Vegan Barbecue!!

Since I've stopped eating meat, really the only thing I miss is pulled pork sandwiches. During the summer, they used to be my favorite thing. I would scope them out and devour them. I haven't missed anything else, I make pretty good substitutes, if you ask me. But this is a hard texture and flavor to recreate. Well guys, sound the alarms. I found a solution. Jackfruit.

Yeah, I had never heard of it either. Until recently. In the past few months, I've seen countless recipes using jackfruit as a shredded pork substitute. I found a can at the Asian supermarket (make sure you get the green jackfruit in brine, not the ripe one in syrup). Jackfruit is the world's largest tree fruit. It's green and spiky looking, and it tastes kind of like a mango when it's ripe. When it's not ripe, it pulls apart and looks just like pulled pork!! It doesn't really have a flavor so it lends itself well to absorb whatever flavors you cook it with. So I whipped up a vegan pulled pork sandwich, complete with cole slaw and sweet potato fries. So yummy!!

Vegan Pulled Pork Sandwiches
1 can young green jackfruit, in brine
1/3 cup barbecue sauce, either store bought or homemade
1/2 cup water

For the cole slaw:
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
3 carrots, shredded
1/3 cup veganaise
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
black pepper to taste

Sweet potato fries:
1 sweet potato, sliced into fries
3 tbsp oil (I used safflower oil)
1 tsp each salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Pull the pieces apart and shred them with your hands. Put these pieces in a saucepan with the barbecue sauce and water. Simmer this on low for an hour. If it gets dry, you can add more water. While this is getting barbecuey and delicious and tender, get started on your potatoes. Coat the potatoes in oil and spices and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Pop those bad boys in the oven for about 30 minutes until they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. For the cole slaw, mix the veganaise, mustard, vinegar, and pepper in a small bowl. Then pour this over the cabbage and carrots. You could add other veggies too. My dad used to use bell peppers and onions and jalepenos, but I decided to skip that. Whatever you have on hand will work. Then get some toasty bread or a bun or something, and put a pile of jackfruit and a scoop of cole slaw on there. Then have some sweet potato fries and teleport to a summer barbecue.

Next recipe, jackfruit carnitas!! Nomnomnomnom