Food Network Monthly Cookalong: Grilled Spice-Rubbed Seitan Tacos

I'm finally posting, with only a day to go, for the Food Network Monthly Cookalong.  The theme this month is grilling.  While I've been grilling off and on this month, it's mostly been simple marinated tofu, or plain Field Roast sausages and frankfurters.  Nothing worthy of the monthly cookalong, until yesterday that is.

I have to admit, I love Bobby Flay.  Maybe it's because he's a fellow red head, maybe it's his smile, I don't know why exactly, but whatever it is, I love him.  :)  That being said, if I was going to do some "Food Network" style grilling, it would most likely be one of his recipes, and it was.  I chose his Spice-Rubbed Chicken Breast Tacos with Grilled Poblanos, BBQ Onions, and Coleslaw.

These were really easy to veganize.  I used seitan for the chicken (I would think you could easily sub tofu or Gardein) and Vegenaise for the mayonnaise, everything else was already vegan.  The tacos and all of its components were quite tasty, although the real standouts for me were the spice rubbed seitan and the grilled bbq onions.  Grilling the poblanos to put on the tacos and in the guacamole, along with grilling the onions, making the guacamole and coleslaw, grilling the seitan (which I had already made previously) and warming the tortillas on the grill, from start to finish took around two hours, which is a lot for tacos.  I'm not the fastest person in the kitchen, but I'm not the slowest either, so these are a bit of an undertaking.  Like I mentioned earlier though, the seitan and the onions were what really made these for me, and I think these tacos could easily be a weeknight meal if you focus on grilling the seitan (or other substitute) and the onions, but keep the rest of your toppings simple.  I could see using shredded lettuce or cabbage, red pepper slices or jarred roasted red peppers, diced avocado, and maybe a little extra barbecue sauce or hot sauce drizzled on top.  I intend to test out my theory in the near future, because the seitan and onions were delicious.  :)

Sorry, really bad picture of the seitan.

I only used the first teaspoon of salt in the rub, I didn't use the extra teaspoon he calls for, I don't think it needed it.  For the seitan, I brushed a little oil on both sides and put the rub on both sides as well.  I grilled it just until it got some nice char marks on it, which didn't take long, probably only a few minutes on each side.  On the onions, I used a bbq sauce we really like instead of the Mesa Grill BBQ Sauce (sorry Bobby).

Right before taking a bite.  :)