Anyone having tofurkey tomorrow?

[Mollis]

My grandma is vegan, so we will have regular turkey and faux-turkey :)
I guess I will try it. Anyone else having some?
Anyone every tried it?...How does it taste??

[flvegan]

1. I'm having Tofurky tomorrow.

I'm vegan, my mom is vegetarian. Since UnTurkey went off the market, Tofurky is what we have. It's quite good. I cook mine with an apricot glaze. Very tasty.

[WhollyHeretic]

6. That sounds good.

How do you make the apricot glaze?

[flvegan]

13. I used to make it from scratch

but it just takes too long. Now I use an excellent duck sauce made onsite at my local Asian market. I water it down slightly because it's so thick.

[WhollyHeretic]

20. Thanks.

I might try that.

[AlCzervik]

38. my friend got me a celebration roast, i haven't had one before but i'm looking forward

to trying it.

[superduperfarleft]

44. Celebration roast is excellent. n/t

[AlCzervik]

48. yay and how awesome is she for doing that?

i told her not to bother but she got me one anyhow.

[Ignis]

58. You should still try my oven bag suggestion.

I swear, it made the Tofurkey about 50% moister since we started that practice.

Have a great guilt-free Thanksgiving. :)

[riqster]

2. Tried it once. Never again.

I suggest some of the other veggie/vegan options (Morningstar farms makes a killer faux-chicken 'breast' for instance), but Tofurkey is truly awful.

[bean fidhleir]

82. Same here. I couldn't stomach it at all. It must have been created by carnivores as propaganda

What a repulsive product. But there are people who love it! Or claim to.

[Bucky]

3. I refuse to lend my palatte to the horrible & sickening annual slaughter of tofu

[Winterblues]

4. We are having both

We have some very close friends over that are strict vegitarians, they don't eat fish and are even troubled with eggs. so we are having both a tofurkey and a regular smoked turkey.

[lutefisk]

5. No furken way!

:hi:

[cobalt1999]

17. LOL. Good one.

:rofl:

[SammyWinstonJack]

95. .

:spray:

[sshan2525]

7. Um, no.......

And I'm also not eating fiberglass, dirt or drinking draino. Eeeeeccccch. If that was the only thing on the Thanksgiving menu, I'd shoot myself. Just sayin'.

[Ignis]

55. OMG, Tofurkey is toxic poison like Drano?!

You should really call the police and the BBB right away!

:dunce:

[WhollyHeretic]

8. We'll be having one.

4 of us in my family are vegetarians. I love Tofurkey.

[charlie]

9. Never had it

But honestly, I think I'd rather have a straight-up tofu dish on Thanksgiving, than tofu rendered into some weird facsimile of something it's not.

[LuckyLib]

62. I agree. I've never figured out faux bacon. Don't eat bacon. Period. Don't try to replicate it.

[charlie]

65. Now that's something I've had

You're right, it's utterly unappealing and utterly pointless. If I didn't eat meat, I just wouldn't eat meat.

[jmowreader]

102. More like seitan than tofu, though there's tofu in it

[myrna minx]

10. I will. It's an acquired taste, but I like it.

I've been a veg for nearly 20 years, so I've forgotten what turkey tastes like anyway.

[MineralMan]

11. I was married to a vegetarian at one time,

and didn't mind the diet, but I absolutely refused to eat anything that was pretending to be something other than what it was. Pretend turkey? What's the point?

Try a lentil loaf, loaded with oninons, garlic, peppers, and other veggies. Tastes great.

There are so many wonderful vegetarian dishes that I cannot imagine making some industrial imitation of meat for a meal as important as Thanksgiving.

If you're a vegetarian, eat plant food. Don't try to disguise it as something else. Sheesh!

Tofurkey? No Thankee!

[Muttocracy]

19. a friend gave me an awesome nutloat recipe - another good option. nt

[MineralMan]

27. Sounds good...

There are so many excellent vegetarian recipes that I cannot understand why commercial products like Tofurkey are even made. I learned a lot during the time I cooked for my ex-wife and myself and actually still make some of those recipes just for a change now and then.

I suppose it's fast food vegetarianism or something. I don't know.

Fortunately, my wife now has no such dietary beliefs, so it's all good. I'm the cook. It seems like I've always been the cook, but that's OK, because I enjoy cooking and like what I make better than what most other make.

I'm disappointed this Thanksgiving, though, since my sister-in-law is insisting on cooking the meal. She's not very good at it. Never mind. Turkey's turkey.

