Butler Soy Curls, 12 lb. Bulk Bag

This brand is the clear choice among soy curls. -How the beans are grown and processed is a major plus. I've been a devotee of Costco roast chickens for years. Tasty, convenient, affordable. I am not vegetarian so it's been an easy option to buy a couple...bring them home...debone/shred...pack into individual bags and freeze for quick future use. THAT SAID: I've been bothered about how the chickens are raised (antibiotics, etc), and the mystery of whatever "spice" concoction is injected into them before roasting. Butler soy curls soybeans are grown without chemical pesticides, and contain ALL the soybean (NOT de-fatted) so all-in-all is a minimally processed food. As with tofu, there is no flavor per-se so they take on whatever flavors and spices you put in and on them. No de-boning. No antibiotics. No mystery "spices". I am in control and they end up like the tastiest shredded chicken I can imagine. Also: GET THE CHIK-STYLE SEASONING. It's a large bottle and worth every penny. You'll use it on the curls as well as everything else instead of just salt, etc. Update: I've now begun ordering directly from their website. It's less expensive, ESPECIALLY since I'm now ordering in BULK. Jodi is a dream to work with. I am so thankful to have found this quality product and this company! (No, this is not a paid endorsement. I rarely write reviews, so if I seem effusive, this product and company has EARNED my praise!)

Order this time and time again!!! Amazing delicious product. We buy in bulk to Dave money. I just soak and pan fry with some boillion. Excellent protein choice and great for meal prep. Love that its shelf stable. Never stop selling this PLEASE!!!

It's been harder to find vegan grilled chicken strips in the store where I live so I decided to try these. They're much easier than I expected and have been trying multiple styles. They soak up a lot of flavor so it's easy to add protein to a lot of out favorite dishes. The texture is very similar to a shredded chicken. I looking forward to try different recipes and it's so much cheaper than other items we by frozen.

Let me begin by stating that I am an off and on vegetarian. Raised as an omni, I became a veg-head after my first child was born - not by choice, but by necessity. It wasn't a bad experience as I have always liked vegetables, but I was used to having them share the spotlight with fish, chicken, beef, or pork. Fast forward 13 years and, though I do not eat fish, beef or pork and very seldom eat chicken, I often find myself craving the texture of it - chicken that is. (I do not crave fish, beef or pork but my craving for chicken causes me to pinch a piece or two off of my DH's plate at least twice monthly). Anyhoo... I have tried to satisfy my cravings with various "fake meats" but it has never worked and, after a while, I became more concerned with the long list of ingredients on the side of the packaging than my cravings. Not only did these items NOT taste like the foods they were trying to mimic, they were off in texture and scent. So, back to a plate of veggies I went. Again, nothing bad here - Veggies, pasta, bean chili and veg sandwiches are da bomb - until you've had it too much. Then the bomb is in your tummy. In an effort to try to come up with some new flavors, I searched the web for recipes. I happened across a seitan recipe and was ready to take the plunge until I happened to find Soy Curls (I really wasn't looking for a "homemade" seitan recipe anyways). I found several sites with positive Soy Curls reviews and decided that I had to try it. I ordered my $8 bag...and waited. Once received, I tried them the best way I could think of - fried! I hydrated the 1 cup of the pieces in no-chicken broth, battered (like normal chicken), then fried them. Guess what? These things are good - so good that my omni fam was asking for them. I over salted (first try), but the fam said the curls still had good flavor, texture AND tasted like fried chicken. I know you are thinking that I have jacked up taste buds but these things really tasted like chicken (Seriously)! I will try another recipe and update, as we know the first try can be a fluke. Seriously, give these a try- they are really, really good. *Update* 6/5/2013 Yep guys...soy curls are da bomb. I tried these as a cheese steak substitute (I normally just use onions, peppers, and mushrooms) and the fam told me they could not tell the difference between my soy version and the beef version! I learned that 1 cup is too much for one person. Today, I used 1/2 cup and I think this will be my standard. We will try seasoning as a salad 'meat' next time. :) I agree with others regarding the purchase price here on my beloved Amazon -it's too high. However, I do urge trying a bag here first. Yeah, it's $8 but it's better to find you don't like one bag of them for $8 vs 6 bags for $30. Also, remember to hydrate thoroughly so that the flavors you desire will come through but be light on the salt. Lastly, these puppies can be baked, fried, and sautéed - oh my!! Overall good purchase! *Update* 6/11/13 Ok, so I haven't tried any as a salad garnish yet. However, DH grilled out yesterday and I was excited to see if I could get that same chargrilled flavor with the curls. Ummm, ummm, ummm...very good! After soaking in a mixture Worcestershire and Chipotle Tabasco sauce, I sautéed, placed in aluminum foil and plopped on the grill. Once again, the fam liked my dinner - maybe a bit too much as they began to offer me the food from their plates (feeling guilty about eating mine, maybe???). I will try as a salad garnish tomorrow and update soon afterwards.

The way the 3 bags are smushed together in a plastic bag that would normally fit 1-2 bags in it max, results in lots of fine crumbs and small pieces!! For basically $8 a bag for 5 small servings each, these could be protected/packed together better!! So although i usually don't eat soy products, never been a big fan...i got this to try for the purpose of trying to fix my post-menopause symptoms that won't ease up the natural way.. i started taking NOW Soy Isoflavones 60mg supplement twice a day 2-3 days ago and was reading up and saw that adding 'soy protein' is also recommend as well. I did not want to mess with tofu, miso and all that so when i saw these and saw they would be simple & quick to make and be good as an add-in into other foods to meet my 25 grams of 'soy protein' (1 1/3 servings - 40 grams dry) per day, i decided to try it... not bad at all i must say, i soaked 40g in water for about 20mins, drained, sautéed/fried them dry in bacon fat, added salt/pepper/red pepper flakes and mixed it into ledo's leftover mac & cheese and added cheddar cheese.. was pretty good, kinda like chicken actually however, the bigger pieces were bland some so definitely will be soaking future portion in salt water and maybe even chicken broth.. Price is not too bad overall, will order and stock up on these again for sure..