Young green jackfruit, simmered and shredded until it pulls into strands like slow-cooked pork shoulder, then sauced with barbecue. The most famous vegan barbecue stand-in — though it is a flavor-and-texture food, not a real protein source.
Jackfruit barbecue is the centerpiece of Black vegan cookout plates — pulled 'pork' sandwiches that look and pull exactly like the real thing, holding the place of the most contested dish at a Black gathering.
Honesty first: young jackfruit is LOW in protein — it is a fruit, not a legume — so it cannot anchor a meal nutritionally the way it anchors it texturally. Treat it as a meat replacement for satisfaction and serve it with beans, peas, or a side of greens-plus-grain to actually meet protein needs. What it does offer is fiber, potassium, and vitamin C with almost no fat. As a swap for barbecue pork, it removes saturated fat, cholesterol, and the processed/red-meat carcinogen risk that drives Black colorectal cancer — a worthy trade as long as the protein gets covered elsewhere on the plate.
Use young GREEN jackfruit in brine or water (not the sweet ripe canned kind). Drain, rinse, and squeeze, then simmer with broth, smoke, and spice until it shreds with a fork. Sauce with barbecue and finish on the grill or under the broiler for char. The pulling improves the longer it simmers.
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