A fruit that looks like meat? No you haven’t fallen into an alternate universe! If you’ve never seen or heard of jackfruit, you’ll be truly fooled and pleasantly surprised by this sandwich. While you could skip the pickled onions, they really add a nice element to the sandwich. You can also make this recipe even easier by using your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce rather than our homemade version. I won’t negotiate on that slaw though. The aroma from the fresh herbs and mix of textures when the cool creamy slaw meshes with the sweet and smoky jackfruit is perfect. If you’re not drooling right now, you might want to check your pulse!
Ingredients
Pickled Red Onions and Slaw
- 1 large red onion
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
Slaw
- 3 cups shredded or finely chopped napa cabbage
- 1 cup packed baby spinach, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup The Jalapeño-Lime Aioli
- Ground pepper
BBQ Jackfruit and Sandwiches
- 2 cans young jackfruit in water or brine (not syrup, see hot tip)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup The BBQ Sauce
- Sea salt and ground pepper
- kaiser or ciabatta-style rolls
- ¼ cup The Jalapeño-Lime Aioli
How to Make It
- To make the pickled onions, thinly slice the onion with a mandolin. If you don’t have one, use a sharp knife and slice the onions as thin as you can so you can see the knife through the slices. Combine the vinegar, sea salt, and sugar in a glass bowl or large jar. Add the onions and fill with water to submerge and cover all the onions. Refrigerate for as little as 2 hours, but overnight is best if you can prep ahead. Consume within 2 weeks.
- To prepare the slaw, combine all the ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate while you prepare the jackfruit.
- To prepare the jackfruit, drain the jackfruit and rinse well. Squeeze out the excess liquid from the fruit through a sieve if the fruit seems excessively watery. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat a pan over medium heat with the vegetable oil and add the jackfruit, pulling it with your hands or breaking it up with a fork into shreds. Break up small bulbs or remove them if you prefer. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned. Add the BBQ sauce. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.
- To assemble the sandwiches, cut the rolls in half and toast, if desired. Spread a generous amount of aioli on both cut sides of each roll. Add slaw to the bottom half, then a generous amount of jackfruit, and top with pickled onions and the top half of the roll. Serve immediately while still warm.
- Keep leftover jackfruit refrigerated for up to 5 days. Reheat the jackfruit in a microwave or sauté it in a pan for a few minutes until heated through.