[MikeE]

46. Just some fun trivia, mock meats have been around for thousands of years

Some of the oldest recipies are from India and also Buddhist temples. I think the buddhists were the ones to originally pass the stuff off as mock meat. They do a duck and pork made from gluten and a beef that is made from the stems of shitake amd other mushrooms.

[MineralMan]

54. True, and the

wheat gluten substitutes are pretty good. A little hard to find unless you can find a good market, but I've used them myself. The duck and chicken ones are excellent, and even have a skin texture on them. Just the right chewiness and they go well with most seasonings used with duck and chicken.

I had a very good Buddhist cookbook that I used to use a lot. It called for those products in many items.

Another important seasoning for meatless cooking, in my opinion, is toasted sesame. It has a wonderful flavor, and can be ground up in a mortar to become just a seasoning.

Shitakes are terrific for adding a solid flavor to all sorts of vegetable preparations.

Still, imitating meat seems like gilding the lily, somehow.

[bean fidhleir]

83. I don't mind fake meat, since I'm a veg for ethical reasons rather than that

I don't like the taste of non-human flesh. So I'm fine with buying Light Life fake pork sausage and similar products. But they have to taste good!

[Fireweed247]

25. I agree, I don't like meat so I don't want to pretend to have it

We are having Pesto Lasagna, mashed potatoes and dressing with gravy, chocolate pie...all the other stuff is great with me.

[LiberalEsto]

12. We're trying the Quorn Turk'y

But I think my strictly vegetarian daughter plans to bring over a Tofurkey too. I tried it last year and it tasted like pencil eraser.

[Warpy]

28. Quorn mimics meat texture most closely

of all the veggie subs, including seitan. They usually manage to balance their seasoning quite well, too.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Quorn cured my once a summer fried chicken Jones.

[Zhade]

92. Their chick'n nuggets RULE - and I'm an avowed meat-eater.

NT!

[MineralMan]

33. Quorn Turk'y Roast

Ingredients (from the company website)

Mycoprotein (58%), rehydrated egg white, whey protein concentrate, pea fiber. Contains 2% or less of autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, tapioca and potato maltodextrin, natural flavor from non-meat sources, salt, dextrose, gum arabic, calcium lactate, sage extract, canola oil, citric acid, garlic powder, pepper, sunflower & palm kernel oil

Mycoprotein? OK...well...fungus protein. Also, the egg and whey stuff won't sit well with those who eschew eggs and milk products.

I'm sorry, but this sounds awful...truly. It may taste OK, but it's factory food.

It's so easy to make good, wholesome vegetarian dishes that something like this just seems horrid.

Sage extract? How about some fresh sage?

Natural flavor from non-meat sources? What sources? Want some umami in your loaf? Chop up some shitake mushrooms.

I'm sorry, but factory food is factory food...whatever's in it. Yuck?

[dkofos]

14. .

:puke:

[City Lights]

15. The vegetarians in our family are having stuffed shells.

:9

[superduperfarleft]

16. The store was out, so it's Celebration Roast for me.

And if you have it available, definitely give it a shot. I think it's really good, personally.

It tastes nothing like tofu and has a texture that is nothing like tofu. So don't be afraid. :)

[flvegan]

32. I LOVE Celebration Roast.

My hfs has been out of it for weeks.

Agreed, it is nothing like tofu or really any of the "mock meats".

[superduperfarleft]

43. Last year, our nearby store had tofurkey coming out its ears.

This year it was nowhere to be found. Strange.

I can't complain about what we're having though, since I've got a really good cook at home. All I do is get in her way going to the refrigerator for more beer.

[flvegan]

47. We have the opposite here.

Our Wild Oats/Whole Foods has been overstocked with Tofurky (both the "feast" boxes and the individual roasts) for a bit now, but no Celebration Roasts to be found.

Did you ever try UnTurkey? God but that was the best.

[superduperfarleft]

50. I've watched vegans mourn the passing of UnTurkey for years.

I never had the pleasure, though.

[Ignis]

74. That's a real shame.

It was invented by a local (SF) chef whose background combined traditional French culinary school training with macrobiotics. She ran a great local veggie restaurant called Now And Zen. It was awesome.

She sold the recipe to a company when she went out of the restaurant/food production business, but that company went under. So she's published the recipe on the web, so everyone can enjoy.

It takes a little work (like all gluten/seitan), but oh so worth it! The yuba "skin" that crisps when you cook it is superb.

