Tofurkey Feast How to's and tip's!
Posted by Capture on Dec 20, 2007 · Member since Jul 2007 · 3981 posts
Hi Everyone!
This is my first vegan Christmas and I am making the Tofurkey Feast for my family, I know some other people said they were making one too for the first time so I was hoping that some vetern tofurkey cookers could give some tip's, trick's or "don't do this" ideas for us!
I just don't want to screw it up--my fam is actually excited about eating a vegan dinner!
I made one before. It's pretty easy because you're not cooking it, just reheating it. The one thing I do suggest is having a lot of cranberry sauce or something on-hand. I didn't like Torfurky when I tried it and if it hits the taste buds wrong of a family member they can politely smother it with cranberry sauce.
The Fresh Cranberry Salsa from this months Iron Chef competition looks really good.
I made one before. It's pretty easy because you're not cooking it, just reheating it. The one thing I do suggest is having a lot of cranberry sauce or something on-hand. I didn't like Torfurky when I tried it and if it hits the taste buds wrong of a family member they can politely smother it with cranberry sauce.
The Fresh Cranberry Salsa from this months Iron Chef competition looks really good.
Thanks'S HH! I totally forgot to get cranberries! I will defintely pick some up this weekend :) That's a great idea--cranberries defintely have a powerful flavor to smother stuff! Thank you!!!!
make sure you take it out of the freezer a good day ahead!! if you dont, you can still cook it, but imo, that method isnt as good.
it is better to cook it at the lower temp (which is recommended on the box), rather than at a higher temp/ shorter time.
make extra basting liquid... i have only used the oj/ tamari liquid and its good, but it would be nice w/ extra seasonings too, i think. USE A LOW SODIUM TAMARI, not just soy sauce, b/c its waaay too salty.
and baste it often.
you could roast some garlic or SHALLOTS!!! in the pan w/ the other veggies. *shallots are AMAZING when roasted, they get sooo sweet!
this thanksgiving, someone thawed their tofurkey in a bag with a marinade (i think it was their own recipe), so as it defrosted, it absorbed the flavors. apparently, it came out very good...i might try it this year, if i make one.
heres some other ideas:
http://www.tofurky.com/recipes.htm
the apple dumplings are supposed to be yum!! :P
OMG! I was just about to post that same link Lucidanne! We must be sharing a brain today! Thanks for all the advice--I was just considering which baste I would use! I think I might try the orange juice/soy sauce one!
haha
now i have your brain, along w/ that crapload of weight that you rid yourself of, sitting on my arse!!lol.
i was just looking at this marinade too:
http://www.tofurky.com/recipes/tofurky_gingergarlic.htm
i dunno..so many options!!
its ssooo good the day after too, smooshed in w/ mashed potatoes!! :P
i dunno. i think tofurkey is just ok. i had it a little over a year ago and i wasn't the biggest fan. a little too tough for me.
make sure you take it out of the freezer a good day ahead!! if you dont, you can still cook it, but imo, that method isnt as good.
it is better to cook it at the lower temp (which is recommended on the box), rather than at a higher temp/ shorter time.
make extra basting liquid...
Yes and yes. I've only done the sage baste, but I've doubled it, substituting Bragg's Liquid Amino's for the soy sauce.
Also, if you've got dumplings in your feast, make sure that they not only don't stick to the pot while boiling, but to each other.
Otherwise, ... yum!
Personally, I LOVED the Tofurky that I had this year for Thanksgiving. It was my first experience with this product. I loved it so much, I just bought 4 at Trader Joes a couple of days ago so I can eat them year round. When I made it last time, I cut up an onion, carrots, and garlic to surround the "roast." I made the baste exactly how it sad to on the box. Make sure you baste it once or twice during cooking, and when I did I put a few of the onion slices on top and they got a little carmalized - yum! I hope you like it as much as I did! 8)
I am insanely lazy. I make up some veggie broth add in garlic, sage, rosemary and thyme and pour it over the roast that is surrounded by potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. Then I cover it with foil, plop it in the oven and forget it until the timer goes off.
Defrosting it in a marinade sounds lovely though. I have just a roast in my freezer that may get that treatment.
I think I might try defrosting in the marinade too--I'm just worried it might not marinate evenly--guess I'll be up all night shaking the bag! :D
How is the texture?
I actually heard from my friend a HFS manager that these are flying off the shelves this year because they are new and improved, and apparently much better than previous years. People got one to try, and then came back for more after Thanksgiving-he said he sold more than ever!
I might give it another try -I wasn't too thrilled the first couple times.
I actually heard from my friend a HFS manager that these are flying off the shelves this year because they are new and improved, and apparently much better than previous years. People got one to try, and then came back for more after Thanksgiving-he said he sold more than ever!
I might give it another try -I wasn't too thrilled the first couple times.
My Whole Food's sold out over Thanksgiving--I just happen to be in the store last week and they not only had the Holiday Feast in stcok--but it was on sale for 19.99 instead of the usual 26.99! I picked up two! My parents are really excited about trying it--I hope it's good too...I'm a tofurkey virgin!
I think it's great these babies are flying of the shelves!
Hey Everyone!
I just wanted to report that my Tofurkey cam out wonderful! It was tender and had a great taste! My mom and dad really liked it too--it was a very vegan christmas! :-*
YAY!!! :) congrats!!
how did you end up marinating and basting it?
YAY!!! :) congrats!!
how did you end up marinating and basting it?
I marinated them in a veg stock/OJ/soy sauce combo that I whiped up and then I basted with vegstock every 30 min. I was really surprised at how tender and juicy i was--I'm really glad I have left overs--I think I'll whip up some tofukey sandwiches!
My tip is to take the dumplings out of the box and leave them in the freezer. I ruined mine at thanksgiving by defrosting them with everything else :(
I did make sure to leave them frozen untill I was prepared to cook them--however I ended up not boiling them long enough so they got doughy..but yesterday I re-boiled them longer and they were super yummy!