We bought a box of Deliciou Plant-Based Pork to try! Here's what we thought of this boxed vegan meat replacement.
Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon
Our Deliciou Plant-Based Pork experience
Y'all, I'd been seeing people sharing nuggets and patties they made using Deliciou Plant-Based Chicken, so I made a special trip to Whole Foods to grab some.
When I arrived, though, I saw that they also make a Plant-Based Beef and a Plant-Based Pork. Vegan pork is sort of a rarity, so I couldn't resist snagging a box of the Plant-Based Pork.
To make the vegan ground pork, you just reconstitute the contents of the box with water and a tablespoon of oil. Then, the box directs you to use it as grounds or use it any way you'd use animal-based grounds, and cook it by browning it in a pan.
When I emptied the box into my mixing bowl, the smell was incredible. I really felt like they nailed the meaty, savory notes of pork.
I used the grounds in a shepherd's pie, and y'all. It was incredibly disappointing! The texture was mushy, and it tasted bland, despite how great the grounds smelled on opening.
As I ate my terrible shep pie, I decided this was likely user error. I did not brown the grounds beforehand. Instead, I added them during the last five minutes of cooking. Maybe that caused the issue.
So, back to Whole Foods I went for another box. This time, I told myself, I will follow directions and brown the grounds first thing!
I settled on a pork taco recipe and followed it to the letter. I seasoned the grounds with garlic, onion, chili powder, and cumin. I browned them in a pan with plenty of olive oil. I piled the grounds into tacos with purple jalapeño slaw.
It was another colossal miss.
The grounds were still bland, despite the totally different preparation and additional seasonings. The texture was slightly better but still mushy.
These plant-based pork grounds were incredibly disappointing. If you've had better success using them in a different way -- a patty, maybe?? -- let me know. I'm open to trying them again, but I would definitely need some assurances.
The ingredients
Like their product shot above implies, seitan and pea protein make up the base for this vegan ground pork. They also add in fiber, spices, beet powder for color, and fortify it with vitamin B12.
Here's the full ingredients list, according to the Deliciou website:
Wheat Protein (Wheat Gluten, Wheat Flour) Fiber (Inulin, Citrus), Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Methylcellulose, Dehydrated Vegetables (Onion, Garlic), Yeast Extract, Spice Extract, Vegetable Powders (Beetroot), Ferrous Fumarate (Iron), Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12).
Looking at this ingredients list, I'm just baffled by my poor experiences with this product. It looks like a solid product! The way the flavor just fully cooked off, especially, has me scratching my head.
Where to find it
If you do want to give Deliciou Plant-Based Pork (or their Chicken or Beef) a try, you can find them at Sprouts and at Whole Foods.
You can also buy directly from the company on the Deliciou website. They also sell spice mixes that look intriguing!
Where to listen
Thank you so much for listening (or reading!). We record these episodes for you, and we'd love to hear from you.
Got a favorite vegan treat that you think we should cover on the podcast? Send your suggestions to [email protected]!
You can find Talkin' Tofu on:
Subscribe to Talkin' Tofu anywhere you get your podcasts. You can also follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!
Got a question? Tried this recipe? Leave a reply!