Monday, October 25, 2010

Veggie Dog and Veggie Sausage Mixes

Tomorrow I will be teaching a free public class on how to make veggie dogs and meatless replacements. It seems fitting that today on the day I usually have a new convenience mix, that I include veggie dog and veggie sausage mix. What couldn't be good about that for a vegetarian? My husband Ace is vegetarian, and his only complaint is that they taste too much like meat. They are not gluten free, but they are awesome. Is it possible to make homemade veggie dogs with great flavor and less sodium than the commercially prepared pre-frozen counterparts at the grocery store? We covered the basic steps for making seitan, but if you missed that post, please look here: Meatless Wonders 101 (Wheat Meat or Seitan)


Veggie dog mix:

1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten powder
1T paprika
1T Pero® Caffeine Free All Natural Beverage
1T msg free Powdered Beef Base. or Vegetable Soup Base
2 tsp cracked black pepper
11/2 tsp garlic powder,
1T minced onion powder
1/2 tsp sage

Combine all dry ingredients and store in a pint jar with a tight fitting lid. Shelf stable up to 3 years if you use an Oxygen Absorber packet.

Combine with the 1 cup water mixed with 1 tsp liquid smoke.
Follow the preparation information for Veggie Dogs.


Other Sausage flavors


(If you are vegetarian, feel free to use vegetarian stock as the liquid and omit the bullion) All the dry ingredients are added to the dry gluten before mixing. I use the low sodium MSG free bullion:


Pepperoni: Use 2 tsp beef or vegetable bullion, 1 tsp liquid smoke or sesame oil, 2 tsp cracked black pepper, 2 tsp dry oregano, 11/2 tsp garlic powder, 1T paprika (for the color...or you can use dark coffee or pero.)
Mild Summer sausage:
Use 2 tsp ham or beef bullion, 1T mustard seed, 1 tsp cracked black pepper, 2 tsp powdered sage, and 2 tsp minced rosemary.
Breakfast sausage:
Use 2 tsp beef or pork bullion 11/2 tsp dry rosemary, 1/4 cup dry onion, 2 tsp garlic granules, and 1 tsp pero or instant coffee for color.
Shrimp sausage for seafood chowders:
4 tsp shrimp bullion, 1T dry minced parsley, 1 T dry chives, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp dry lemon zest and a dash of Cayenne pepper. Use clam juice for the liquid instead of water.
Southwest Roasted Chile Sausage:
4 tsp chicken bullion and 2 tsp each:ground cumin, new Mexico Chile powder, cilantro, lime zest Use 1 tsp liquid smoke with the liquid.
Italian Fennel Sausage:
2 tsp pork or beef bullion, 2T dry minced onion, 1 1/2 tsp fennel seed, 1 T mustard seed, 1 tsp all purpose Italian Seasoning, 1T dry minced garlic, 1 tsp ground pepper.

Greek Sausage for gyros:
2 tsp beef bullion 2 T garlic, 1T fennel seed, 1 1/2 tsp dill seed, 1T dry mint, 1T fresh minced rosemary, 4 tsp pero or postum granules, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Use 1 tsp liquid smoke in with the liquid.


There you go.

Tomorrow's Class starts at 9AM
Call to save your seat:

Preparing Wisely
144 S Mesa Drive Suite D
Mesa, AZ 85203
(480) 964-3077

My full tutorial PDF is available free for how to make the meatless wonders. Email me,
chef-tess@hotmail.com for your free copy. I'm happy to help!

2 comments:

Kurt said...

I am so sorry I couldn't make it. A couple questions... Is the Pero just for color? So can I just leave it out, or use Paprika as in the recipe below? Is there much protein content, or are they considered more of a starch? (I do not know about the gluten powder) How do you get it the right shape? Do you use casings?

Chef Tess said...

Kurt, the gluten powder is almost 100% protein (extracted from wheat), so it is not a starch. Texture is almost identical to meat if you follow the directions for the veggie dogs where you roll them in the foil and simmer them as directed. I don't use casing. I use the pero for color, but the paprika is also great for color. Both work, depending on the type of sausage you want to make. I prefer the paprika for hot dogs and the pero for any of the beef style sausages like the Italian sausage and the summer sausage.