[lindbergh]

18. I tried a taste of it last year. I would rather eat cowshit.

:puke:

[Greyhound]

21. The stuff the 7th Day Adventists sell tastes the best in my family's opinion.

The stuff the corporate food distribution centers sell has way too much salt.

None of it really tastes like turkey.

[Ian David]

22. I once saw a guy hook yogurt and plants up to an EEG to prove they feel pain.

Therefore, I don't eat anything that grows in the ground, or doesn't have a brain.

We have to end The Tofucaust!

TOFURKEY IS BASTED IN BLOOD!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. Nope. Sticking to the traditional Madras style curry with beef.

Having grown up in an Irish family where cooking consisted of throwing everything available in a pot of water and boiling it until the flavor was gone, I prefer food with flavor.

[cali]

24. For the vegetarians among us we have

acorn squash stuffed with wild rice mixed with sauteed onion, celery, dried cranberries and toasted pecans and a bit of maple syrup. completely vegan and delicious.

[Muttocracy]

30. mmm! yep, plenty of good "side dishes" make plenty of thanksgiving food! nt

[Warpy]

26. It's pretty good

but don't expect it to have either the texture or taste of turkey. Keep an open mind and taste it as though you're tasting something you've never had before and judge it on its own merits.

It's only gotten a bad rap because people have expected it to be TURKEY and have been sorely disappointed.

[WhollyHeretic]

29. Yup.

I never liked Turkey when I ate meat. I really like Tofurky though.

[TahitiNut]

31. I refuse to add to the suffering and decimation of millions of Tofudebeasts worldwide.

:dunce:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

42. What's worse is the baby Tofudebeasts people buy for Easter pets

When they start to get too big, they're flushed down the toilet :cry:

When will people learn?????????

[lurky]

34. It's nothing to write home about, but if it is served I will eat and enjoy it.

Actually, I think it's pretty good on a sandwich, but as a vegan main course, you can do a lot better. It's basically a big processed lump injected with "turkey" flavoring. If you want something "meaty" there are a lot of good seitan recipes out there.

[byronius]

35. Oh, yeah.

[greguganus]

36. No. We quit inviting vegan relatives to our gatherings years ago. n/t

[Ignis]

51. Because food >>> family? Wow... (nt)

[greguganus]

61. No. We got tired of them preaching about meat while we were eating it. n/t

[Ignis]

63. Ah, so comfort >>> family. Got it, thanks.

I have Christian relatives who preach at me that I should love Zombie Jeebus. I smile and ignore them or ask them to STFU when they get too annoying.

I wouldn't dream of not inviting them, though. :shrug:

[ContinentalOp]

70. Don't worry, I'm sure it's a made up story.

The mythical "pushy, preachy, militant vegan" strawman. Anyone who has ever known vegans or vegetarians or been one for any length of time will know that the truth is just the opposite. This thread is perfect proof of that -- started by a meat eater, and mostly filled with meat eaters talking about how disgusting and unnatural tofurky is.

[Ignis]

71. Well, I try to take people at their word.

But I think it'd be much more charitable to suppose it's a tall tale. The alternative is pretty grim.

In almost 20 years of being a vegan, I've met exactly 2 veg*ns who were as almost as militant as many DUers constantly describe all vegans to be.

Then again, I've never met the Easter Bunny, but he just might exist. :shrug:

[ContinentalOp]

76. Sometimes I think that merely being a vegetarian is seen as an attack by some meat eaters.

meat eater sees vegetarian eating tofu and minding his own business...
- "so you don't eat meat huh?"
- "no"
- "why not?"
- the vegetarian explains why

later... "damn preachy vegetarians"

[Ignis]

86. Could be. It really is a strange phenomenon.

When I ate meat, I never ever ever had a vegetarian try to dump my plate on the floor or spit on my steak, but the freakin' *second* I became a vegetarian, it seemed that 50% of the meat eaters I knew wanted to try to trick me into eating meat, or touch their meat to my food to see if I'd still eat it, or wave a bit of meat in my face.

Honestly, I was very surprised. This was rude behavior I would never have expected from people I'd known for a long time, but I'm going to go with your idea that they felt threatened or needed to justify their own diet somehow. How my diet impacts their lives I don't know, but there it is.

:hi:

[MineralMan]

87. That's sometimes true, but

not always. Since I was married to a vegetarian at one point, and adopted that diet, since I was also the cook in the house, I always understood the diet, although I never stopped eating meat. But I wouldn't scarf down a steak in front of vegetarians. Can't see the point of provocation.

