt, to taste.
I blended everything for almost two minutes.

Then I added:
1/2 cup plus 1 TBS vital wheat gluten
1/2 tsp cornstarch
I mixed this all together, then kneaded it just a little.

Then I cut it into 4 equal pieces, and rolled them into approximate hot dog shapes. I wrapped each dog in wax paper, then in aluminum foil, and twisted the foil ends shut.

I steamed the dogs in their packages, for 45 minutes. Then I let them cool down, uncovered. After that, I unwrapped them, and of course the wax paper was stuck to the dogs. I managed to get almost all of it off without wrecking them. I sauteed the dogs in a TBS of vegetable oil for about 10 minutes. I am not sure what that did to them, if anything. You can see where I cut off a taste before they went in the pan.

So, next time, I will use much less cumin. I might try some coriander instead. I might cut back on the smoked paprika, and add a TBS of regular sweet paprika. Also some ground celery seed.  And it would be nice to get a little more oil into the dogs. Maybe coconut oil. Also, I will first wrap them in parchment paper, not wax paper, which was my own cheapskate variation to begin with.

Anyway, they are good just like this, and are supposed to hold up to grilling, which would be a big plus over most vegan dogs.

OK, now. About those muffins. There is a great idea about corn dog muffins, with a recipe. Check it out here. I won't try to improve upon it. It is from Taste of Home, and the contributor, Lynita Arteberry is from South Dakota, so you know it has got to be tops. Just chop up the dogs, and throw them in.