Vegan Barbecue Ribs (Homemade Seitan)

Drain the canned artichoke hearts. Place in a food processor and shred until it is in small broken down pieces.

In a large bowl combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix together with a spatula. Then add the artichoke hearts, melted vegan butter, and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix together until it comes together. If it appears too dry and crumbly add another tablespoon of water. The artichoke hearts do contain water so when you knead it will come together more.

Place the seitan dough onto a clean counter and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough will come together and should appear stretchy and striated in texture. Do not worry if some of the artichoke heart pieces come out.

Cut the seitan in half and form them into individual balls. Use a rolling pin to roll out into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. It is okay if it isn’t perfect, just make sure the thickness is equal amongst the whole piece seitan.

Steam the seitan for 20 minutes. Once it is done let it sit for a few minutes so it is not too hot to handle.

Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C).

Take the seitan and use a sharp knife to score about 1 inch thick rectangles in the seitan. Do not cut it into individual pieces, just so you can see lines of demarkation on top.

Brush both sides of the seitan with about a quarter of the barbecue sauce.

Take a large 9 x 13 inch pan and spread about 2 to 3 tablespoons of barbecue sauce on the bottom.

Place the ribs in, cut side up. Brush more barbecue sauce on top and in between the ribs. Leaving about 2 tablespoons left for later.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour remove and carefully flip with tongs or a large spatula. Brush the remaining barbecue sauce on the other side of the ribs. Place back in the oven for 30 mins.

Once they are done let them rest for 5 minutes.

Cut into individual pieces and if you feel some piece are too large you can cut them in half. If desired, brush with 1 extra tablespoon of barbecue sauce and garnish with coarse sea salt and parsley.