When vegetarians come to my home for a meal, I make a meal that they can enjoy. If it's a larger group that includes both omnivores and vegetarians, I make two main dishes or just make a hearty vegetarian meal. In most cases, nobody really notices that they're eating a vegetarian meal at all. It's all just good food.

But, I dont serve tofu or other similar products to those mixed gatherings. There's no need, and conversations about dietary choices aren't usually the reason for the gathering. Instead, I dip into Indian and Japanese Buddhist cuisines and do something unusual. The lack of meat is irrelevant.

There is a couple we know who are vegetarians and who invite us occasionally for meals. We don't really enjoy their cuisine, though. It's as if flavor is somehow an insult to their sensibilities. Their diet is both vegetarian and hopelessly bland. It is that style of vegetarian food that makes lots of people not understand.

[Ignis]

88. Bland food is a sin!

The only reason I can imagine why your veggie friends may eat bland food is that they're avoiding the Yang-energy in garlic, onions, and chillies. :shrug: Personally, those are three of my major food groups. :)

I do agree that it's really quite easy to feed a mixed veg/non-veg group some good "ethnic" :eyes: vegetarian food, and it won't be an issue. Who doesn't love Italian, Indian, or Thai food, regardless of whether it's veggie or non?

:hi:

[otherlander]

100. Oh, so now everyone who's a vegan preaches about it?

:eyes: Bullshit.

[Poiuyt]

37. One of these years I want to try a turducken

[Dorian Gray]

39. No Vegetarians

in our family, so no tofurkey tomorrow. I'm sort of fascinated by it, though! Let us know how you like it!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

40. I tried it once...

and didn't like it much, so I will be sticking to the non-turkey sides. :9

[MikeE]

41. I'm having it

My ex and I, (both vegitarian), are going to a friend's house and he is doing both the animal and the Tofurky. I like it, especially the gravy. The Quorn products are even better. I use them all the time.

[PassingFair]

45. The box has been in the freezer for 2 weeks...

17-year old daughter came home from a
foreign exchange a vegan this year, so.....

[slackmaster]

49. No thanks, but I won't cast asparagus on anyone who chooses to eat it

:hi:

[Lyric]

52. I'd like to try some of the mock meats, eventually.

I've had stuff like Boca burgers and Chik'n patties, but I've never had Tofurky or Celebration Roast. I've heard good things about the latter, but the verdict appears to be mixed on the former.

I also liked Quorn when we tried it. :)

[Ignis]

57. If you really want to go on a faux meat sampling adventure...

Find your local Taiwanese food importer. The good ones often have mock ham, shrimp, chicken, roast chicken, BBQ chicken, bacon, etc.

Salty stuff, of course, but quite a different taste than most of the US faux meat brands.

[jpak]

75. Now with more melamine!

:spank:

[Ignis]

84. Oh, bah. Taiwan is not mainland China. (nt)

[Ignis]

53. ME! And your gram is vegan? Neat.

Living in the Bay Area, I meet more and more people who are becoming more and more vegetarian as they grow older.

I think we're just ahead of the curve, as usual. ;)

[mitchum]

56. Yes...and afterward I will have sex with a blow up doll

not really

[tammywammy]

59. LOL! n/t

[RevolutionStartsNow]

60. To each his own, but I don't "get" pretend meat.

I think if you were a former meat eater, then maybe these fake meats satisfy some craving, but my son is a vegan and has been his whole life and he has no desire to eat a substitute turkey.

My husband and daughter are vegetarian, so between them and my son I normally just make a bunch of side dishes: potatoes, veggies, bread, dressing, pie. Yum! Everyone gets full and no one misses turkey (okay, maybe I do, a little...)

[kestrel91316]

64. Nope. If I were gonna go turkey-free, I'd pass on the fakery and just

load up on brussels sprouts and squash and potatoes and stuffing and cranberries and........PIE!!!

But I love turkey. At Christmas my sister and BIL get a local organic free-range bird and there is nothing better on earth.

[crazylikafox]

66. Just. Like. Chicken

[ContinentalOp]

67. Yep, it's a tradition! Great stuff. We had one for dinner already last week actually.

All of the vomiting icons and such here are real mature :eyes:

[ComtesseDeSpair]

68. I'm not a Tofurkey fan...

but I will be having a cruelty-free Thanksgiving: veggie "chik" patties in place of slaughtered bird.

