4 ounces vital wheat gluten
1 ounce nutritional yeast flakes
3/4-1 ounce wheat flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 veggie bouillon cube + 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons peanut butter or tahini
1 1/2 tablespoons vegan margarine, melted
1 (18 ounce) bottle BBQ sauce
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl. Add bouillon and water; mix well, kneading into a ball. Mixture will be very dry and stiff, but don't over mix it!! Just kind of pull it all together and turn it out onto the counter top.
2. Shape mixture into a square 5x5". Mix peanut butter or tahini with melted margarine until well mixed and smooth. Pour 1/2 peanut butter mixture into bowl, put "ribs" on top of mixture, then pour remaining mixture on top of "ribs".
3. Work the peanut butter mixture into "ribs" by just pushing your finger tips into the dough, about 1 minute, keeping the dough in its square shape. Remove dough to cutting board and cut with a very sharp knife into 1/2" strips, then cut the strips in 1/2 again lengthwise.
4. Put "ribs" on prepared tray, about 1" apart (they will puff a bit while cooking). Bake for 20 minutes, turning about 1/2 way through. Ribs should be lightly brown and crunchy when they come out of the oven. Pour BBQ sauce into wide sauce pan and heat on moderate flame on stove top until bubbly.
5. Put ribs into sauce and simmer about 5-10 minutes. I leave the ribs in the sauce until ready to serve, put them on baking tray with a little extra BBQ sauce and broil about 5" from the heat until they carmelize a bit. Be careful not to burn the vegan sugar, as it can burn almost instantly! If the ribs are cold I heat them a bit in the sauce pan before I broil them.
I know it seems like a complicated recipe, but it's really not. A couple of tries and you'll be a pro and enjoying a traditional meat recipe without harming any living creatures!!