BBQ Pulled Jackfruit – My twist on the vegan classic

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit – Vegan Pulled Pork

Here’s my twist on a vegan classic!  Pulled jackfruit is all about that texture and when cooked like this, gives all the crispy, caramelised happiness that pulled pork can.

You decide what to serve it with, but I love it with a little more BBQ sauce (find my new recipe below) and some smoky mayo, avocado is a must and then put it in a big, stacked sandwich, on tacos and burritos and my favourite, with Sweet Potato Mac n’ Cheese.

This is a recipe I’ve been tweaking for an age now, but I’m really happy with this, the BBQ sauce is packed with sweet tanginess and the jackfruit is nicely caramelised with deep flavours and lovely smokiness.  This is a BHK staple for sure and I’m really chuffed to be able to share it with you all!

You know you want a bit of this!;)

We’ve talked about jackfruit loads ‘Everyones Talking About Jackfruit – Ten Interesting Facts About Jack!‘  I’ve got a Malabar Jackfruit & Squash Curry that I’ve been meaning to post for a while.  Watch this space, one I picked up in India.  When we got back from India last year, we were surprised at how much Jack had taken over the vegan world!  I can see why, I ate it every day in Goa near the beach in a curry, massive grin on my face.  If cooked properly, it’s a delight.

The young green jackfruit is what you’re looking for, normally in tins, you may also find sweet jackfruit, which is lovely for desserts but will make a very weird BBQ Pulled Jackfruit.  Best place in the UK to find jackfruit is in Asian Food Shops/ Supermarkets or Health Food Shops.  When I find it, I normally buy a six pack, get nicely stocked up for a while.  I’m sure it won’t be long until it gets more widely available.  We’re riding the massive vegan wave!  How amazing it is to see so many new vegan options in shops and supermarkets,  Wahoo!!

Top Jack Facts!!
1) Jackfruit, the bit we eat, is actually called an ‘aril’. It’s a flower and we eat the edible petals. One jackfruit contains hundreds of flowers and one tree can grow 250 fruits per year.
2) In Indonesia, they make chips out of jackfruit, called Kripik. You can buy them and eat them like crisps.
3) Jackfruit seeds, when roasted, taste like brazil nut crossed with a chestnut. You can boil, bake and roast them. They can also be ground into a flour.
4) Using jackfruit as a meat substitute is nothing new. In Thailand it’s sought after by vegetarians and historically called ‘gacch patha’ (tree mutton!)
5) Every part of the jackfruit tree is medicinally beneficial, the bark, leaves, pulp, skin and roots. It is also antibacterial and antiviral.

Feel free to share this recipe with friends and do let us know if you try it out, leave a comment below, hearing from you makes our day over here at the BHK!

Recipe Notes

We all have our favourite BBQ sauce flavour, I like it a little smoky with a good kick of acidity.  Tangy!  See how you feel about it and adjust accordingly.

When frying the jackfruit with the BBQ sauce, you can keep going and make it very crispy.  I like it after around 10 minutes.

You may also like to mix some chipotle paste into your mayo, instead of BBQ sauce, in fact, mixing it into your BBQ sauce too will take it into another dimension all together.  I love the heat and smokiness of it and it just feels right if you’re going to make some tacos/ burritos.  Chipotle is the flava of Mexico for me!

Pulled Jackfruit – perfect in stacked sandwiches, with mac n’ cheese, in tacos burritos,….

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BBQ Pulled Jackfruit 

The Bits – For 2/ One medium bowlful
1 tin 280g jackfruit (unripe, not sweet)

Marinade
1 ½ teas smoked paprika
1 teas garlic powder
1 teas cajun spices
1 teas salt

1 tbs cooking oil

Barbecue Sauce – Makes 500ml / 2 cups
4 large ripe tomatoes chopped or 1 tin tomatoes
2 tbs tomato concentrate
2.5 tbs tamari/ gluten/free soya sauce
4 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 teas garlic powder
4 tbs dark brown sugar
1 teas chilli sauce
3 teas dijon mustard
2 teas smoked paprika
½ teas salt

Serve
Pickled Jalapenos, Lime wedges, Sour Cream, Avocado Slices, Corn Tortillas

Do It

Drain the jackfruit and press excess moisture out between kitchen paper,  Crisps up better in the pan that way.

Drain the jackfruit. Cut off the tough stems of the jackfruit pieces. Chop up the stems roughly and break up the other jackfruit strands, press excess moisture off between kitchen paper, then place in a bowl. Cover with the other marinade bits and toss to coat.

Toss in marinade

Make your BBQ sauce, really easy, pop it all in a blender and blitz until a smooth sauce forms. Check the seasoning and balance of the sauce. We all like it different. You can make the sauce well beforehand. This will make more than needed but it keeps well in the fridge. Eat it raw, as it is, or simmer with a lid on in a pan for 15 minutes to thicken, stirring regularly. Check seasoning.

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat your oil on medium and fry the jackfruit for 15 minutes, stirring and using a wooden spoon/ spatula, scrapping the jackfruit off the pan if it sticks a little. It should begin to caramelise nicely. Add 250ml of BBQ sauce and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce sticks to the jackfruit. The jackfruit should be getting more caramelised, soft and sticky. Cook for longer if you really want to really crisp it up.

At the end of cooking, you can top with more BBQ sauce or chipotle mayo if you like, the jackfruit should be nice and crispy.

Foodie Fact

Jackfruit seeds are edible and healthy most people roast them. You can also boil them up and make a lovely attempt at hummus. Comes highly recommended.  Every part of the jackfruit tree is medicinally beneficial, the bark, leaves, pulp, skin and roots.  It is also antibacterial and anitviral.

Jackfruit is the heavyweight of all fruits, growing to four feet long and weighing in at over 35kgs.  That’s a lot of burger right there!

It’s low in calories with good levels of Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 (which is quite rare). Its also a reasonable source of minerals and a good source of carbohydrates, fats, protein and has plenty of fibre.  The seeds have plenty of vitamin A.  Jackfruit has zero cholesterol.