This Sweet BBQ Pulled Jackfruit is so moist and tasty and crazy similar to the real deal, even the fiercest of meat lovers will be all over it!
Jackfruit has got to be the
coolest,
awesomest
new discovery
that I've made since going vegan. The first time I had it
--- it was in a vegan restaurant ---
I got seriously freaked
out
at some point when I inspected my sandwich and
thought for sure that there was meat in it
. How could that be? It was a vegan place after all!?
I had to look it up on the Internet
to convince myself that
it indeed was not meat
and that it was safe for me to resume eating.
I mean, this stuff is
so crazy similar
in looks, texture and flavor to pulled meat, it IS almost scary. I think
you need to experience it
for yourself to truly believe it.
IF you've never tried it, that is. But if you have, then you know exactly what I'm talking about, and
I don't think I need to sell this recipe to you
.
You know just how crazy good this is going to be...
First thing we need to do is
make the delicious sweet BBQ Sauce
that will be the base of the dish. To do that,
combine all the ingredients
into a medium,
oven-safe saucepan
for which you have a
fitting lid.
Mix well until fully combined and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and
simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes
, stirring from time to time, until the sauce has
reduced by about half
and is much darker in color.
While the sauce is simmering
away, you'll want to
shred the jackfruit
into little pieces with your fingers.
Be careful when purchasing your jackfruit: you must get the
young green jackfruit in brine
, NOT the sweet, ripe kind in syrup. After draining,
this is what the pieces of jackfruit look like
right out of the can. Some recipes will have you remove the seeds and trim off the firm ends from each chunk, but that is complete nonsense. Those parts are
totally edible
and even add the the overall texture of the dish.
So by all means, leave them be.
For the most part,
jackfruit has a stringy texture
that is naturally very similar to pulled meat... Personally, I find that the best way to preserve that stringy texture is by
shredding / tearing the jackfruit with my fingers
, as opposed to slicing it with a knife.
So go ahead and do that... use your fingers to
tear all the chunks of jackfruit
into smaller, shredded pieces. Yeah, it's somewhat tedious, but very
well worth it
, trust me.
See how it already looks so much like pulled meat?
Alright, now that
your jackfruit is all prepped and ready to go
, I'm ready to bet that your BBQ sauce is pretty much getting there, too... So time to
preheat your oven to 325°F
.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a
large saute pan set over medium-high
heat. Once hot,
add the onions, garlic and salt
and cook until softened and slightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Crank up the heat to high and
add that pile of shredded jackfruit
to the pan...
Now cook this jackfruit until it starts to
brown and caramelize
, about 10 minutes.
By now, I'm ready to bet that your
BBQ Sauce
is smelling all kinds of delicious and
totally ready
to receive all this yummy
caramelized jackfruit
; so go ahead and dump it
right into the pot
with the sauce!
Stir delicately until the jackfruit is
evenly and generously coated
with the BBQ sauce. Then, put the lid on and
place this in the oven for about 45 minutes
, so those flavors get a chance to meld and deepen.
Take the pot out of the oven and allow your Pulled Jackfruit to
rest for about 10 minutes
before serving.
The best way to serve this is
piled way high on a toasted hamburger bun
, with your favorite toppings
--- just a few dashes of Frank's for me, please! ---
or just as is. I'm telling you, this stuff has
so much flavor
, it doesn't need much of anything else!
Eventual leftovers will reheat super well over low heat, and will keep in the fridge for a couple of days...
