If all the vegans and vegetarians find real bacon, sausage, and hamburger so distasteful, why do they keep trying to make food that tastes just like it? (I totally understand that there are those people with allergies to beef or pork due to the lone star tick—but really, there aren’t a lot of people like that.) Why not just eat the produce and grains instead of trying to turn them into something like meat?
Unfortunately, we’re entering a world where access to meat—and lots of other food—is going to become limited due to availability, price, or both. Making a substitute to tide us over might not be a bad idea. Or, like the Fakin Bacon I wrote about a year ago, it could be a truly horrendous idea. (You have no idea how awful unless you’ve tried it.)
Enter Oatmeal Sausage.
How bad could it be?
Let’s find out.
There are precious few recipes online for oatmeal sausage. That’s your first hint that there could be trouble ahead. I started with the second recipe listed below. However, it needed some chill time in the fridge, so while waiting I went ahead and cooked up the first recipe. I found it at TheThriftyVegHead.com.
Oatmeal Sausage
½ cup quick oats
1 cup water
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon sage
Dash salt
Dash cayenne
3 tablespoons unbleached flour if going gluten free, try any type, it's really just a binding agent
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Microwave the oats and water for 1 minute, or cook on the stove for 5 minutes. Add all the seasonings, and then the flour and oil, mixing very well.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of oil into the pan. Drop balls of the mixture onto the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, until firm and browning. Flip and cook the other side, pressing down on the patties with the back of the spatula. Cook 2 more minutes and then flip again and cook for a final 2 minutes.
Reviews. These are truly nasty. And while I think it’s important to have more than one person taste testing and reviewing, there’s no way I could serve these to my family. I’m thinking I might even offend the dogs by offering them. The rest of the batter is going into the compost pile.
After that disaster, I didn’t hold out much hope for the second recipe, which I got from MentalHealthFood.net. But as I already had the oatmeal cooling in the refrigerator and I already made up the spice blend, I figured I might as well go for it.
Oatmeal Breakfast Sausage
3 cups cooked old-fashioned oatmeal
Sausage Seasoning Blend
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon dried sage
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch garlic powder
Combine seasoning blend ingredients and then add to the cooked oatmeal. Mix well and form into patties. Fry over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. (I used olive oil.)
Cook for a total of six minutes, flipping every two minutes and pressing down as necessary.
Some sources noted that using regular oats will yield a better textured product. Also, frying in oil makes a huge difference. Don’t listen to the fools who suggest using non-stick pan and no spray.
Family reviews: Wowza, this is much better. After starting two oatmeal sausage patties in the frying pan, I put the pan by the other bowl of oatmeal fake sausage to be put in the compost pile, because I was sure it wouldn’t taste good. Happily, I was wrong and quickly ate the two patties I made for myself. When Aaron got up I made two patties for him as well. And he thought they were pretty good. A few hours later I then made some for King of the Picky Eaters and Buttercup. KOTPE said he could definitely tell it wasn’t sausage, but it tasted pretty good. Buttercup doesn’t like real sausage that much—a texture thing—and she didn’t like this much, either, but she thought the flavor was fine. Also, as I couldn’t find our rolled oats, I used quick oats. We all think rolled oats would give a better texture.
Links to related posts:
References:
https://thethriftyveghead.com/quick-oatmeal-breakfast-sausage/
https://mentalhealthfood.net/oatmeal-breakfast-sausage/
Pan fried yesterday's oatmeal? Where did I hear that one before?
ReplyDeleteAt a Civil War reenactment, described as a Poor Irishman's Dinner. Mostly carbs and cooking oil (lard), a little protein.
An excellent example of the need for spices (lots of spices) in your storage foods. Also, lots of cooking oil (BTW have you SEEN the price increases in cooking oil?).
Spices, SALT and Cooking Oil, wars have been fought over these.
Got 5 gallon buckets of salt? A few gallons of cooking oil? Just a thought.
There is so much to learn from re-enactments. I love going to them. Of course, I've seen the skyrocketing prices of everything, including oil. So glad we stocked up when prices were lower. But 5-gallon buckets of salt? I'd never be ale to move them, and even if I could, I'd be afraid of the handle breaking. I re-fill empty #10 cans with salt. I live in a desert, so rust isn't an issue--at least it hasn't been for 30 years.
DeleteThank you for experimenting with these recipes for all of us. Between the vegans and the die hard carnivores in our clan its good to find something that might please all of them. And my grocery budget thanks you too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael, plain fried leftover oatmeal is disgusting.
I think it might be impossible to please everybody. But the time is coming when they will be grateful for anything to eat. ANd there will always be someone happy to eat whatever someone else doesn't want.
DeleteOdd, Anonymous commenter. I just reread my comment about the Poor Irishman's Dinner. I didn't say anything about it being "Disgusting".
ReplyDeleteI've eaten worse, trust me on that.
Food is important and I thank Jennifer for her efforts to keep us informed about options.
Jennifer, I hear you about 5-gallon pails of salt. GLAD you have lots. I use a wheeled dolly in my basement :-).
Your comments on how awful the first recipe is gave me a good laugh. Thank you for being brave enough to test out the second recipe; I look forward to giving it a try now. An alternative to meat, which IS becoming quite expensive, would be very welcomed.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, meat alternatives have the distinct possibility of becoming the only alternatives in this nutzo world of ours.
DeleteChipmunk I've found doing a bean pot on the weekends with navy beans gives me a nice side dish supplement to a lot less meat on my plate. A pound seems to go well for the two of us.
ReplyDeleteWhite beans are so mild a puree added to spaghetti sauce really bulks the protein of the little Bacon Carbonara or a few meat balls nicely.
Pintos and Black Beans are good but strongly flavored. White or Navy or Cannoli Beans (Is there a difference?) is mild enough to complement chicken and pork dishes.
A PLUS is I often PLANT dry navy beans in my garden. They do quite well :-)