[Odin2005]

69. Yuck. I hate tofu and anything based on it. the texture is NASTY.

:puke:

[Ignis]

72. The texture of Tofurky is nothing like that of tofu.

To use a analogy you'll understand, the texture of a steak is nothing like that of a hot dog.

[ContinentalOp]

77. Actually the texture of tofurky is kind of similar to a hot dog.

Maybe a slightly overcooked hot dog. But with a much better flavor.

[DFW]

73. Hardly

I'll probably grab a chicken-and-tomato sandwich on the run, and if I'm lucky, have
time for some basil tofu at the Thai place in the Kölner Hauptbahnhof before my connection
to Düsseldorf leaves. I just got to Sprout City from Paris and may even get a good night's
sleep tonight!

[mondo joe]

78. It's not really any of my business, but I don't see the point.

There are plenty of good vegetarian options, without a faux-meat food.

I never really thought about it until I saw a photo of sliced, stuffed Tofurkey. I like tofu well enough, but simulating turkey even to the point of stuffing it seems unappealing to me.

[ContinentalOp]

80. It tastes good. It's convenient. Has a catchy name. Requires little extra effort for the cooks.

It's great in situations where the people cooking dinner can't be bothered to supply a real vegetarian option, and the people who are vegetarian can't be bothered to fend for themselves but require some kind of alternative (i.e. teenage boys). Plus the fact that it's an strange looking little football of rubber is a fun way to freak out the turkey munchers each year.

[leftstreet]

81. Kinda like a Roast Tofu Pig

[gollygee]

79. We always make a nice curry with chickpeas that the vegetarians in our family like

There are two vegetarians in our family but they say they don't like faux meat. So we don't bother with faux meat.

[Dukkha]

85. I wanted to but I'm not very good at cooking tofu

and the recipe looks hard. it would probably come out all crumbly if I tried

[Ignis]

89. It's not the same as tofu at all. Trust me.

You have to work quite a bit to get tofu to be dry. It usually involves draining all the water out with a heavy pot, then freezing it in tin foil for 24 hours.

Tofurky, on the other hand, easily imitates the dryness of traditional Thanksgiving turkey. ;)

If you do honestly want cooking recommendations for Tofurky, try an orange juice baste, apricot jam rub, and an oven bag.

[Zhade]

90. Question - and no disrespect intended, I'm just curious: why do veggies eat fake meat?

Especially the stuff that looks like real meat?

I've never understood trying to fake yourself out.

[leftstreet]

93. And why do they make telephones that look like cheeseburgers?

:rofl:

[WhollyHeretic]

94. It's the style of food I am used to eating. I'm not trying to fake myself out. Don't even know what

that would mean.

I ate veggie burgers before I ever though of being a vegetarian. :shrug: I like the taste of tofurky and I also need something to put my onion mushroom gravy on.

[bean fidhleir]

98. If you're a veg for ethical reasons (I am) then why wouldn't you eat fake meat

as long as it tastes good. Try the LightLife "Gimme Lean" fake "pork sausage". It's quite nice.

Eating fake meat doesn't "lure" me toward being a carnivore again...I like it because it tastes good. Does the "Gimme Lean" taste like pork sausage? I don't know - I can't remember what pork sausage tastes like! But the GL tastes good and that's good enough for me.

[flvegan]

99. Simple. Because it tastes good.

Same reason you eat real meat.

[FreeState]

91. Salmon :) But Tofurkey is good IMO - pescitarian here

Im the only vegetarian in the house (pescitarian actually) so we have salmon and a friend is bringing ham for those that want it. I also love Quorn - it taste great if you want something with the right texture - but I generally shy away from things that try and taste like meat.

[IndyOp]

96. Me! Me! Me! I love it. I was invited to a friend's home for Thanksgiving and

immediately offered to bring one to share because I am vegetarian and knew that they would be serving Turkey and by offering to bring a Tofurkey I relieved a typical concern -- what can we cook that a vegetarian can eat?

:hi:

Don't forget the gravy for the Tofurkey!

[Ignis]

97. I love the giblets in the Tofurky gravy.

But I wish it had a little more pepper, herbs, or some other "oomph."

We usually just make creamed (soy) onion gravy or brown/mushroom gravy instead. Or we buy the Tofurky gravy and add half again one of the above--because how can you have too much gravy?

[Ignis]

101. Not only am I having Tofurky...

But also vegan bourbon balls. Sweet Jeebus they're good!

*nom nom nom* hic *nom nom nom* hic :party: