July 10, 2016 218 Comments

6 Ingredient Pulled Jackfruit

Name: 6 Ingredient Pulled Jackfruit
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 20oz cans young green jackfruit, ( in brine or water (not in syrup!)); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 yellow onion, (sliced); 3 cloves garlic, (minced); 1/4 cup vegetable broth or water; 3/4 cup BBQ sauce

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Warning:

We're going to talk about pulled jackfruit so, please grab a napkin and prepare for drool. Don't lick the screen, don't do it!!! I wish computer screens tasted delicious, but I am afraid they do not. Been there, done that.

Fully warned? Then scroll at your own risk.

I warned you fair and square!

Introducing 6 Ingredient Pulled Jackfruit. Yes, this is vegan. Yes, this is a fruit. And yes, this recipe takes just 6 ingredients. Gah! Excitement. Joy. Love. Drool. Ah, wipe away drool... desire to lick screen... fighting desire... fight it... must... resist... ~lick~

If you have explored my blog you might have seen my original post for jackfruit sandwiches, and possibly even made it. While it's for sure a completely delicious recipe, I felt the need to repost. Why repost you ask? (Well, you probably didn't but I am going to answer anyway). My original recipe required almost 20 ingredients and took over 1.5 hours to cook! This does not jive with me.

I have learned a thing or two since my early days of blogging. The easier and quicker the recipe, the more I (and you) seem to like it. So when I took this 20 ingredient, 1.5 hour recipe and rehashed it to a 6 ingredients, 45 minute recipe of pulled jackfruit goodness. I was pre-tay damn pleased with myself. ~pats self on back~

If you are new to jackfruit, it is indeed a fruit. You can often find it covered in sticky syrup in cans, but in this recipe the key is to use young green jackfruit that is in brine or water (not syrup). When the jackfruit is young (and not fully ripe), it's much starchier and not sweet... It actually doesn't taste like much to be honest. The cool thing about it is that once cooked, it has this pulled, shredded texture that is totally fun. Toss it with some BBQ sauce, and you are on your way to one of the best vegan sandwiches I have ever encountered.

I'm lucky enough that I can find jackfruit in my local discount grocery store in the Asian section. If you can't find it in your grocery store, check out Indian or Asian grocery stores, or order it online.

I had a look at what a few other bloggers did with their jackfruit, and was horrified to see that many had written in the instructions to chop off and discard the core and seeds. DON'T DO THIS! You're just wasting precious delicious jackfruit. Why oh why would you do that!?

To prepare your jackfruit, drain and rinse it, then cut the jackfruit into smaller pieces. For optimal texture, cut the slices from core to the outer edge as seen in the picture above, which breaks up the tougher core as much as possible, and makes for the best "pulled" texture.

Sauté onions and garlic in a bit of oil, and once tender add in the chopped jackfruit. Add in the vegetable broth and cover and simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes until the jackfruit is tender enough to mash.

Once it's mashable, take a potato masher and mash it all up until the desired amount of mashedness is reached. How many times can you put "mash" in a sentence?

Spread in an even layer on a lightly greased baking sheet and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour over ½ cup of BBQ sauce, and stir so that the jackfruit is evenly coated. Pop it back in the oven for another 10 minutes to make it all sticky and delicious. Stir in ¼ cup more BBQ sauce before serving, if desired.

Use the jackfruit how you like! I put mine on a bun with a simple coleslaw of shredded cabbage and carrots tossed with my Coleslaw Dressing. Yum! This would also be super satisfyingly scrumptious in tacos, on pizza, or nachos as just a few ideas! Don't be surprised if you see these recipe ideas coming up in the future.

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