BBQ Baked Veg Cutlets

There's nothing more satisfying than making something from scratch; when you make something from a box, you can never have that soul-satisfying ability to say "I made that!”

This recipe uses the cutlet recipe I previously posted along with a recipe for some home-made Maple BBQ Sauce that I made up on a whim because I was feeling too lazy to go to the store and buy some. If you have an empty Heinz ketchup bottle hanging around, I highly recommend cleaning it out and pouring your BBQ sauce into it. The recipe makes about ¾ of a bottle (which is more than you will need) and this way you can pour as needed. You must wait until the BBQ is totally cool before bottling it.

Enjoy this recipe with mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, or anything else your heart desires. The picture you see here is of a cutlet with "Eazy Mac & Cheeze" - a recipe that I am still perfecting and will post as soon as it's ready! Take care!


This recipe makes 8 cutlets/servings; if 8 servings are too many, simply half the recipe. Actually, you can half almost all the recipes here if you need to (except for baked goods)!

BBQ Baked Veg Cutlets

Time: 1 Hour | Yield: 8 Servings | Difficulty: Low

For Cutlets:
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Marmite*
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon Sage, dried
1 cup water, or more if needed

For Maple BBQ Sauce:
1 small (5.5 oz) can tomato paste
1 cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (add more if you like more tang)
4-5 dashes of liquid smoke*
1 tablespoon Earth Balance buttery spread
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In food processor, add all ingredients for cutlet except gluten. Blend until the tofu becomes a thick but still pour-able paste, adding more water if necessary. Taste the paste and season more if necessary. Please note that if it tastes too strong, it’s probably perfect. Once you add the gluten, the flavours will diminish significantly. So you want to have enough oomph in the paste to withstand the addition of gluten.

In a large bowl, pour the tofu mixture and add the gluten. Mix well, and when it becomes a non-sticky dough begin to knead, flouring the counter if necessary. It will probably be so well incorporated you won’t need flour to knead it.

Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes very elastic. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

While the cutlet mixture is resting, heat water in a sauce pan on medium and add tomato paste. Once dissolved, add all remaining ingredients for the BBQ sauce and stire until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Place aside to cool.

Cut in cutlet dough in half, and from each half make 4 cutlets, using your hands to stretch and pound them flat.

Using a sauce brush, brush bbq sauce on all cutlets, both sides, and place on a greased baking sheet. You may need two baking sheets if making all 8 cutlets. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning every 10-15 minutes and basting with additional BBQ sauce. Serve.




VARIATIONS:
- add molasses instead of maple syrup to BBQ sauce
- grill the cutlets after baking, if desired
- you can sub any form of pureed bean for tofu, at any time