Lemony Homemade Fish-Free Seadogs
With lemon and ocean flavors, these savory fish-free seadogs are a new vegan sausage option for you all. It was inspired by the concept of a fish sausage, something I know absolutely nothing about. Does it taste like a fish sausage? Probably not. But these seadogs are perfectly lemony and savory, with spices and seaweed, perfectly topped with our sweet and savory kelp relish. Join us for a seaside barbecue, vegan style.
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Vegan Sausages
Back when I ate meat- a quarter of a century ago now, can you believe it?- one of my favorite meats were sausages. Of course I was very young, and didn’t understand that sausage was made from animals. But another key part of sausage is the flavoring- fennel seeds, chili, garlic, and more. There are plenty of good vegan sausages in the stores these days, but making your own is more affordable, and more customizable. The fact that sausage is made with so many seasonings makes it perfect to make vegan, because so many of the flavors in them are already vegan. Umami or meaty flavors can be added with things like miso paste, soy sauce, mushrooms, tomato paste, seaweed, green tea, nutritional yeast, msg, marmite and more. Adding a few of those ingredients can really boost the meaty qualities of your sausages. As far as texture is concerned, I really like using vital wheat gluten to make my sausages because it works really well to bind the sausages together. It also makes a sausage that works well in other recipes- it can hold together in soups, stews or pasta dishes, and will have no problem crisping up in a skillet or on the grill.
If you’re not up for making your own sausages, a couple of my favorite brands are Beyond sausages and Field Roast (I love the apple sage).
Looking for Vegan Seafood? Try one of these Recipes!
- Moqueca Baiana Inspired Vegan Fish Stew
- Vegan Baja Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
- Vegan Fish Sauce (Fish-less Sauce!)
- Vegan Tuna Salad (Made with Jackfruit, not Chickpeas!)
- Honee Garlic Shrimp of the Woods Recipe
- Vegan Lion’s Mane Crab Cakes with Hollandaise Sauce
- Classic New England Style Vegan Clam Chowder
Looking for Vegan Sausages? Try one of these!
How to Make Fish-Free Seadogs
Once you start making your own seitan, you’ll be impressed with how easy it is to make. The key ingredient is vital wheat gluten, which is a protein-rich wheat flour with the starch removed. Gluten is what makes up the bulk of seitan, but if you don’t break it up with other textures it can get overly tough and chewy. Adding different flavors is also important to get the experience you want. In these seitan fish-free seadogs, we use king oyster mushrooms to break up the texture and add some flavor. If you can’t get your hands on king oyster mushrooms, you can also use plain button mushrooms although they will give a little less flavor. Use a food processor to blitz the mushrooms with the additional added flavors- onion, garlic, parsley, miso paste, dulse seaweed, lemon, and spices. Chop it all into a relatively fine paste before adding the vital wheat gluten. If you add it in the beginning, you may over process the gluten or be left with chunks of mushroom or lemon that don’t fully blend. Process the flour into the mushroom mixture until a dough forms. From there divide up the dough, and shape into the sausage links. To set it, you’ll wrap the sausages individually and steam them until they’ve firmed up. Because you do need to steam for 45 minutes, make sure you check that you don’t run out of water while its going.
Once the sausages are done, you’ll want to sear them in a skillet or on a grill before serving. This recipe has a companion post, our Sweet and Briney Kelp Relish. Make a batch ahead of time, because it’s the perfect pairing to these fish-free sausages. I also added some vegan mayo, parsley, and chopped onions to mine, but play around with the toppings. Enjoy!
Lemony Homemade Fish-Free Seadogs
Ingredients
- 10 oz. king oyster mushrooms
- ½ medium-sized onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- A handful of fresh parsley
- ¼ cup miso paste
- ¼ fresh lemon
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- 10 grams dulse seaweed
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
- Kelp Relish
- Hot dog buns
- Other toppings- I used vegan mayo, chopped onions, and fresh parsley
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients aside from the vital wheat gluten in a food processor, and process until there are no large chunks. Add the vital wheat gluten, and process until it until a dough forms. Take the dough from the food processor and knead a few times on a clean counter.
- Divide the dough into 8 even pieces. One at a time, roll each piece of dough into a sausage shape and wrap it in a clean piece of foil. If you want to avoid the foil touching your food, you can wrap each seadog in parchment paper before rolling in aluminum foil.
- Set up a steamer (I used my instant pot so I don’t have to worry about it running out of water) and add the wrapped sausages. Steam for 45 minutes then remove from the steamer and allow to cool. After they have cooled, unwrap the sausages and store in an airtight container until ready to enjoy.
- To serve, heat a little oil in a skillet. Add the sausages and cook, turning every couple minutes, until they have a nice sear on them. Serve on hotdog buns, with a generous serving of homemade kelp relish, and other toppings as desired.
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