Add a twist to your BBQ with these vegan jackfruit pulled pork buns – rich, smoky and dense yet light and nutritious. You’ve got very good chances of having even the biggest fans of pork coming back for seconds, so be prepared.
I feel like I’m rather behind with the whole ‘vegan pulled pork’ craze. I only discovered jackfruit a few months ago (I must have lived under a rock I guess) and I really can’t believe how much I’ve been missing out on the ‘magic’ of this ingredient!
So, what the heck is jackfruit? Jackfruit is believed to have originated in Southern India thousands of years ago but is now widely cultivated in South East Asia, South America, Australia and the Caribbean. Jackfruit grows on trees (you guessed it, jack fruit trees!) with a single tree being able to produce 2 to 3 tonnes of fruit per year! That’s one very fertile tree my friends!
High in fibre and low in fat, jackfruit is a whole-food meat alternative (thanks to its ‘meaty’ texture) which also contains iron, potassium and calcium. So, my friends, if you are watching your diet and calorie intake (or if you’re a gym junkie like me), you really have to give jackfruit a try. It’s a great ingredient to stash in your cupboard if you’re on a plantbased or vegetarian diet too.
So, where the heck do you buy jackfruit? Unless you fancy booking a flight to South India (which is actually on my travel list, so I hope I can hop over there one day in the not-too-distant future), you can find canned jackfruit in Asian or Indian supermarkets in the UK or the good old Amazon (and that’s where I got mine from). Just make sure you buy jackfruit in water, not syrup.
These vegan pulled pork sandwiches are great for the summer BBQ season and I promise you, even the most avid meat eaters will be asking for seconds! Although I’ve never been a big fan of pork when I did eat meat, I really love the ‘shredded pork like’ texture of jackfruit in this recipe.
I chose to serve this shredded BBQ jackfruit in a gluten free burger bun with green lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and salad cress. Feel free to pair it up with any veggies of your own choice of course.
If you’re preparing for a picnic, put the cooked jackfruit into the food storage container and assemble into a sandwich/bun once you’re at the picnic spot. Your friends will be extremely impressed with this rather posh contribution to the picnic [big thumbs up].
If you give these vegan BBQ pulled pork sandwiches a go, I would love it if you left a comment and even better, a rating for the recipe. This would be great support for my little blog.
Enjoy your week my friends and see you soon.
Healthfully yours,
Tania x
VEGAN BBQ ‘PULLED PORK’ BUNS
Ingredients
- 1 x 400g tin jackfruit in salted water
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 5 shallots , finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce (use vegan friendly version if vegan)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1.5 cup water
- 4 burger buns
- Sandwich fillings of choice (green lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and salad cress)
Instructions
- Tip the jackfruit out of the tin into a big sieve. Rinse and drain. Gently pull the jackfruit apart with your fingers. Put aside.
- In a saute pan, heat up the olive oil and fry the shallots and garlic on medium heat for a couple of minutes until golden brown. Add the coconut sugar and saute for a further 2 minutes until the onion mixture is starting to caramelise.
- Stir the pulled jackfruit into pan, add the spices, BBQ sauce and water and bring the mixture to a gentle bubble. Cover with a lid, turn the heat to medium low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. You might want to add more water half way through cooking (use however much you need to achieve the desired consistency).
- Let the pulled jackfruit slightly cool down before you start to assemble the sandwiches.
Notes
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