UnRibs

Instructions

1. In a food processor or blender, combine the soy sauce, nutritional yeast, peanut butter, tomato paste, miso, garlic, and water and process until a smooth and creamy slurry is created.
2. If you are using a food processor, just keep everything in there;if using a blender, pour it out into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add 2 12 cups of the gluten to the slurry and mix well, either using the food processor or by hand in the bowl.
4. If you're using a food processor, keep pulsing to knead the dough, adding a little more gluten flour as necessary to form a stiff dough (the more gluten you add, the chewier your ribs will be, so you can control how tender or chewy you want them).
5. It may form one ball in the center or break up into little beads; if the latter happens, all you have to do is push it together with your hands.
6. If you're mixing it by hand, knead it in the bowl for several minutes until it becomes smooth.
7. Roll the dough into a log about 6 inches long.
8. Slice the log lengthwise into four "steaks" about 34 inch thick.
9. Now here's one of the places where you get to decide whether or not to use oil, and how much.
10. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat--if you're going for oil-free, make sure that it is nonstick.
11. If you're using oil, add a couple of tablespoons to the skillet and let it get hot.
12. Add the steaks and cook until browned on both sides.
13. They will rise and puff a little.
14. Preheat the oven to 350F.
15. If your skillet is ovenproof, you can just leave the steaks in the pan.
16. If not, transfer them to a baking dish.
17. Mix 1 12 cups of the barbecue sauce with the water.
18. Pour the diluted sauce over the steaks in the pan and cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
19. Bake the ribs for 75 to 90 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and just barely coats them and the steaks are chewy and cooked through.
20. They will be relatively tender while hot but will deflate slightly and become chewier as they cool, so fear not if they seem too soft right out of the oven.
21. Let them cool until they can be handled without burning your fingers.
22. Then slice each steak lengthwise into "ribs" about 13 to 12 inch thick.
23. Heat the skillet over medium-low heat.
24. You're going to saute the individual ribs once more to brown or even blacken them on both sides.
25. Once again, you can choose to oil or not to oil.
26. If you like your ribs on the greasy side, you'll want to use a good 4 to 6 tablespoons of oil to saute them.
27. Or you can just use a dry nonstick skillet.
28. Cook them all until nicely dark on both sides (I like them almost black).
29. Then toss them with the remaining 2 to 2 12 cups barbecue sauce.
30. Now you can dig in.
31. Or wait until the next day, when they will have deepened in flavor and become even chewier.
32. To reheat, just throw them in the oven or on the grill, or eat them cold with some potato salad--yum!
33. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.