Jackfruit Pulled "pork"

Okay, so this recipe gets involved, be prepared!!! But first, story time. During my time in Kansas City, we went to many great BBQ restaurants, but it was hard to find anything plant-based that wasn't a salad (story of my life). Finally, we found this place called the Char Bar and I found what I was looking for: pulled pork! Well, jackfruit pulled pork that is. I had heard that this fruit was a great meat replacement for vegans and was often used to recreate pulled pork. How can this be?!?! I was so intrigued, I had to try it. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between my vegan pulled pork sandwich and my boyfriend's real pulled pork. Crazy right?! Jackfruit raw, tastes kinda like a pineapple/peach. It's very tasty. When cooked down, it takes on the flavor of what it's seasoned with! So interesting:) From that moment on, I wanted to recreate my own jackfruit sandwich, but I struggled to find it in the stores.

Flash forward three months later. I was at the Cleveland Farmers Market in Ohio with my mom and I spotted the jackfruit instantly from across the room. This massive fruit was so heavy! It was also ridiculously expensive, but I splurged because I had been trying to find it all summer. I spend the next day watching several Youtube tutorial videos on how to make this sandwich with a fresh jackfruit! *notice, the recipe changes a lot when using canned jackfruit. I think in the future, this is what I will try. Seems like a lot less work than what I put myself through haha*

Some tips, if you attempt this with a fresh, raw jackfruit

1) use immediately, the more the jackfruit sits and ripens the sweeter it gets

2) jackfruit is extremely sticky, I recommend using plastic gloves and spraying your surfaced and knives with cooking spray before attempting to cut open.

3) give yourself plenty of time!!!!! like 3 hours haha

OKAY FINALLYYYYY here is the recipe

Ingredients:

I used about 3 lbs of jackfruit for this recipe *it seems like a lot, but it shrinks a lot in the oven* it made 3 sandwiches in the end

1 small white onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 drops liquid smoke

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp smoked paprika

your favorite bbq sauce

veggie stock

2 tbsp olive oil

buns for serving

Directions:

1) PREPPING RAW JACKFRUIT! I highly recommend watching a video for this part. It helps visually to see what is happening. Just remember, you only want the yellow parts. The seeds, white filament, and anything else can be discarded. Here is the video I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_N6RM4Vk0 this part takes awhile, so don't be alarmed when it takes you 45 minutes haha

*turn on oven to 350

2) in a deep saucepan, heat oil on medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until translucent.

3) Add jackfruit, liquid smoke, seasonings, and a squirt of bbq.

4) add veggie stock, enough to cover all contents. Cover, and cook until veggie stock has been cooked off about 35 minutes

5) transfer mixture onto a lined baking sheet *make sure it is lined with foil, very important, or else it will stick to your sheet forever*

6) add more bbq if wanted, cook in oven for another 45 minutes

7) dish onto buns, add favorite coleslaw or condiments, and enjoy!!

This is a crazy ambitious recipe, but if I can do it, anyone can haha I started around 4pm and we ate at 6:30ish! WOW! This was very fun, but in the future, I'm going to make it using canned jackfruit:)