As I’ve mentioned, I’m currently taking the Rouxbe Plants Plus course and I’m kind of obsessed.

As you know, I previously took the Rouxbe Forks over Knives course, which was a good basic course, but more of a beginners vegan cooking course.

I was dying to try a more advanced vegan cooking class, but the only other plant-based course available was the Rouxbe Plant-Based Pro course, which, at almost $2,000 Canadian, is a bit too rich for my blood. I also balked at the price when I learned that the course covers material already covered in the Forks over Knives course.

Thus, I was delighted when Rouxbe recently started offering the Plants Plus course at the very good price of only $199 USD (approx. $250 CDN). The price will apparently go up to $500 USD (approx $650 CDN) soon, so if you’re interested in the course, act now!

As an aside, these aren’t affiliate links; I just think the Plants Plus course is an excellent option for experienced vegan home cooks who want to expand their repertoire and experiment with meat and dairy analogs, bread baking, fermenting, desserts, and international vegan cooking styles.

One of my recent assignments for the course was a delicious BBQ Glazed Seitan Brisket, which was quite a simple recipe that required no appliances!

So, of course, I had to complicate it by adding or substituting ingredients and by using (and dirtying) three appliances: the Vitamix, the food processor, and the stand mixer.

The good news is that I changed the recipe enough that I can share it with you here!

So I give you…

Barbecue-Glazed Vegan Brisket

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

First, mix together in a stand mixer bowl:

• 330 grams (2 1/2 cups) vital wheat gluten flour
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp onion granules
• 1 1/2 tbsp garlic granules
• 2 tsp chipotle powder

Next, blend in Vitamix (or other high-speed blender):

• 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 – 156 ml-can tomato paste
• 1.5 TBS ketchup
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cup madeira (or 1 & 1/3 cup dry white wine and 2 TBS brandy)
• 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (or Henderson’s Relish or Maggi Sauce)
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 1/2 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (or tamari)
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 TBS Better Than Bouillon No-Beef Base (or Vegetable if you can’t get No-Beef)

Next, pour all but 2.5 cups of liquid into a large jug or measuring cup and reserve for later (should be 3.5 cups).

Add to remaining 2.5 cups in Vitamix and blend until smooth:

• 1/2 cup cooked turtle beans

Pour contents of Vitamix into dry mixture and also add to bowl:

• 1 can drained and chopped young jackfruit (you can chop this by pulsing it in the food processor a few times)

Now, mix with stand mixer until no dry ingredients are evident. Allow seitan to rest for four or five minutes and then knead the dough in stand mixer for six minutes.

Next, place the seitan dough on clean surface and stretch the dough into a long rectagle. Place dough into an oiled 9 x 13 pyrex casserole dish and flip over so both sides are oiled.

Pour the reserved barbecue sauce over and around seitan and flip so both sides get coated. You will not need all of the sauce yet, but will add the rest throughout the baking process.

Place in pre-heated oven for one hour (basting at 30 minutes), then flip (you may need to slice the seitan in the middle and flip each half separately because the jackfruit makes the dough somewhat fragile).

Add more barbecue sauce and continue to bake for another hour, basting with sauce every fifteen minutes.

At this point, the brisket has been in the oven for two hours, but may need more time in the oven–up to another thirty minutes.

The brisket is ready when it has a nice black-ish bark on the outside.

This brisket is delicious and makes enough for five meals (for two). We had it as a brisket with rosemary-garlic potatoes, slaw, and freshly baked focaccia on the first night…

For the second night, we ate it as brisket sammies, as “beef” and cauliflower the third night, as tacos the fourth night, and as Halifax donairs the fifth night.

And I’ve been listening to a Spotify playlist of rather amazing covers for the past few days, and I particularly love this Rose Cousins’ cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U,” so it is our song of the day!