BBQ Jackfruit Sliders

BBQ Jackfruit sliders…the vegetarian, (or vegan), alternative to BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.  In a blind taste test it would be hard to distinguish the two, except that the jackfruit is more tender than pork. It really makes for a very tasty sandwich!

I had never eaten jackfruit until our neighbor Tom brought over a barbecue jackfruit sandwich.  I took a bite and actually thought it was pork.  Looks like pulled pork.  Right then I knew I had to try this and share the results.

What is jack-fruit and where to find it

Jack-fruit is a tropical fruit grown in Southeast Asia. It is the largest fruit in the world and sometimes one fruit can weigh up to 100 pounds. It has greenish yellow, pebbly skin and is in the shape of a rugby football. I’ve never cut open a real jack-fruit because one can cost over $100.00. We’re talking $5 to $7 dollars a pound. Best to find it in a can already processed.

Finding canned jackfruit might be tough.  You want it to be packed in water or brine.  Some is packed in a syrup.  Asian markets are where you will find it.  I stopped at an International market and they had it packed in syrup, not in brine or water.  Then, right down the street, (Main St., Dunedin,FL), there’s another small Asian market.  They had lots of cans of brined jackfruit.  They had Chaokoh Young Green Jackfruit, 20 ounces for $1.99.  Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods would probably have it too.

Prepping canned jack-fruit

Rinse the pieces of fruit with water and pat dry with paper towels.  Throw some barbecue dry rub on and then start cooking it in an oiled skillet.  After a couple minutes, add your favorite barbecue sauce and a little water and cook, covered with a lid, for another 20 minutes, adding more water if it starts to dry out.  Easy as that.

After 10 or 15 minutes, take two forks and start shredding the softened jackfruit.  It shreds real easily except for the inner core pieces.  Some recipes say to cut those pieces off.   They are not tough, they just don’t shred like the rest of the fruit.  I just hacked them into smaller sizes.

One 20 ounce can made 5 good sized sliders.

MaryJo also made a cabbage slaw to go along with the BBQ jackfruit sliders.  She used Greek yogurt, but you could keep the sliders vegan by using a vinegar/vegetable oil based slaw.

The printable recipe is below.

BBQ Jackfruit Sliders

4.50 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Vegetarian sandwich

Cuisine: American

Keyword: barbeque jackfruit, BBQ jackfruit sliders, barbeque jackfruit

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 servings

Calories: 211kcal

Author: Joe Boyle

Ingredients

• 1 - 20 oz . can jackfruit in water or brine
• 2 tbsp BBQ seasoning , like McCormick's Grill Mates BBQ seasoning (1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce , I used Kraft original barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup water, plus more if necessary
• 5 slider buns or dinner rolls

Slaw

• 1 lbs . shredded cabbage
• 2 carrots , julienned
• 1/2 small onion , shredded, (optional)
• 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dill weed
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

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Instructions

• Rinse jackfruit in water and pat dry with paper towels
• Place in a medium bowl and add BBQ seasoning and toss to combine
• Heat a large skillet on medium and add the vegetable oil
• Place jackfruit in the skillet 3 minutes, turning occasionally
• Add barbecue sauce and 1/4 cup water, cook, covered, 20 minutes
• After about 15 minutes, use two forks to shred the jackfruit
• Add additional water if the sauce gets too dry, I added another 1/4 cup after shredding
• Serve hot on slider buns with cole slaw

Slaw

• Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl
• Serve atop the BBQ jackfruit sliders

Notes

1. Adapted from Dana at Minimalist Baker.

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal

Two nutrition labels are provided: the BBQ jackfruit slider label is based on one sandwich minus the slaw.  The coleslaw label is based on 6 servings of slaw.

Jackfruit slider w/o coleslaw

Coleslaw nutrition label

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